In a study from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Research Institute, scientists found drinking two to three cups of coffee a day is linked to lower risks of heart disease and death.
Coffee gets its kick from caffeine, a natural stimulant that makes you feel more energetic. But the caffeine in coffee doesn’t just wake you up.
It acts on the brain to improve memory, mood, reaction times, and mental function.
Caffeine can even improve endurance and performance during exercise.
Previous studies reported the beneficial effects of coffee drinking on heart rhythm disease, cardiovascular disease, and death.
But how different coffee preparations affect heart health and death risk is largely unknown.
In the current study, researchers aimed to examine associations between different types of coffee and heart disease and death risks.
Coffee subtypes were defined as decaffeinated, ground, and instant, then divided into 0, <1, 1, 2–3, 4–5, and >5 cups/day, and compared with non-drinkers.
A heart arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat. Heart rhythm problems (heart arrhythmias) occur when the electrical signals that coordinate the heart’s beats don’t work properly.
The faulty signaling causes the heart to beat too fast (tachycardia), too slow (bradycardia) or irregularly.
Cardiovascular disease includes coronary heart disease, cardiac failure, and stroke.
The team used data from almost 450,000 people, who were followed over 12 years.
They found ground and instant coffee intake was linked to a strong reduction in heart rhythm disorders at 1–5 cups/day but not for decaffeinated coffee.
The lowest risk was 4–5 cups/day for ground coffee and 2–3 cups/day for instant coffee.
The team also found all coffee types were linked to a reduction in heart disease. All-cause death risk was much lower for all coffee subtypes, with the greatest risk reduction seen with 2–3 cups/day for decaffeinated, ground, and instant coffee.
Based on the findings, the team suggests that decaffeinated, ground, and instant coffee, particularly at 2–3 cups/day, are linked to big reductions in risks of heart disease and death. Ground and instant but not decaffeinated coffee is linked to reduced heart rhythm disorders.
The study was conducted by Peter Kistler et al and published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
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