Addicted to coffee? Science says the future you will be THANKFUL for it

If you – like us –  find yourself lying about the number of coffees you get through in a day, the good folk from the world of science are here to tell us that we no longer have to live a lie.

While your friends and co-workers reach for their second litre of water and you guzzle down your fourth flat white, experts in the field suggest you stop hiding you habit and start boasting about the benefits.

According to a recent study, your coffee habit will stand to you in the future, with findings suggesting that women over 65 who drink two or three cups of coffee per day reduce the risk of dementia by a third.

With the help of almost 6,500 women, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee established that caffeine consumption of more than 261 mg per day was associated with a staggering 36 per cent reduction in the risk of dementia.

"The mounting evidence of caffeine consumption as a potentially protective factor against cognitive impairment is exciting given that caffeine is also an easily modifiable dietary factor with very few contraindications," lead author Professor Ira Driscoll explained.

"What is unique about this study is that we had an unprecedented opportunity to examine the relationships between caffeine intake and dementia incidence in a large and well-defined, prospectively-studied cohort of women."

The study's authors explain that the level of caffeine recorded in the study equate with two to three 8-oz cups of coffee per day, five to six 8-oz cups of black tea, or seven to eight 12-ounce cans of cola.

Get thee to the local cafe, ladies!