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3 Ways Coffee Improves Heart Health

3 Ways Coffee Improves Heart Health

Did you know coffee can be a key player in keeping your heart healthy? Yes, really! Coffee Improves Heart Health. Check it out below.

1. Coffee Improves Heart Health By Lowering Calcium Deposits In Arteries

The same old story you hear about heart health usually is something like this: if you have calcium in your coronary arteries, you may be at risk for coronary artery disease(CAD). The reason this is a problem is it can lead to reduced blood flow or cause clots, which then leads to heart attacks.

This is all pretty scary stuff. Doctors recommend different diets, prescriptions, and exercises to prevent CAD. But did you know that drinking coffee is another step you can take to lower your risk?

Seriously, listen to this:

“‘Those who drank 3-5 cups a day had 40% less calcium in their arteries than non-coffee drinkers. This was reduced to 35% for those who drank 1-3, and 23% for those who drank just one. Coffee consumption and coronary artery calcium in young and middle-aged asymptomatic adults…1

Those are some pretty impressive numbers. While there are many ways to keep your calcium levels low, coffee is an easy and tasty way to work on it.

2. Coffee Improves Heart Health By Reducing Your Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Lots of studies and statistics show that Type 2 Diabetes is on the rise. Unfortunately this can lead to two to four times the risk to develop cardiovascular disease.2 Diet and exercise are an important part of lowering your risk, but drinking coffee can also be a big prevention tool, too.

A study published in Archives of Internal Medicine found, ‘Drinking 3-4 cups of coffee per day was associated with an approximate 25% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to consuming none or less than 2 cups per day.’3

What is it about coffee that reduces your risk for diabetes? What you might not know is coffee is actually a great source of antioxidants — chlorogenic acid, and trigonelline to name a couple. These antioxidants work together to regulate your glucose and insulin levels which in turn helps to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Another study from 2002 found that coffee drinkers consuming at least 7 cups of coffee per day were half as likely to develop type 2 diabetes.4 The interesting thing about this study is when you compare it against recommended levels of caffeine consumption this is far higher than what is recommended to prevent overcaffeination. One way to have your coffee and drink it too so to speak is to only drink Arabica, shade-grown coffee. Arabica beans contain about half of the caffeine of other beans enabling you to drink more of it without getting the jitters of overcaffeination. And, because shade-grown coffee grows slower, it develops a smooth flavor with no bitterness. So enjoy a delicious cup of joe and let your coffee improve heart health.

3. Coffee Improves Heart Health By Reducing Your Risk of Stroke

Like the other ailments listed above, stroke could also be prevented by coffee. Did you know that by drinking at least one cup a day, you can reduce your risk of stroke by 20%?5 That’s a pretty great start, if you ask me.

The science behind it is relatively simple, too:

Dr Yoshihiro Kokubo, lead author of a study published in the journal Stroke, said: The regular action of drinking tea, coffee, largely benefits cardiovascular health because it partly keeps blood clots from forming.”6

Simple, straightforward, and easy. Drinking coffee is good for keeping your blood flow smooth and your heart happy.

Whether you only have one cup in the morning, or you drink a steady 4-5 cups a day, you’re keeping your heart in good shape. We may not be doctors, but the research available sure speaks for itself. Good coffee improves heart health.

1. Yuni Choi1, Yoosoo Chang Seungho Ryu Juhee Cho Sanjay Rampal Yiyi Zhang Jiin Ahn Joao A C Lima Hocheol Shin Eliseo Guallar. “Coffee consumption and coronary artery calcium in young and middle-aged asymptomatic adults.” Heart.

2. Kannel WB, McGee DL. Diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The Framingham study. JAMA.1979;241:2035–2038.

3. Huxley R. et al. (2009) Coffee, Decaffeinated Coffee, and Tea Consumption in Relation to Incident Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Archives of Internal Medicine, 169:2053-2063.

4. Van Dam R.M. et al. (2002) Coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Lancet, 360:1477-1478.

5. Yoshihiro Kokubo, M.D., Ph.D., chief doctor, department of preventive cardiology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan; Ralph Sacco, M.D., past president, American Heart Association, and chairman, neurology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; March 14, 2013, Stroke, online

6. IBID.