Morning coffee habit linked to a longer life

Are you an all-day coffee drinker or a morning-cup-of-joe kind of person? The timing of your java fix might affect your longevity, according to a study published online Jan. 8, 2025, by the European Heart Journal. Scientists at Harvard and other institutions evaluated the health and self-reported dietary habits of more than 40,000 adults in the United States who were followed for about a decade. Researchers found two distinct patterns among participants: either morning or all-day coffee drinking. Compared with people who didn't drink any coffee, those who drank it in the morning were 16% less likely to die for any reason during the study period and 31% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease, with the greatest benefits coming from consuming at least two cups. There weren't any risk reductions among those who drank coffee throughout the day, compared with those who didn't drink coffee. The study was observational and doesn't prove conclusively that the morning coffee drinking pattern has more health benefits than the all-day habit. However, the authors speculate that anti-inflammatory chemicals in coffee might be most beneficial in a concentrated amount in the morning, when inflammation levels are typically highest, rather than smaller amounts spread throughout the day as inflammation levels fall.

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