After numerous warnings over the years, you thought coffee probably had a negative effect on your health. Perhaps the drink is not so bad after all. The new study, conducted by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), has been published and suggests that coffee does not have a harmful effect on your health. Researchers suggest, based on data examined, older adults who drink a lot of coffee, have a lower risk of death when compared to their non-drinking coffee peers. The team of researchers conducting the study analyzed data on 400,000 U. S. men and women,aged 50 to 71 years; the individuals had participated in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. This study started in 1995-1996 and was tracked until the day a participant passed away, or Dec. 31, 2008. According to a press release on the report, researchers shared that coffee drinkers are "less likely to die from heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, injuries and accidents, diabetes, and infections, although the relationship was not seen for cancer." Results indicated participants that drank three or more cups of coffee a day reduced their risk of death by 10 percent. Based on the findings that both caffeinated and non-caffeinated coffee found similar results, researchers are thinking caffeine is not the protective ingredient , although which ingredient in coffee might be, they are not sure. Researchers indicate that despite these observational findings, they caution  it is not clear whether or not drinking coffee actually extends life expectancy. "Coffee is one of the most widely drunk drinks in America, but the relationship between coffee consumption and risk of death has been unclear. We found coffee consumption to be associated with lower risk of death overall, and of death from a number of different causes," said Neal Freedman, Ph. D., Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NCI. "Although we cannot infer a relationship between coffee drinking and lower risk of death, we believe these results do provide some comfort that coffee drinking does not adversely  affect health," Freedman said. Dr. Cheryl Williams, a registered dietician, told ABC News, "Overall, more research needs to be done to truly understand the ingredients in coffee and their biological activity and effect on health," said Williams. After reading the text, coffee drinkers could be less  _  .
worried excited disappointed embarrassed