Drinking Coffee Is Beneficial, But Don't Exceed 3 Cups a Day

Fragrant coffee is a favorite for many people, but how many cups are best to drink each day? A study presented at the 2021 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Annual Meeting suggests that drinking up to 3 cups a day can help reduce the risk of stroke and fatal heart disease.

Researchers introduced that this study indicates that long-term, regular coffee consumption is safe. Even with a follow-up of 10 to 15 years, drinking a lot of coffee daily was not associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes or all-cause mortality.

Drinking 0.5 to 3 cups daily was independently associated with reduced risks of stroke, cardiovascular disease mortality, and all-cause mortality.

The study analyzed data from 469,000 people in the UK Biobank. The average age was 56.2 years, and 55.8% were women.

Researchers divided participants into three groups based on their usual coffee intake: non-drinkers (not frequent coffee drinkers, 22.1%), light to moderate drinkers (0.5 to 3 cups daily, 58.4%), and heavy drinkers (more than 3 cups daily, 19.5%).

During a median follow-up period of 11 years, and after considering factors such as age, gender, weight, height, smoking status, physical activity, hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol levels, socioeconomic status, and usual intake of alcohol, meat, tea, fruits, and vegetables, the study found that:

Compared to non-coffee drinkers, drinking 0.5 to 3 cups daily can reduce the risk of all-cause mortality by 12%, cardiovascular disease mortality by 17%, and stroke risk by 21%.

Additionally, the researchers performed cardiac MRI scans on 30,650 participants. The results showed that compared to non-coffee drinkers, those who drank coffee daily had healthier heart structures and functions, consistent with the effects of reversing aging on the heart.

Source: ESC2021