Two Cups of Coffee Support a Healthy Heart

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While many of us need a cup of coffee first thing in the morning just to function, your daily coffee routine may be helping protect your heart as well. A new study of five trials that looked at over 140,000 patients has found that consuming two cups of coffee each day lowers your risk of heart failure by 11% compared with someone who doesn’t drink any coffee. Slow down though, more than four cups a day can have the opposite effect and damage your heart.

According to researchers though, coffee may not be directly helping your heart but actually lowering the risk of diabetes which in turn lowers your risk of heart failure. Two cups of coffee a day decreased that chance by more than 10% though researchers are quick to point out that overconsuming coffee wears away that protection and can lead to problems of its own.

A similar study released by the New England Journal of Medicine found that coffee drinkers are less likely to die from certain problems than non-coffee drinkers after tracking 400,000 people over the age of 50. In fact, coffee drinkers have a 10-16% lower risk of death.

Though researchers are still looking at the direct benefits of coffee, the antioxidants and compounds showed a link between coffee intake and lower risk of respiratory problems, diabetes, stroke, and infection. Unlike the American Heart Association, researchers behind this study don’t stick to just two cups, their findings showed that every cup of coffee contributed to lower risk of death up to six cups per day. Though overconsumption of coffee and sugar can lead to high blood pressure and other problems, researchers at the National Institutes of Health believe that regular coffee consumption is one of the best and easiest ways to prolong your life.

6 comments

  1. marty1234 says:

    How about adding coffee beans to my morning smoothy, I already pulverize flax seeds and add my vitamins into the blender “vitamix” as well.

    • Geek10 says:

      Hi Marty. While I’m sure doing it that way might confer some of the benefits, coffee is one of those ingredients whose properties change depending upon how they are processed and consumed. I’d recommend consulting a dietitian.

  2. rdowens says:

    This is great news for me. I like about 3 cups in the morning and I don’t drink soda or any other products containing caffeine. There’s nothing like first cup of freah ground and brewed coffee.

  3. KoolPittsy says:

    Very Interesting but kind of wishy washy in terms of how much is good & how much is bad? Maybe good if use sweetner instead of sugar, I don’t know just trying to help clarify.

    • Geek5 says:

      Hey KoolPittsy. Totally get where you’re coming from. It does mention one to six cups a day but I think different things come into play that make it different for every individual. For instance, I get jittery with too much caffeine. A lot of people are sensitive to caffeine. If I drink more than three cups of coffee in the morning, that could be panic attack inducing for me. Cup sizes come into play, too. And some people think a cup of coffee is the huge milkshake-like 1,000 calorie concoction that they get from Starbucks in the morning. That’s obviously not what they’re talking about here, folks. And, with that in mind, yes, it’s probably important to not overload your coffee with sugar to sweeten it or fattening dairy creamer.

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