Drinking 2 to 3 cups a day could bring you the greatest health benefits.
The information available is rife with conflict. Too much coffee is bad for you, a bit is good, too little could harm your future, and six cups a day will definitely lead you to an early grave. It’s hard to know what to think about your coveted cup of morning brew. (The truth is, what’s good for you could likely waver from person to person).
If you have been concerned that coffee may be harming your heart, however, read on.
A study led by Dr. Peter M. Kistler, MD, head of arrhythmia research at the Alfred Hospital and Baker Heart Institute in Melbourne, Australia, found some good news. It was discovered that coffee does no harm and could actually benefit your heart health.
Using data from the UK BioBank, researchers looked at how varying levels of coffee consumption affected people’s heart. The study included an equal number of men and women and the average age of participants was 57 years old. (The UK BioBank is a large-scale database that houses health information on over 500,000 people gathered over the span of about ten years).
Scientists looked at various levels of coffee consumption. Some people drank just one cup a day, and others more than six cups. Researchers were interested in learning about coffee and its relation to heart arrhythmias, or irregular beating of the heart. They were also looking at connections between the drink and certain health variables. These included cardiovascular disease, heart failure, stroke, and heart-related deaths.
The biggest benefits
The first study involved people who had no known risk of heart disease. It found that people who drank two to three cups of coffee per day had a 10% to 15% lower risk of suffering from heart failure, heart disease, and an irregular heart beat. Great news!
The risk of having a stroke or dying from a heart-related death was lowest for people who drank one cup of coffee daily.
The second study looked at over 34,000 people who did have some type of cardiovascular disease already. Again, through this work it was discovered that people who drank two to three cups of coffee had a lower risk of dying compared with those who drank no coffee.
Related: How coffee affects your mind
And there’s more. Although some people feel coffee accelerates their heart rate and contributes to irregular rhythms, the research didn’t discover this link. Consuming coffee was not found to be associated with an elevated risk of atrial fibrillation (AFib) or atrial flutter. In fact, data pointed in the other direction. Of people who had AFib, those who drank one cup of coffee daily were actually 20% less likely to die compared with those who had the condition and didn’t consume coffee.
“Clinicians generally have some apprehension about people with known cardiovascular disease or arrhythmias continuing to drink coffee, so they often err on the side of caution and advise them to stop drinking it altogether due to fears that it may trigger dangerous heart rhythms,” Kistler said.
“But our study shows that regular coffee intake is safe and could be part of a healthy diet for people with heart disease.”
Other reasons to drink coffee
Aside from caffeine, coffee also contains other beneficial components. With over 100 biologically active compounds, it can reduce your inflammation and target oxidative stress in your cells. Research has shown coffee can also improve your insulin sensitivity and boost your metabolism.
While caffeinated coffee was found to produce the greatest health benefits in the studies above, whether your beans are ground or made into instant coffee doesn’t seem to matter. Health benefits were noticed across all types of coffee consumption. Time to drink up!
