Drinking three cups of coffee a day won’t just give you an energy boost, it also could be the sweet spot for keeping your heart healthy, scientists have found.
From these figures researchers excluded individuals who had ambiguous information on how much tea, coffee or caffeine they had.
The sweet spot was found to be between 200mg and 300mg of caffeine a day.
Although drinking caffeine has proven health benefits, some people are more sensitive than others and can experience palpitations.
The British Dietetic Association (BDA) advises that most people can safely consume up to 300mg of caffeine a day.
Scientists have discovered that consuming three cups of coffee a day may be the sweet spot for maintaining heart health in addition to giving you an energy boost.
While excessive caffeine consumption can cause sleeplessness, moderate caffeine use can reduce your risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and stroke.
A study conducted by researchers in China found that consuming roughly 200 to 300 mg of caffeine daily, or three cups of coffee, was linked to a decreased risk of developing at least two cardiometabolic diseases, or new-onset cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CM).
In fact, the scientists discovered that, when compared to people who consume less than one cup of coffee per day, those who consume this much caffeine daily see their risk cut in half.
Drinking coffee in moderation can reduce your risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart attacks, and strokes.
Using information from the UK Biobank, the study came to this conclusion, which was then published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Almost 500,000 UK citizens between the ages of 37 and 73 were recruited by the Biobank between 2006 and 2010, during which time a vast amount of data was gathered.
Researchers removed people from these statistics whose answers regarding their intake of tea, coffee, or caffeine were unclear.
Self-reported medical conditions, primary care data, linked inpatient hospital data, and death registry records connected to the UK Biobank were used to determine the participants’ heart disease outcomes.
The optimal daily caffeine intake was determined to be between 200 and 300 mg. To put this into perspective, one cup of instant coffee has about 100 mg of caffeine, one cup of tea has about 47 mg, and one small 250 ml can of energy drink can have 80 mg of caffeine.
All coffee and caffeine drinkers had a decreased risk of developing new cardiometabolic diseases, but the study found that the people who reported drinking three or more cups a day had the lowest risk.
It was discovered that the ideal daily caffeine intake ranged from 200 to 300 mg. For comparison, a mug of instant coffee has about 100 mg of caffeine, a cup of tea has about 47 mg, and a tiny 250 ml can of energy drink can have 80 mg of caffeine.
Nonetheless, the study also found that coffee drinkers were more likely to be male, older, and active.
They also had a higher likelihood of eating fewer processed meats but fewer vegetables.
In an attempt to isolate the effects of confounding variables, the study authors accounted for a number of additional variables in their analysis, such as alcohol consumption, body mass index, and kidney function.
To find out why three cups of coffee is the perfect number study authors also looked at 168 participant’s blood samples and looked at metabolites — small molecules produced when the body breaks down food.
The metabolites of 80 individuals who drank more coffee were found to differ significantly from those of the participants who drank significantly less, according to the research.
Medscape was informed by Dr. Francis Perry Wilson of the Yale School of Medicine that certain metabolites are linked to improved health and others with worse health.
After deconstructing the data, he clarified that they demonstrated the significant influence that caffeine, tea, and coffee consumption has on the metabolites of very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), a bad cholesterol subtype.
Since higher levels can cause heart disease, caffeine appears to lower it, which is beneficial for our health and suggests coffee may help shield us from it.
Caffeine consumption has been shown to provide health benefits, but palpitations can occur in those who are more sensitive than others. The British Heart Foundation advises against caffeine consumption if this occurs.
Most people can safely ingest up to 300 mg of caffeine per day, according to the British Dietetic Association (BDA).
This is due to research linking daily intakes exceeding 600 mg to symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety, agitation, elevated blood pressure, and upset stomach.
Nonetheless, the NHS advises against consuming more than 200 mg of caffeine per day while pregnant as this may raise the risk of miscarriage or low birth weight.
