Good news for the coffee addicts out there: There's yet another study suggesting that your morning cup might actually come with some health benefits you didn't even know about. In addition to warding off dementia, helping you live longer, and keeping you pumped during your morning workout, drinking coffee might also be good for your heart health, according to preliminary research recently presented to the American Heart Association.
Researchers from the University of Colorado said that they came across the information while looking over data from the Framingham Heart Study, which has looked at the eating patterns and cardiovascular health of around 15,000 Americans since the 1940s. They originally dug through the data with hopes of finding eating habits that might reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, but seemingly ended up finding something a little more interesting.
According to the findings, drinking coffee was linked to a reduced risk for heart failure, stroke, and coronary heart disease. Subjects who drank an 8-ounce cup of coffee every day found that the risks for these conditions were reduced by 7%, 8% and 5%, respectively. These findings were confirmed by the researchers later on when they analysed the same patterns in studies similar to the Framingham Heart Study — the Cardiovascular Heart Study and the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities Study.
Of course it's worth noting, per a release from the AHA, that the information only suggests that there's a link between coffee consumption and overall heart health, not a "cause-and-effect" relationship. It's also worth noting that these findings have yet to be peer-reviewed, though there's still other research out there suggesting that the level of caffeine in coffee combined with its antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties can ward off a slew of health problems.
(h/t Time)
