Regular coffee consumption clears arteries and lowers cardiovascular risk
May 20th, 2015
Good news! Regular consumption of coffee can prevent the body’s arteries from clogging and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke, a new study has found.
An international team of researchers monitored the effect of varying levels of coffee consumption on more than 25,000 Korean adults. They found that deposits of coronary artery calcium (CAC) – used to measure the onset of coronary atherosclerosis, which leads to a narrowing and hardening of the arteries and increased risk of blood clots – was significantly lower among regular coffee drinkers.
The biggest difference was among those that consumed three or four cups per day, where the prevalence of CAC was more than 40% lower than with non-coffee drinkers. The data suggests that consumption of between two and four cups of coffee each day has the most positive effects on cardiovascular health.
The findings were also consistent regardless of “age, sex, smoking status, alcohol consumption, status of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia,” the research added. Its conclusions were published in the online journal Heart.
“Our study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that coffee consumption might be inversely associated with [cardiovascular disease] risk,” the report’s authors claimed.
“Further research is warranted to confirm our findings and establish the biological basis of coffee’s potential preventive effects on coronary artery disease.”
Victoria Taylor, a senior dietitian for the British Heart Foundation, added: “While this study does highlight a potential link between coffee consumption and lower risk of developing clogged arteries, more research is needed to confirm these findings and understand what the reason is for the association.
“We need to take care when generalising these results because it is based on the South Korean population, who have a different diet and lifestyle.”
