Coffee & Your Heart
The latest research showed that you don’t have to drink a lot of coffee to get its cardiac benefits – one or more cups per day may do the trick. Senior author David P. Kao, M.D., assistant professor of cardiology and medical director at the Colorado Center for Personalized Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and his colleagues, reached this conclusion after analyzing the results of the latest studies, which included at least 10 years of data from more than 21,000 U.S. adults. In all three studies, researchers found that individuals who reported drinking one or more cups of caffeinated coffee daily had an associated decreased risk of long-term heart failure. The researchers found no benefit in terms of heart failure risk associated with drinking decaffeinated coffee and an increase in risk in one of the studies. Bottom line, they reported that caffeine consumption from any source appeared to be associated with decreased heart failure risk and theorized that caffeine was likely to be at least part of the reason for the apparent benefit.
My take? Over the years, a number of studies have reported health benefits linked to regular coffee consumption. In 2015 Italian researchers reported that individuals between the ages of 65 and 84 who drank one to two cups of coffee daily have a lower incidence of mild cognitive impairment, which often precedes Alzheimer’s disease, compared to those who rarely or never drink coffee or drink less than one cup daily. Despite the latest good news about coffee, I wouldn’t advise you to start drinking it for the health benefits it may confer. Caffeine, especially in the form of coffee, can be addictive, and many people experience unpleasant physical and mental symptoms from it, including anxiety, insomnia, irregular heartbeat, stomach pain, and bladder irritation.
Source:
David P. Kao et al, “Association Between Coffee Intake and Incident Heart Failure Risk.” Circulation: Heart Failure, February 9 2021; doi: 10.1161/circheartfailure.119.006799
More from this week’s health bulletin:
- Dogs To Diagnose COVID-19
- What Happened To The Flu?
- This week’s recipe: Smoked Salmon With Caper Yogurt & Tomato Relish
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