Apparently drinking coffee will increase your lifespan by nine minutes

Yes, per day

With Brits consuming on average, 55 million cups of coffee every day, it's clear we all know what coffee says about our metabolism and why a large coffee in the morning is so good for us.

But the latest studies say that drinking coffee can actually increase how long you live by nine minutes a day.

Yes, you heard that right. Apparently drinking coffee every day can actually lengthen your life... OK, let us explain.

According to a study by University of Cambridge, drinking a cup of coffee extends the average woman's life by one month and a man's life by approximately three months.

Apparently those who have just one cup every day lowered their risk of dying early by around 12% over a period of 16 years, while if they drank three cups, this percentage increased to 18%.

So, how does it do this? According to the studies by Imperial College London and also University of Southern California, it's because coffee is full of antioxidants and compounds that can improve liver function, fight off insulin resistance and lower inflammation. Oh, and it also contains phenolic compounds that help ward off cancer.

Obviously, it's not a miracle cure though and you do still need to live a healthy lifestyle but considering these studies ran over 16 years with half a million people aged 35 or over from around Europe, it does seem that consuming coffee is pretty beneficial to your health.

Lead author, Dr Marc Gunter, says: 'We found that higher coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of death from any cause, and specifically for circulatory diseases, and digestive diseases. We found that drinking more coffee was associated with a more favourable liver function profile and immune response. Our results suggest that moderate coffee drinking - up to around three cups per day - is not detrimental to your health, and that incorporating coffee into your diet could have health benefits.'

Great news for avid coffee drinkers but it's worth saying that further research is needed, obviously.

But, for now, see you at the coffee shop?