Drinking 2 to 3 cups of coffee a day reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease

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Good news for coffee lovers’ hearts: Consuming two to three cups of coffee a day – whether decaffeinated, ground or instant – has been associated with a reduction in cardiovascular disease diagnoses and mortality, when compared to non-drinkers. coffee. The ingestion of powdered or instant coffee was also associated with a lower risk of cardiac arrhythmia (in this case, the same benefit was not seen in the consumption of the decaffeinated beverage). The results were published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

For many years, health professionals recommended avoiding coffee consumption to protect the heart, but recent studies have confirmed the safety and beneficial effects of the drink when consumed in moderate amounts. This happens because although caffeine is the main substance in coffee, it is composed of more than 100 different biological agents, which can act in a protective way.

The aim of this current study was to evaluate the impact of different subtypes of coffee preparation (decaffeinated, ground or instant) on cardiovascular outcomes. And the results confirm that moderate coffee consumption is safe and beneficial, which is consistent with previous evidence.

“Coffee is a very popular drink and Brazil is the second largest consumer in the world. This question of the benefits or not of coffee was one of the great controversies in research, which is still a little conflicting. But, in fact, before the consumption of coffee was practically forbidden for people with heart disease and today we know that it is not the villain, quite the contrary, it can have beneficial effects”, says cardiologist Humberto Graner, coordinator of the Emergency Room at Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in Goiânia.

To arrive at the results, the researchers used data from the UK Biobank and followed almost 450,000 people who did not have arrhythmias or other cardiovascular diseases at the beginning of the study over 12.5 years. Participants were 58 years old on average, answered questionnaires about the level of daily coffee consumption and the preferred type.

The researchers found that drinking one to five cups a day of powdered or instant coffee (but not decaffeinated) was associated with a significant reduction in arrhythmias – that means drinking 4 to 5 cups of powdered coffee or 2 to 3 soluble instant type cups. Daily consumption of 2 to 3 cups a day has also been associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (including heart failure and ischemic stroke) when compared with non-consumers.

What are the protective mechanisms?

According to Graner, the fear of coffee consumption by heart patients has always been associated with caffeine. “Caffeine in moderate doses binds to the adenosine receptor and has a stimulating and exciting effect. When consumed in high doses, it can induce anxiety, hyperstimulation of the nervous system, insomnia, increase blood pressure, cause tachycardia and irritation”, he explained. .

The cardiologist adds, however, that coffee has other biologically active compounds that may explain the beneficial effects. “These are substances that have an anti-inflammatory effect, reduce oxidative stress, improve the intestinal microbiota and even help to modulate the effects of glucose and fat metabolism. These substances are polyphenols, magnesium, vitamin B3, among others.”

“In addition, we know that caffeine improves and increases energy expenditure and, in the long term, some research shows a reduction in type 2 diabetes precisely by increasing the burning of glucose in the blood”, said the doctor.

According to Graner, these results are in addition to other very recent studies that show these benefits of coffee, when consumed in moderation. “This study is important because it brings this balance point of the amount of coffee that is safe. It’s like beverage advertisements say: drink in moderation. We don’t recommend that patients drink coffee, but if he is a consumer, these results help us to guide you to find that middle ground”, he concluded.

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