Alcohol and coffee make you live longer, finds almost-too-good-to-be-true study

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Because tipplers and java fiends need good news, too, a new study from the University of California, Irvine, has found that drinking alcohol and coffee increases your chance of living past 90 by a statistically significant amount. The university's 90+ Study has followed about 1,700 nonagenarians since 2003, and those "who drank moderate amounts of alcohol or coffee lived longer than those who abstained." "Moderate" means two glasses of beer or wine and two cups of coffee, which decrease your chances of premature death by 18 percent (alcohol) and 10 percent (coffee).

"I have no explanation for it, but I do firmly believe that modest drinking improves longevity," study lead researcher Dr. Claudia Kawas said at an American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Austin last weekend. But there's good news for more than just beverage aficionados in the study. "People who were overweight in their 70s lived longer than normal or underweight people did," the study found, even if the difference was just 3 percent. People with a hobby were 21 percent less likely to die early, and — sorry — exercising 15-45 minutes a day also reduced premature death chances by 11 percent.

So, pick your poison — in this case, a moderate amount may extend your life.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.