Even squirrels have gotten the message: coffee will extend your life span. At least if you're a woman. 

A study out this week says that regular coffee drinking can have a protective effect. It  defines regular drinking as up to 6 cups a day.

The findings are based on surveys taken by thousand of men and women, who answered questions about their health, diet and lifestyle every few years. The researchers analyzed answers given by 84,214 women in the Nurses' Health Study and 41,736 men participating in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Participants completed questionnaires every two to four years.

The results, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, show women consuming two to three cups of caffeinated coffee per day had a 25 percent lower risk of death from heart disease between 1980 and 2004, and an 18 percent lower risk of death caused by something other than cancer or heart disease. There were no differences detected among the men, who were tracked from 1986 to 2004.

The researchers accounted for other risk factors, such as body size, smoking, diet, and specific diseases, in their results.

So what's with the squirrel? The  photo came to us courtesy of the Associated Press and was taken in 2004 in Saginaw, Mich. by David A. Sommers of The Saginaw News. I just think it's funny.

There's more on the study here.