Coffee good for your heart?

Posted on Sun, 10 Nov 13

Many people still think of coffee as a guilty pleasure but according to a recent state of the science review there may be important benefits for cardiovascular health.

Coffee is a complex mixture of over 1000 different naturally occurring compounds and collectively these may have important health effects for regular coffee drinkers.

A review in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology set out to examine the possible effects of coffee on heart disease, metabolic health, and overall risk of mortality. The reviewers found that “the currently available evidence on cardiovascular effects related to habitual coffee consumption is largely reassuring.”

“From a cardiovascular (CV) standpoint, coffee consumption may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension, as well as other conditions associated with CV risk such as obesity and depression.” And "…a growing body of data suggests that habitual coffee consumption is neutral to beneficial regarding the risks of a variety of adverse CV outcomes including coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, arrhythmias, and stroke. Moreover, large epidemiological studies suggest that regular coffee drinkers have reduced risks of mortality, both CV and all-cause mortality.”

These benefits however need to be tempered with the fact that regular coffee consumption is associated with mild physical dependence and cravings with abstinence. They also warn against excessive coffee consumption. “Moderation, tending toward 2 or 3 to as much as 4 cups a day if tolerated, seems a reasonable suggestion,” they advise.

Reference:

O'Keefe JH, Bhatti SK, Patil HR, DiNicolantonio JJ, Lucan SC, Lavie CJ. Effects of habitual coffee consumption on cardiometabolic disease, cardiovascular health, and all-cause mortality. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2013 Sep 17;62(12):1043-51.