Could something that you love actually turn out to be good for you? That never seems to happen! However, a recent study conducted by Chinese researchers appears to deliver good news.
The researchers have concluded that moderate coffee consumption is beneficial for your health.
How did the researchers reach this conclusion and what exactly is moderate coffee consumption?
Researching the UK Biobank
The UK Biobank is a database that was created by recruiting more than 500,000 people aged 37-73 years between 2006 and 2010. A wide array of data relating to lifestyles and health was collected including details of coffee and tea consumption.
Chinese scientists have now utilised this data to look at how coffee consumption impacts health. The resulting study was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Researchers excluded from their study any individuals for whom the details regarding tea and coffee drinking were ambiguous. It was also necessary to make adjustments to account for other factors that impact health such as alcohol intake, consumption of processed food, BMI, exercise and kidney function.
The participants' health outcomes were identified from self-reported medical conditions, primary care data, inpatient hospital data and death registry records.
How much coffee should you drink?
The study revealed that drinking three cups of coffee per day delivers the maximum health benefits. Those benefits are largely related to cardiac health.
Drinking three cups of coffee per day can significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. The risk of suffering a stroke is similarly reduced.
Indeed, those who consume 200 - 300mg of caffeine per day are 50% less likely to develop these conditions than those who consume 100mg per day.
Coffee typically contains around 100mg of caffeine per cup while tea features roughly 47mg of caffeine per cup.
The study found that everyone who drank caffeinated coffee regularly had a lower risk of developing new cardiometabolic diseases. But those that reported drinking around three cups a day had the lowest risk of all.
Why is caffeine consumption beneficial?
The researchers found that the health benefits provided by caffeine are related to metabolites. These are small molecules produced by the body when it breaks down food.
People who consume the ideal volume of coffee each day have different metabolites to those drink far less coffee. Many of the metabolites found in coffee drinkers are associated with better health. Caffeine intake impacts metabolites of very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), a bad form of cholesterol. Caffeine appears to lower this form of cholesterol, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease.
Who should avoid caffeinated drinks?
It would seem that coffee is a healthy choice. However, there are some people who shouldn’t consume caffeinated drinks and others that should restrict their caffeine consumption.
Caffeinated drinks are unsuitable for young children. Pregnant women should keep their caffeine consumption below 200mg per day. According to the NHS, higher amounts of caffeine increase the risk of miscarriage and low birth weight.
It is also important to remember that some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others and can experience palpitations. Anyone who finds that they suffer from palpitations after consuming caffeinated coffee should stop drinking it.
Studies have shown that intakes of caffeine that are in excess of 600mg per day may lead to insomnia, gastric issues and increased blood pressure. An international study that analysed data from nearly 27,000 participants found that drinking more than four cups of coffee each day raises the risk of stroke by 37%.
Conclusions
The study highlighted here was led by Chaofu Ke from the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health at Suzhou Medical College of Soochow University, in Suzhou, China.
He commented that, “the findings highlight that promoting moderate amounts of coffee or caffeine intake as a dietary habit to healthy people might have far-reaching benefits”.
Remember the saying “everything in moderation”? Well, when it comes to coffee drinking, that age-old advice is on the money.
Your favourite brew just might be a healthy option and that is very good news indeed. But if you drink too much coffee, it could do you more harm than good.