I love it when I come across one of these "tid bits" of controversial information that suggest that doing something we love may actually prolong our lives.

That's the latest conclusion on drinking a lot of coffee.

I love coffee, especially in the morning. In the past I tried to limit my consumption to only two cups (well, large coffee mugs actually).

I made the sacrifice of limiting my coffee consumption because of the mistaken notion that "it wasn't good for me." Scientists have revealed the truth. Drinking coffee not only is not harmful to you, but it actually adds years to your life.

When I read this I headed straight to the kitchen and brewed myself an absurd amount of coffee. I wasn't able to drink it all, but the very fact that I could drink as much coffee as I wanted was practically intoxicating.

In case you might think that "I lost it," there was a study conducted over a period of some 13 years, involving some 400,000 men and women between the ages of 50 and 71.

You would think that this age group might be more susceptible to damaging effects of coffee drinking on several areas, like blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, infections and what not. But in fact it was the opposite.

The people who drank the most coffee, we're talking about six plus cups of coffee per day, actually had a 5% lower mortality rate during the 13 years that study was conducted.

Five percent may not seem like such a big deal, but when you consider the size of the senior population, 5% of them equates to many hundreds of thousands of folks who are still alive and in the midst of their loved ones because they drink a lot of coffee!

Listen to this, "coffee contains some 1,000 compounds, many of which are health-promoting antioxidants," according to a scientist from the University of Rochester medical school.

I am so excited by this information that I consider this to be some of the "greatest, nicest, most delicious" nutrition information I have discovered in years, because I love my coffee!

If you are not a coffee drinker, (and I personally know some good folks that don't like coffee...I don't understand them, but they are good people), as I was saying, if you are not a coffee drinker you have no idea how great this bit of "scientifically proven" information really is.

Unfortunately, excessive caffeine does keep me awake at night, so I will only be able to fully enjoy my new-found coffee facts during daylight hours. But may be I'll plan on a few sleepless nights once in a while so that I can drink more coffee and extend my life span. Plus, during a sleepless night I can get some more projects done.

The findings of this study are truly exciting. I not only do not have to worry about any possible unhealthy effects on my body, but I may actually be enjoying one of my favorite beverages and being good to my body at the same time.

Ain't science awesome?!