Experts find another reason why drinking coffee is GOOD for you and the benefits are ‘very clear’
A cup of coffee a day may be enough to keep the doctor away.
Because researchers have found that coffee lovers generally have lower blood pressure and a healthier heart.
And the benefits could be achieved by drinking just one cup each morning, they claimed.
Italian experts described the positive effects of coffee as ‘very clear’.
The findings, from a study of more than 1,500 people, add to a growing body of evidence highlighting the drink’s health benefits.
The study from the University of Bologna and University Hospital of Bologna, published in the journal Nutrients, involved 720 men and 783 women. Researchers compared blood pressure levels – including systolic blood pressure (SBP), pulse pressure, aortic blood pressure and aortic pulse pressure – with volunteers’ coffee consumption habits
Some studies have linked it to reducing the risk of heart disease, heart failure and stroke, while other studies report it extends life.
But some medical professionals have remained divided, warning that excessive amounts of coffee — which is packed with caffeine — can damage the heart.
The NHS says more than four cups a day can raise blood pressure.
Still, the new study, in the journal Nutrients, found that people who consumed this amount had lower blood pressure than nondrinkers.
The study from the University of Bologna and the University Hospital of Bologna involved 720 men and 783 women.
Experts compared the blood pressure with the coffee consumption habits of the volunteers.
Of the participants, 220 (14.6 percent) drank no coffee, 406 (27 percent) drank one cup a day and 726 drank two coffees a day.
Some 99 volunteers drank three cups, while 52 volunteers drank more each day.
Active smokers were evenly distributed across the subgroups, allowing experts to rule out that possible explanation.
Researchers found that systolic blood pressure (SBP) – the top number – “tended to fall” as the number of cups consumed increased.
Those who drank 1 cup a day recorded an SBP averaging 1 mmHg lower than non-coffee drinkers, while people who consumed two cups saw an SBP 5.2 mmHg smaller.
Scientists also reported that people who drank three cups recorded an average drop in SBP of 5 mmHg.
Overall, those who consumed more than three cups saw an average SBP of 9.7 mmHg smaller compared to non-coffee drinkers.
An ideal systolic blood pressure, which indicates how much pressure your blood exerts against your artery walls when the heart beats, is between 90 and 120 mmHg, according to the NHS.
Similar reductions were seen for the three other types of blood pressure studied.
People who drank more than three cups a day recorded drops of 6.9 mmHg in pulse pressure, 9.5 mmHg in aortic blood pressure and 6.9 mmHg in aortic pulse pressure, compared to non-coffee drinkers.
Lowering blood pressure can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, including strokes and heart attacks, and helps keep the heart and blood vessels in good condition.
Researchers found that SBP “tended to decrease” as the number of cups consumed increased, with those who drank 2 cups per day recording SBP that averaged 5.2 mmHg lower than non-coffee drinkers
Arrigo Cicero, one of the researchers, said: ‘The results are very clear. Peripheral blood pressure was significantly lower in subjects who consumed one to three cups of coffee per day than in non-coffee drinkers.
“We know that caffeine can increase blood pressure, but other bioactive components in coffee seem to offset this effect with a positive end result on blood pressure.”
Researchers acknowledged that coffee consumption was self-reported by volunteers, and thus may have been underreported, limiting the findings.
It was also reviewed without details of the roast used, the methods of preparation, and whether it was consumed black or with milk or cream.
Those who drank more than three cups a day were grouped “to compare a more balanced group of subjects,” since it was a relatively smaller category, researchers also noted.
High blood pressure, known medically as hypertension, rarely has symptoms – hence the nickname “silent killer.”
The only way to diagnose it is to have your blood pressure measured.
It is estimated that around 14.4 million people in the UK have high blood pressure, or one in three adults.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), high blood pressure, or hypertension, affects 45 percent of Americans.
The European Food Safety Agency says a daily intake of 400mg of caffeine – equivalent to four cups of coffee – is fine for most adults.
But individual sensitivity to caffeine varies. Some people can tolerate more than six cups a day very well, and others feel jittery after one or two.
According to the NHS, pregnant women are advised to stick to 200mg of caffeine a day – about two cups of instant coffee. Excessive caffeine consumption has been linked to low birth weight.