Your morning coffee could help you stay young — but there’s a catch

Could java beryllium nan liquid cardinal to longevity?

A caller study reports that nan world’s astir wide utilized stimulant tin widen lifespan and impact really cells respond to familial harm — though there’s a imaginable complication.

A squad of researchers astatine Queen Mary University of London confirms that caffeine interacts pinch nan systems that power aging, DNA consequence and cellular stress.

The squad studied fission yeast, a single-celled organism that is analogous to quality cells and uses akin pathways to negociate energy, DNA repair and stress.

Researchers measured nan consequence of fission yeast to different forms of cellular stress, including DNA damage, toxic vulnerability and nutrient deprivation.

Then they added caffeine to gauge really cells would respond.

They recovered that while caffeine extended nan lifespan of yeast, it besides affected really cells responded to stress, peculiarly erstwhile nan molecular systems that modulate accent were already activated.

The findings were published this week successful nan diary Microbial Cell.

The investigation squad antecedently established that caffeine supports nan longevity of cells by activating TOR (target of rapamycin), a biologic move that determines erstwhile cells should turn based connected nan readiness of nutrient and energy.

According to nan team, nan TOR move has been actively controlling power and accent responses successful surviving things for complete 500 cardinal years.

In this latest study, nan squad learned that caffeine doesn’t straight activate TOR, but alternatively influences it by activating AMPK, a cellular substance reserve successful yeast and humans.

“When your cells are debased connected energy, AMPK kicks successful to thief them cope,” said study elder writer Charalampos (Babis) Rallis. “And our results show that caffeine helps flip that switch.”

The yeast exemplary demonstrated that caffeine’s power connected flipping that move straight impacts really cells grow, repair their DNA and respond to accent — each of which subordinate to aging.

Quite surprisingly, nan squad recovered that alternatively than protecting damaged DNA, caffeine amplified nan damage.

Typically, erstwhile a compartment detects DNA damage, it stops dividing to repair it. However, researchers recovered that caffeine overrides this stop, allowing unhealed cells to proceed dividing and making them much susceptible to early damage.

The squad assured that this doesn’t make your greeting cup inherently dangerous. Caffeine’s expertise to change really cells respond to problems tin beryllium affirmative aliases negative, depending connected nan situation.

The squad noted that nan benefits of caffeine dangle connected nan beingness of circumstantial proteins and pathways. The truth that caffeine’s effects are neither cosmopolitan nor automatic whitethorn thief explicate why erstwhile studies exploring nan nexus betwixt caffeine and improved wellness person been inconsistent.

“These findings thief explicate why caffeine mightiness beryllium beneficial for wellness and longevity,” said John-Patrick Alao, nan postdoctoral investigation intelligence starring this study. “And they unfastened up breathtaking possibilities for early investigation into really we mightiness trigger these effects much straight — pinch diet, manner aliases caller medicines.”

The squad acknowledged that because nan study relied only connected fission yeast, nan findings whitethorn not straight construe to quality cells.

Coffee has agelong been lauded for its wellness benefits.

Rich successful antioxidants, it whitethorn heighten encephalon function. It’s besides been shown to summation alertness, assistance successful weight management, boost temper and perchance little nan consequence of Type 2 glucosuria and bosom disease.

A 2018 study of astir half a cardinal British adults recovered that java drinkers had a somewhat little consequence of decease complete 10 years than abstainers.

Other research, encompassing more than 170,000 adults successful nan UK, projected that those who portion betwixt 2 and 4 regular cups of coffee, sloppy of whether they person added sugar, unrecorded longer than those who don’t portion coffee.

A 2025 study led by researchers astatine Tulane University tied a greeting brew to little mortality rates than espresso later successful nan day.

And 3 to 5 cups a time astatine midlife was associated pinch a decreased consequence of Alzheimer’s illness later successful life, research determined.

In summation to Alzheimer’s, immoderate studies recovered that java junkies person up to a 60% little consequence of Parkinson’s disease.

The much java they drank, nan little nan risk.