The debate about whether coffee is beneficial has been going on for years
The good news for coffee lovers is that a newly published study appears to add important information to the years of research supporting coffee’s benefits.
The study, which was published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, states that two to three cups of coffee a day can actually protect us from developing heart disease and even premature death.
“Decaffeinated, ground, and instant coffee were associated with significant reductions in incident CVD and mortality,” the researchers wrote. “Ground and instant but not decaffeinated coffee were associated with reduced arrhythmia.”
As a large percentage of doctors have long recommended that patients with cardiovascular disease avoid coffee, the researchers in the current study wanted to examine whether this recommendation is really justified.
What health risks are reduced by drinking coffee?
The observational study analyzed data from patients participating in the large-scale biomedical database and research resource of coffee drinking habits for nearly 450,000 adults, UK Biobank.
Participants included in the research effort did not have heart disease or arrhythmia at the start of the study and were divided into four groups: caffeinated ground coffee drinkers, decaffeinated coffee drinkers, caffeinated instant coffee drinkers, and non-drinkers no coffee at all.
The researchers analyzed medical and death records after an average of 12.5 years for topics such as arrhythmias, heart disease, strokes and deaths. The researchers accounted for factors such as age, diabetes, ethnicity, high blood pressure, obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, gender, smoking, and tea and alcohol consumption.
As a result of their review, the researchers found a variety of important benefits of drinking coffee, including significant reductions in the risk of coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, and stroke. Ground coffee and instant coffee have also been found to reduce the risks of an irregular heartbeat, also known as arrhythmia.
“Our findings further confirm the beneficial associations of habitual coffee intake as reported in recent population studies,” the researchers wrote.
Study co-author Peter Kistler, PhD, MBBS, head of electrophysiology clinical research at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute and head of electrophysiology at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, told Health that previous studies had linked coffee to a reduced risk of heart attacks, heart failure and arrhythmias, but said those efforts involved only a small number of participants and that the findings needed to be verified in a larger population, which they did.
“There is considerable public interest in the cardiovascular benefits of coffee,” Kistler said.
This is one of many studies published in recent years that support the benefits of moderate coffee consumption,” said Holly Andersen, a cardiologist and associate professor of clinical medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Weill.
This particular study, like many others in the past, presented its observations, and while it cannot pinpoint a specific cause for how coffee helps, additional controlled trials will be needed to understand the relationship between coffee and cardiovascular health.
However, there are some theories about what might be behind the connection.
“Coffee is a complex compound containing more than 100 biologically active compounds, of which caffeine is the most well-known,” Kistler said. “Caffeine is a known stimulant that increases alertness and concentration.”
Caffeine also contains compounds called polyphenols, which are known to be antioxidants, Kistler continued. “Polyphenols can also modify the body’s metabolism, such as increasing the body’s sensitivity to insulin and improving the gut microbiome,” he said. “All these effects are likely to explain the reductions in the risk of coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure and stroke.”
As for arrhythmia risk, Kistler noted that caffeine can block receptors on cells in the body that bind to adenosine, a molecule that can affect heart cells and increase the risk of arrhythmias. “By blocking these receptors that bind to adenosine, we think caffeinated coffee may protect against arrhythmias,” he said. “This may explain the different effects” of coffee versus decaffeinated coffee when it comes to irregular heartbeat, he said.
In terms of heart disease and stroke, the benefits among people who consumed three cups of coffee a day were as follows:
Ground coffee: 20% reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke
- Decaffeinated coffee: 6% reduced risk of heart disease and stroke
- Instant: 9% reduced risk of heart disease and stroke
And finally, for irregular heartbeat, the study showed:
- People who drink 4 to 5 cups of caffeinated ground coffee: 17% risk reduction
- Two to three cups of instant coffee a day: 12% risk reduction
“Mild to moderate coffee consumption should not be discouraged but rather considered part of a healthy lifestyle,” Kistler said.
The article is informative and in no way a substitute for specialized consulting services.
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