National Geographic fellow and author Dan Buettner has shared the drink that could add four 'extra healthy' years to our lives and how often we need to consume it to see the effects.

The explorer and educator, 63, recently took to Instagram to share that drinking as little as three cups of Green tea a day could make a difference to our healthy life expectancy

Buettner has become well known for his research into five "blue" zones across the world where inhabitants regularly live well into their old age.

One of these regions - the Nicoya Peninsula - has the lowest rate of middle-age mortality in the world", according to the New York Times bestselling author.

How many cups of Green tea should you have a day?

Speaking on Jay Shetty's Podcast ON Purpose, Buettner said: "Seven is ideal but as little as three cups of Green tea a day is associated with four extra years of healthy life expectancy".

The expert admitted that we currently don't know why this is but he suggested it could be due to the antioxidants.

The author elaborated: "There's probably 1500 in Green tea, we don't know for sure.

"Green tea has been around for a long time and it is consumed daily in volume by at least two of these blue zones.

"It's one of these things of rather than turn to the superfood or the super beverage - why not drink from what we have learned from our ancestors who've achieved the outcomes we want which is a long and healthy life?"

Previously, Dan Buettner shared his advice on the three foods you should incorporate into your diet to help you live a longer life.

He called on people to take note of the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica and three foods that form a prominent part of this region's diet.

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Nicoyans are likely to live well past middle age which Buettner largely attributes to "the best diet human beings have ever invented."

"Their diet is composed of three foods that I would argue are the best diet human beings have ever invented," Buettner commented.

The explorer continued: "Because of these foods, the people living on the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica are two and half times more likely to reach the age of 92 than people living in the United States or Europe."