Whether it’s an espresso, cappuccino, latte, cortado, or a flat white; over the past 20 years the nation’s coffee order has become ever more complicated. Nevertheless, polls have increasingly shown coffee is now more popular than its leaf-based counterpart and English staple, tea. Just like tea, coffee has been found to have a number of health benefits. One of these health benefits affects the heart.
Researchers from the Baker Heart Institute in Melbourne, Australia, analysed data from the UK Biobank to look at the health impacts of coffee.
They discovered over 50s who consumed two or three cups of coffee a day reduced their risk of developing heart disease by 10 to 15 percent.
Benefits were seen regardless of whether the coffee in question was instant or ground.
Two to three cups of coffee a day was also observed to have a positive impact on those who already had a form of heart disease; consumption of coffee was associated with a reduced risk of dying early.
READ MORE: Ginger could ‘reduce risk of heart disease’
Speaking about the results, the Baker Heart Institutes’ Professor Peter Kistler said: “Our data suggests that daily coffee intake shouldn’t be discouraged, but rather included as part of a healthy diet for people with and without heart disease.”
Although the data shows coffee can have a positive impact on heart health, the exact reason has not yet been pinpointed
Coffee has more than 100 compound that are linked to lower levels of inflammation while scientists say there are a whole range of mechanisms that may cause coffee to improve heart health and reduce the risk of dying early.
The results of the study are set to be shared with the American College of Cardiology next week.
DON’T MISS
At the time the report was released Dr Ziyad Al-Aly spoke to Express.co.uk about the results.
Dr Aly explained: “What we found is that people with COVID-19 across the board had a much higher risk of cardiovascular problems and that included strokes and TIAs including abnormal heart rhythms.
The risk of heart conditions was increased regardless of age, sex, race, gender, or ethnicity.
As a result of these findings Dr Aly and others believe health services around the world need to be prepared for a new wave of patients with heart problems.
Dr Aly described how these new patients would pose a serious challenge on already strained health systems like the NHS and in the US.
“There needs to be more resources put into the system to establish more post-Covid clinics…we need to put more into an integrated care system where people can receive comprehensive or integrated care for long-Covid.”
Currently there are close to one and a half million people living with long Covid in the UK and over 100,000 children.
Even though these numbers make for heart-stopping reading, the government has continued to go ahead with lifting restrictions amidst rising hospitalisations for COVID-19.
