Benefits Of Coffee To Heart Health

Although the Korean study looks very convincing, particularly taking into account a large number of participants, its limitations should be noted. First, it is not obvious that the data obtained for the Korean population will equally apply to everyone else. 

A genetic predisposition to different diseases varies from one nation to another quite significantly, after all. Second, it is not clear how coffee would affect the health of people with other existing medical conditions.

Nonetheless, several research findings listed below clearly point to the significant benefits of the coffee consumption:

• Coffee contains more than 1000 different compounds which help in reducing harmful inflammation and opening the blood vessels.
• It is a source of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory molecules.
• Coffee contains a compound known as chlorogenic acid, which is capable of improving heart muscle cell health, thus reducing the risks of heart failure after a heart attack. It also inhibits the clumping of platelets that contribute to blockage of blood vessels to initiate heart attacks and strokes.

How Much Coffee Is Actually Too Much?

In the US, experts say up to 400 mg to 500 mg of caffeine a day appears to be safe for most healthy adults. One mug of instant coffee contains 100 mg and one mug of filter coffee has 140 mg of caffeine.

Research on the effect of coffee in the senior population was conducted on 700 elderly residents, out of which 485 had high blood pressure. Their blood vessels were tested using a heart scan (rigid blood vessels are a warning sign to heart problem). The results suggested that participants who drank one to two cups of strong Greek coffee (boiled coffee which is not filtered, thus is high in compounds and nutrients like flavonoids, magnesium, niacin, potassium etc) had more elasticity in their major blood vessels than those who didn’t drink coffee at all.

The Other Side

Although coffee may have fewer risks compared to its benefits, other beverages like milk, fruit juices contain some essential nutrients which coffee does not. Also, if cream or sugar is added to coffee, it adds more calories and thus, eventually, more fat to your cup. High consumption of such coffee may elevate your cholesterol levels.

For a percentage of people with a specific genetic mutation, coffee may increase the risk of the heart disease as such type of genetic mutation slows down the breakdown of caffeine in the body. So, your metabolic rate is another factor that may affect your heart health.

Also, pregnant women should limit their coffee consumption to 140-200 milligrams of caffeine per day, as a precaution, as it is said to be linked to premature birth.

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Coffee is one of the most heavily researched products of the world. Recent studies and research clearly show that moderate coffee consumption can actually reduce the risk of developing future cardiovascular problems by improving the overall health of blood vessels.