Worried you're drinking too much coffee? Well, the latest science should put your mind at rest as it seems to be a case that you should sip away guilt-free and an extra cup (or two) might actually help you live longer. Music to my ears!

The National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, and the Feinberg School of medicine at Northwestern University recently analyzed coffee-drinking data from the UK Biobank, a long-term study of half a million people in the U.K. aged 38 to 74, through which a large group of UK adults completed health questionnaires, underwent physical examinations and provided biological samples.

"We observed an inverse association for coffee drinking with mortality, including among participants who reported drinking at least one cup per day, up to eight or more cups per day, as well as those drinking filtered, instant and decaffeinated coffee," said Dr. Erikka Loftfield, the study's lead investigator.

It is possible that people drink more coffee because their lifestyle is generally more healthy; hence they live longer. Possibly, but not likely though, considering the wealth of other evidence confirming that drinking coffee results in:

A 20% reduced risk of cancer.

A 20% reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes.

A 30% reduced risk of Parkinson's disease.

A 5% reduced risk of heart disease.

The likelihood that "the more you drink, the healthier you get" is obviously great news for those of us who might otherwise be afraid that we're drinking too much coffee and it now gives us a valid reason for our caffeine needs.

While decaf doesn't carry ALL the health benefits of the high-test, it carries most of them.