coffee makes you immortal! ok, not really, but it may increase life expectancy

Apparently, results from a study of 400,000 people conducted by the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study shows fairly persuasive evidence that there's "a significant inverse association between coffee consumption and mortality." In other words, despite some of its negative health effects, coffee consumption has been linked (by currently unknown means, mind you) to an increase in life expectancy. The news isn't all good, however, as the study also found that people who drink coffee tend to "smoke, drink more alcohol, eat more red meat and exercise less than non-coffee-drinkers," and there's evidence from previous research that coffee can raise bad cholesterol and blood pressure in the short term, two things that in turn can increase the risk of heart disease. So it's a bit of a mixed blessing, really, and simply drinking coffee doesn't guarantee a long life. But in combination with a healthy diet and lifestyle, a couple cups of coffee a day just might help increase your chances of seeing another day, which is good news for people like me who can't live without the stuff.