Your Tea, Coffee Could Save Your Heart: Drinking 3 Cups a Day Plays an ‘Important’ Role, New Study Reveals

A recent study found that drinking moderate amounts of coffee or tea can lower the risk of developing serious heart disease. Research led by Dr. Chaofu Ke of Soochow University in China suggests that three cups of coffee or tea a day can help reduce the risk of cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CM).

CM refers to having at least two health conditions, such as heart disease, stroke or type 2 diabetes, at the same time. Dr. Ke believes that coffee and caffeine may protect the body against these diseases as they develop, CNN reports.

The study included data from about 180,000 people in the UK who had no heart or metabolic disease at the start. The researchers tracked their caffeine intake from coffee or tea and monitored which diseases they developed later.

“Coffee and caffeine consumption may play an important protective role in almost all phases of CM development,” CNN quotes Ke as saying.

The results showed that people who drank three cups of coffee a day had a 48.1% lower risk of developing CM, and even those who consumed 200–300 mg of caffeine a day had a 40.7% lower risk compared to those who drank little or no coffee.

The study collected data on participants’ caffeine intake through coffee, black tea, or green tea. It also tracked any heart-related conditions they developed using their medical records, hospital records, and death certificates.

This is not a conclusive study

Dr. Gregory Marcus of the University of California, San Francisco, who was not involved in the study, said the study results support the hypothesis that caffeine, especially in tea and coffee, may improve heart health.

However, he added that the study cannot prove that caffeine directly improves heart health because other factors may play a role.

He also warned that large doses of caffeine, especially in energy drinks, can be harmful and lead to heart rhythm disturbances.