Up to five cups of coffee a day may benefit heart health
Most adults can safely consume up to 400 mg of caffeine each day—the amount found in up to five eight-ounce cups of coffee—and doing so may have cardiovascular benefits, according to a July 20 American Heart Association (AHA) statement published in Circulation. Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health’s Frank Hu was vice chair and a co-author of the statement, which outlined the current body of knowledge on caffeine and heart health and where more research is needed.
Moderate caffeine consumption appears to be linked in some individuals to a lower risk of several cardiovascular conditions, including heart failure, heart disease, and stroke, according to the authors. However, they found that regularly consuming higher amounts of caffeine, such as the doses found in energy drinks, may increase the risk of high blood pressure and irregular heart rhythm.
The authors noted that coffee is the most-studied source of caffeine, and the observed cardiovascular benefits may be due to other compounds in coffee.
The healthiest way to drink coffee, according to the statement, is to brew it with paper filters or use instant—drinking unfiltered filtered coffee such as espresso is associated with higher levels of “bad” cholesterol—and avoid adding creamers, sugar, or flavored syrups.
“We have made tremendous progress in understanding the health effects of caffeine, but there is still a lot to learn,” Hu, Fredrick J. Stare Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology and chair of the Department of Nutrition, said in an AHA video. He called for new study designs that can help answer questions such as why people respond differently to caffeine, and the health effects of different sources of caffeine.
Read AHA statement and press release and coverage in USA Today and ABC News
Watch AHA video: Caffeine and Cardiovascular Disease
