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A MAJOR STUDY LOOKED AT DRINKS INCLUDING COFFEE, TEA AND COLA AND FOUND ONE WAS PARTICULARLY BENEFICIAL WHILE ANOTHER THE OPPOSITE ELAINE BLACKBURNE Network Content Editor 12:59, 04 Jun 2025

A morning cuppa might not just be a pick-me-up now but could affect the way you age. A major study looked at the drinking habits of almost 50,000 women and discovered coffee can impact both

mental and physical health - depending on when it is consumed. It discovered it could help women stay sharp, strong and mentally well as they age. But key to the positive results was that

the coffee must contain caffeine as those drinking decafinated coffee did not have the same benefits. Tea drinkers were also found to miss out on the health benefits while those who

preferred cola had a "significantly lower chance of healthy ageing". Dr. Sara Mahdavi, of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said: "While past studies have linked

coffee to individual health outcomes, our study is the first to assess coffee’s impact across multiple domains of aging over three decades. "The findings suggest that caffeinated

coffee—not tea or decaf—may uniquely support aging trajectories that preserve both mental and physical function." The findings were presented by Dr Mahdavi at Nutrition 2025, the

flagship annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition. She said: "Our study has several key strengths. In addition to the large sample size and 30 years of follow-up, we

assessed several different aspects of longevity and healthy ageing as well as very comprehensive information on nutritional and lifestyle habits that were collected every four years after

the initiation of the study." Article continues below The study included 47,513 women from the Nurses’ Health Study with dietary and health data collected since 1984. The researchers

assessed caffeine intake using validated food frequency questionnaires that included consumption of top contributors of caffeine such as coffee, tea, cola and decaffeinated coffee. Healthy

aging was defined as living to age 70 or older, being free from 11 major chronic diseases, maintaining physical function, having good mental health, exhibiting no cognitive impairment and

showing no memory complaints. After 30 years of follow-up, the investigators estimated how the likelihood of healthy aging changed for every 80 mg of caffeine that study participants

consumed per day. They also examined specific drinks like coffee, tea, decaffeinated coffee (per 8-ounce cup) and cola (per 12-ounce glass). These preliminary analyses accounted for other

factors that might influence healthy ageing such as body weight, smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, education level and protein in the diet. By 2016, 3,706 of the women in the study

met all the requirements for being considered healthy agers. In mid-life, ages 45-60, these women typically consumed an average of 315 mg of caffeine per day — roughly the amount in three

small cups of coffee or one and a half large cups by today’s standards. More than 80% of that caffeine came from regular coffee consumption. For women in the healthy agers group, each extra

cup of coffee per day was tied to a 2% to 5% higher chance of doing well later in life, up to five small cups per day, or about 2.5 cups according to today’s measures. The researchers did

not find any significant association between drinking decaffeinated coffee or tea with an increased likelihood of healthy ageing. However every extra small glass of cola - another major

source of caffeine - was associated with a 20% to 26% lower likelihood of healthy ageing. This backed views that not all sources of caffeine have benefits. Dr Mahdavi said: "These

results, while preliminary, suggest that small, consistent habits can shape long-term health. Moderate coffee intake may offer some protective benefits when combined with other healthy

behaviours such as regular exercise, a healthy diet and avoiding smoking. "While this study adds to prior evidence suggesting coffee intake may be linked with healthy ageing, the

benefits from coffee are relatively modest compared to the impact of overall healthy lifestyle habits and warrant further investigation." The researchers said that generally up to two

cups of coffee a day should be safe and potentially beneficial for most people. Beyond that, drinking more may offer additional benefits for some but may not be healthy for others. Article

continues below In another study, Dr. Mahdavi and colleagues have shown that genetic variation can influence the relationship between caffeine intake and health outcomes. This means more

caffeine isn’t always better, particularly for people with lower caffeine tolerance or specific genetic susceptibility (Mahdavi et al, 2023).