Researchers have found that coffee drinkers tend to have lower blood pressure and a healthier heart.
They claimed that the benefits can be achieved by drinking just one cup every morning. Italian experts described the positive effects of coffee as “very obvious”.
The results of the study, which included more than 1,500 people, add to the growing body of evidence supporting the health benefits of the drink. Some studies link it to a reduced risk of heart disease, heart failure, and stroke, while other studies report that it prolongs life.
But some doctors are divided, warning that drinking large amounts of caffeine-rich coffee can damage the heart.
And the British NHS claims that drinking more than four cups a day can raise blood pressure.
However, a new study published in the journal Nutrients found that people who consume this amount have lower blood pressure than those who don’t drink.
The study by the University of Bologna and the University Hospital of Bologna involved 720 men and 783 women.
Experts compared the level of blood pressure with the habits of volunteers to drink coffee. Of the participants, 220 (14.6%) did not drink coffee, 406 (27%) drank one cup per day, and 726 drank two cups of coffee per day.
About 99 volunteers drank three cups, and 52 volunteers drank more per day.
Active smokers were evenly distributed among the subgroups, which allowed the experts to exclude such a possible explanation.
The researchers found that systolic blood pressure (SBP), the peak value, “tends to decrease” as the number of cups consumed increases.
Those who drank one cup a day had a pressure ratio of 1 mmHg on average. Art. lower than those who did not drink coffee, and those who drank two cups had a pressure lower by 5.2 mm Hg.
The scientists also reported that in people who drank three cups, the average decrease in SBP was 5 mm Hg.
Overall, those who drank more than three cups had a mean SBP of 9.7 mmHg. Art. lower than those who do not drink coffee.
According to the NHS, ideal systolic blood pressure, which indicates the amount of pressure your blood exerts on the walls of your arteries when your heart beats, is between 90 and 120 mmHg.
A similar decrease was observed in the other three types of blood pressure studied.
In people who drank more than three cups a day, their pulse pressure dropped by 6.9 mmHg. Art., arterial pressure in the aorta – by 9.5 mm and pulse pressure in the aorta – by 6.9 mm Hg.
Lowering blood pressure can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, including strokes and heart attacks, and help keep the heart and blood vessels in good shape.
“The results are very clear,” said Arrigo Cicero, one of the researchers. “Peripheral blood pressure was significantly lower in people who drank two to three cups of coffee a day compared to those who didn’t drink coffee. We know that caffeine can increase blood pressure.” blood pressure, but it appears that the active ingredients in other biologics in coffee counterbalance this effect with a positive effect on blood pressure levels.”
The researchers acknowledged that the volunteers self-reported coffee consumption, so it may have been underreported, limiting the results.
It was also evaluated without detailing the roasting method used, preparation methods, or whether it was eaten as is, with milk or cream.
The researchers also noted that those who drank more than three cups a day were grouped together to “compare more balanced groups of people” because it was a relatively smaller group.
High blood pressure rarely has any symptoms – hence the nickname “silent killer”. The only way to make a diagnosis is to measure blood pressure.
The European Food Safety Authority states that 400 mg of caffeine per day – the equivalent of four cups of coffee – is sufficient for most adults.
But individual sensitivity to caffeine varies. Some people can tolerate six or more cups a day very well, while others feel jittery after a cup or two.
Source: Daily Mail
