Loads of optimism when picturing the world from an economic growth prism partly lies in having massive capable hands enter the workforce with their vast skills in developing newer technologies, and Africa appears to have much to give in this area more than most.

In the next three decades, an extra commitment to pitch-black coffee drinking would probably be what separates the continent’s youthful demographics and its Nigerian variant from the dwindling rates in Europe or East Asia. That’s likely going to be the result should the people with the advantage decide to take to heart this culinary research about slowing down their ageing by almost two years.

It won’t be the first time the question is being raised; that is, what exactly helps to maintain a longer human shelf life, because everyone mostly wants to live longer. Time after time, scientists have tried to probe what a mug of coffee is truly worth.

Not too long ago, in January, it was the Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC) in southern Europe that was stirring things up by seeking to clarify if regular intake of the coffee brew might work wonders for one’s longevity.

Over at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, where the CNC is part of the research community, there were statements put forward by authors Cátia R. Lopes and Rodrigo A. Cunha tending to suggest that regular consumption offers benefits.

Coffee drinking, according to the researchers, seems associated with the preservation of muscular, cardiovascular, mental and immune system functions – all that makes human life worthwhile as it grows older.

As it stands, up to 70 percent of Nigeria’s 223 million people who are youths will, by the next three decades, be in this ageing bracket, but they will want to feel young after reaching this new stage.

When this inevitable milestone starts to manifest, those in the exclusive caucus may consider themselves briefed ahead of the signs even though the 1990-founded Portuguese nonprofit research institute CNC offered a viewpoint admitting that studies into the distinctive benefits of taking coffee are limited and vary, depending on the type of product consumed and for how long.

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One coffee drinker might be accustomed to a latte, a cup of cappuccino, an Americano or the highly concentrated espresso. All provide various experiences that prevent a more definitive standpoint.

To come up with the research positions, the authors observed research participants in mainly Europe, Asia and the Americas. With African demographics excluded from the investigation, it leaves what could be the potential advantages to Nigerians to something of the imagination and the blind trust given to credible research works.

A failure to capture most time the sub-Saharan African segment of the world when science tries to pose a general question about humans has mostly been the problem limiting a full grasp of how this former group would react to clinical trials.

Even though the authors focused on carrying out only 50 studies to make their case, the young Nigerian in their 30s, for now, may want to hold on to a statement measuring just how much coffee intake impacts longevity: Although it is always risky to consider any particular nutrient isolated from a food matrix, there is accumulating evidence linking the intake of coffee with increased lifespan and healthspan on ageing.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.