An expert has urged people to start their day with a specific hot drink due to its potential to lower the risk of a deadly disease. According to Professor Tim Spector, the founder of Zoe Health, coffee consumption can help protect against heart disease.
In a post made to his Instagram page, Tim revealed that coffee is packed with fibre and polyphenols – both which have benefits to our health. He also revealed that research has linked the drink to lower rates of heart disease.
“Coffee drinkers have less heart disease than non-coffee drinkers,” he said. However, he did warn that this comes with a “caveat”.
Some people are sensitive to caffeine and it might not be safe for them to drink the beverage, he warned.
They “might get a pulse that goes faster” and they get “some real effects of the caffeine”.
He said: “But it certainly doesn’t kill them or cause them any permanent damage and they just know avoid the drink. And that’s why these long-term studies have shown that. Not only is it safe, but is actually has protective properties on the heart.”
Tim admitted that he can’t start his day “without coffee”. He continued: “And I’m not alone, over two billion cups are drunk every single day – but what is this habit doing for our health?
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“Well, like most things, it probably depends on your biology. While coffee is packed full of polyphenols and fibre that have been shown to benefit your gut health, for those of us who are sensitive to caffeine the costs may outweigh these benefits.”
His advice is backed by one study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology in 2022. This found that people who drank two to three cups of coffee each day had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and early death than those who avoided the beverage.
The study included almost 450,000 people with an average age 58 who did not have an irregular heartbeat (such as atrial fibrillation) or cardiovascular disease (such as heart disease, heart failure, or stroke) at the start. They reported how many cups of coffee they drank each day and their preferred coffee choice.
They were then put into groups based on their daily coffee consumption, from zero to more than five cups. After a period of 12 years, the incidences of irregular heartbeat, cardiovascular disease, heart-related deaths, and deaths from any cause were lower among coffee drinkers compared with those who didn’t drink coffee.
People who consumed two to three cups daily had the lowest risk of cardiovascular disease and death. Whereas, for irregular heartbeat, the lowest risk was among those who drank four to five cups daily. All types of coffee were linked to less cardiovascular disease.
However, drinking decaffeinated coffee was not associated with reduced risks of irregular heartbeat. Writing about the study, experts from Harvard Health said the protective benefits of coffee could come from its high amounts of polyphenols, which “help reduce oxidative stress and inflammation”.
Generally coffee is considered safe, although high doses can make people feel anxious, raise blood pressure and lead to heart palpitations and trouble sleeping. Pregnant women are also advised to avoid coffee with the NHS saying there is “no known safe level of caffeine whilst you are pregnant”.