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One cup at a time By Sharon Johnson Jun 12, 2022 12:15 AM A A “There are very few things that reduce mortality by 30%.” Stated differently, there’s not much in the way of health behaviors we can personally initiate that will demonstrate a dramatic increase in life expectancy — other than drinking 1.5 to 3.5 cups of coffee each day. “What?!” Or perhaps you already heard about a just-published, Harvard-supported, British study that found coffee has an unexpected attribute. Let me re-state. Recent research has found, “people who drink up to 3.5 cups of coffee each day live longer.” A lot longer. Wow. Like all research studies, it needs replication and continuing analysis. And it must be recognized that this same study found any identified benefit for people drinking four and a half or more cups of coffee each day “tapered off.” Some research subjects drank seven cups a day. I cannot help but be curious how well they slept at night or whether they were jittery in the late afternoon. I read about the results of this research while drinking my morning cup of coffee. At which point, I brewed myself another cup. I seldom do that. I drank half of it while pondering the fact I’ve been trying to drink less coffee of late, believing it was dehydrating (which it true) and not the best thing to drink for someone who has osteoporosis (also true). Add to that, ginger tea has become my new passion. But this recent coffee-focused study result is compelling. It’s “observational,” which suggests the research did not control for other things the subjects may do or not do — like how much exercise the coffee drinkers got or how much red meat they ate. The study simply observed how much coffee the subjects drank each day. And while we are on the topic, let me just toss in here that other studies, replicated ones, have previously noted coffee drinkers have a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. This is not the first-time coffee-drinking has demonstrated benefit. I drink mine black and strong, in a cup that has a fading picture of Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the side. No sweetener but, once in a while, a splash of oat milk. We have that in the fridge because our children and grandchildren favor it. They also drink iced coffee and an occasional latte. One of our granddaughters gave me a taste of her Starbucks Caramel Macchiato once. It takes coffee to new heights — after just a few sips I was quite perky. It must have been the 25 grams of sugar. In my Norwegian upbringing, coffee “and a little something sweet,” as my mother used to say, meant love. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee was part of growing up. There was no electric coffee maker or Keurig machine in our family kitchen. No microwave for a quick warmup. There was a metal percolating pot with a glass stopper. If it was a special occasion, my mom made egg coffee, using a raw egg. Ignore the raw egg bacteria reference with that example and focus on the love. Sharon Johnson is a retired health educator. Reach her at [email protected]