Wine & Coffee Can Equal Longevity

Published on: April 30, 2004

A report issued by researchers from the University of California, Irvine, says that people who drink a glass of wine a day or a cup of coffee a day are more likely to reach their nineties than those who drink neither. The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.

Of the two beverages, wine actually appears to be the more beneficial, giving people a 12 percent less chance of dying before they hit 90; coffee appears to give people a 10 percent less chance of passing away before 90. However, people who drank both a cup of coffee and a glass of wine each day didn’t seem to improve their longevity any.

The study was conducted among some 13,000 once and current residents of a retirement community called Leisure World, where people’s eating and drinking habits were charted for 13 years.

Critics of the study’s conclusions suggest that the statistical sample is inconclusive, since Leisure World is a facility that not only caters to senior citizens, but presents them with numerous lifestyle advantages – such as the ability to get regular exercise using its golf course and tennis courts, as well as engaging them intellectually with adult education opportunities.

But, of course, the critics miss the point. A life well lived – which means moderate consumption of the foods and beverages that one enjoys, combined with regular physical exercise and intellectual stimulation – always is going to last longer than a life in which opportunities and challenges are not embraced.

If you don’t live life to its fullest potential, not only are you likely to die young but it will seem like forever. Live life well, and it almost doesn’t matter when you die…because you’ve actually lived.

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