Coffee Could Be Key To Aging Gracefully

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 4, 2025 — A morning cup of coffee might do more than momentarily boost your energy and spirits.

Full-test java also appears to help women age more gracefully, a new study says.

Middle-aged women who regularly drank caffeinated coffee were more likely to stay mentally sharp and physically functional as they aged, researchers reported Monday at a meeting of the American Society for Nutrition.

Each extra cup was tied to a 2% to 5% increased chance of aging gracefully, results show.

“The findings suggest that caffeinated coffee — not tea or decaf — may uniquely support aging trajectories that preserve both mental and physical function,” researcher Sara Mahdavi, a post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in a news release.

For the study, researchers tracked more than 47,500 women participating in the Nurses’ Health Study, a long-term research project that has collected data since 1984.

The team compared the women’s caffeine intake to their healthy aging, which was defined as living to 70, being free from 11 major chronic illnesses, maintaining physical function, having good mental health and exhibiting no memory or thinking difficulties.

By 2016, more than 3,700 of the women met all the requirements for being considered a person who has aged gracefully, researchers said.

In middle age, these women typically consumed about 315 milligrams of caffeine daily, roughly three small cups or one and a half large cups of coffee, researchers said. More than 80% of that caffeine came from coffee.

Each 80 milligrams of caffeine consumed daily increased a woman’s odds for healthy aging.

Caffeine intake also increased their odds of avoiding chronic illness, remaining physically strong and keeping their wits and memory, results show.

But not all sources of caffeine were the same.

Coffee alone was associated with healthy aging, with benefits accruing up to five small cups or two and a half large cups per day.

On the other hand, caffeinated colas tended to be linked to worse aging, researchers found.

Each additional small glass of soda was associated with a 20% to 26% lower likelihood of healthy aging, results show.

Decaf coffee and tea were not significantly associated one way or the other with aging, researchers noted.

“These results, while preliminary, suggest that small, consistent habits can shape long-term health,” Mahdavi said. “Moderate coffee intake may offer some protective benefits when combined with other healthy behaviors such as regular exercise, a healthy diet and avoiding smoking.” 

However, researchers warned that coffee should not be considered a fountain of youth.

“While this study adds to prior evidence suggesting coffee intake may be linked with healthy aging, the benefits from coffee are relatively modest compared to the impact of overall healthy lifestyle habits and warrant further investigation,” Mahdavi added.

Researchers next plan to study how the compounds contained in coffee might act to influence a person’s aging.

Mahdavi presented the findings Monday at the American Nutrition Society’s annual meeting in Orlando, Fl.

Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

SOURCE: American Society for Nutrition, news release, June 2, 2025

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