Go ahead and have that extra cup of coffee — it could make you live longer.

That’s according to a recently published study in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology that associated drinking two to three cups of java a day to a longer lifespan and reduced risk of arrhythmias and cardiovascular disease.

The study, published Sept. 27, compared drinkers and non-drinkers of decaffeinated, ground and instant coffee. Study author Peter Kistler said those who downed two to three cups per day were associated “with equivalent reductions in the incidence of cardiovascular disease and death from cardiovascular disease or any cause. The results suggest that mild to moderate intake of ground, instant, and decaffeinated coffee should be considered part of a healthy lifestyle.”

The news comes just in time for National Coffee Day, which is Thursday. As such, there a number deals — free and discounted — that you can take advantage of.

Kistler is a cardiac arrhythmia researcher from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia.

The study involved 449,563 participants between 40 and 69 years old, each of whom began the research free of arrhythmias or other cardiovascular diseases. The median age was 58 and 55.3% were female. Participants completed a questionnaire asking them how many cups of coffee they drink in a day and which kind (instant, ground, decaf) they consume.

They were then divided into six groups — none, less than one, one, two to three, four to five and more than five cups per day.

The majority of the participants reported they drank instant coffee (44.1%), with 18.4% drinking ground coffee and 15.2% drinking decaf. The non-coffee drinkers (22.4%) made up the rest.

Participants were followed for about 12½ years. About 6.2% of the participants died over the course of the study. Researchers found that all types of coffee were associated with a reduction in death from any cause. However, the biggest health benefits were noted in the group that drank two to three cups per day. Compared with those who did not drink coffee, there was a 27% less likelihood of death for ground coffee drinkers. The results were a 14% and 11% reduction for those drinking decaffeinated and instant, respectively.

The study indicated that those who drink two to three cups a day benefit most when it comes to cardiovascular disease and those who down four to five cups a day benefit most in regard to arrhythmia.

“Caffeine is the most well-known constituent in coffee, but the beverage contains more than 100 biologically active components,” Kistler said. “It is likely that the non-caffeinated compounds were responsible for the positive relationships observed between coffee drinking, cardiovascular disease and survival.

“Our findings indicate that drinking modest amounts of coffee of all types should not be discouraged but can be enjoyed as a heart healthy behavior.”

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