Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

appalachiablue

(41,140 posts)
Thu Oct 6, 2022, 12:40 PM Oct 2022

💓 Heart: Coffee May Be Good for Your Heart, New Research Suggests, UK Study

- 'Study suggests the heart benefits from coffee — but the preparation method matters.' Salon, Oct. 4, 2022. 🧡❤💖

- Instant, ground or decaf? New study finds some forms of coffee improve heart health more than others. -

Don't talk to me till I've had my morning heart medication. It may sound weird, but there's something about coffee that seems to boost heart health — and certain types of coffee seem to be better than others. New research in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology analyzed a large database of coffee drinkers and found that people who drank around 2 to 3 cups per day had better cardiovascular health than controls.

Coffee is the most widely used drug on the planet, enticing people with its cognitive-enhancing abilities since at least the 15th century. But it's much more than its principal ingredient, caffeine. The brew also contains dozens of other chemicals, including cafestol and kahweol, which can have biological effects on the body, just like drugs. But when it comes to coffee and the heart, research has been conflicting and inconclusive whether it helps or harms cardiovascular health.

"The relationship between coffee drinking and cardiovascular disease has been controversial," researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported in 2019. "However, most follow-up studies did not have direct evidence that coffee can cause cardiovascular disease." Caffeine has vasoconstrictor properties, meaning it causes blood vessels to squeeze together, which can briefly raise heart rate. But this effect is typically minimal, and in many cases, the opposite is seen: caffeine vasodilates or causes the blood vessels to relax and widen. (Fun fact: this is why coffee seems to help you poop.) Because caffeine works on so many different parts of the body, its behavior can be somewhat complex.

(Related: Some coffee drinkers claim it causes anxiety. Here's what the science says)

Regardless of caffeine's effect on blood pressure, some health experts have warned against using it, especially in people with cardiovascular diseases. To better understand this relationship, a team of Australian researchers looked at nearly 450,000 patients in the UK Biobank data set, a long-term study that has been following patients since 2006. Participants were surveyed about their coffee use, including frequency and what type of coffee they consume: ground, instant or decaf. More than 100,000 non-coffee drinkers were included as controls...

- Read More, https://www.salon.com/2022/10/04/coffee-may-be-good-for-your-heart-new-research-suggests/

11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
💓 Heart: Coffee May Be Good for Your Heart, New Research Suggests, UK Study (Original Post) appalachiablue Oct 2022 OP
It seems to alternate with the year. Sometimes it is good for you, sometimes it will kill 'ya. Chainfire Oct 2022 #1
I hear you, 2-3 cups of Joe a day here appalachiablue Oct 2022 #6
I wonder if it is because it temporarily increases heart rate, much as light exercise would do. Midnight Writer Oct 2022 #2
There's some truth to that I think. Every bit of physical activity helps..(no snark) appalachiablue Oct 2022 #5
There's also Farmer-Rick Oct 2022 #3
I've read some about this, thanks for the NIH info. appalachiablue Oct 2022 #4
Wish I Rebl2 Oct 2022 #7
2 articles on TEA and possible health benefits, if you like tea. appalachiablue Oct 2022 #10
I usually Rebl2 Oct 2022 #11
Of course it is. Srkdqltr Oct 2022 #8
So is tea, and for the same reasons. You just have to drink more of it Warpy Oct 2022 #9

Chainfire

(17,542 posts)
1. It seems to alternate with the year. Sometimes it is good for you, sometimes it will kill 'ya.
Thu Oct 6, 2022, 12:44 PM
Oct 2022

I will still drink my two mugs full in the morning and what happens happens.

Midnight Writer

(21,768 posts)
2. I wonder if it is because it temporarily increases heart rate, much as light exercise would do.
Thu Oct 6, 2022, 12:46 PM
Oct 2022

For sedentary people, drinking coffee may be the only "exercise" they get.

Farmer-Rick

(10,175 posts)
3. There's also
Thu Oct 6, 2022, 12:49 PM
Oct 2022

Studies that indicate coffee slows intellectual decline in old age. And it's not the caffeine doing it. There's something in the coffee itself.

"Coffee, in achievable amounts, may reduce both motor and cognitive deficits in aging."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3824984/

Warpy

(111,267 posts)
9. So is tea, and for the same reasons. You just have to drink more of it
Thu Oct 6, 2022, 03:16 PM
Oct 2022

which is fine by me. I love tea, can't stand coffee.

Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Health»💓 Heart: Coffee M...