Can Coffee Protect Against Heart Failure?

June 28, 2012 - PRLog -- Over the years and indeed throughout time, various studies and research has argued over whether a cup of coffee is good or bad for us.

Researchers recently reviewed five previous large studies conducted between 2001 and 2011 on the link between coffee consumption and heart failure risk.  They found that drinking two 8-ounce cups of coffee a day gives people an 11% lower risk of developing heart failure, compared to people who don't consume any coffee.

This analysis, published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation Heart Failure, included over 140,000 patients and was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.

"Heart failure shares risk factors with other cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes are particularly strong risk factors for heart failure," explains Elizabeth Mostofsky, the first author of the analysis and a post doctoral research fellow at the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

"We think coffee is lowering the risk for diabetes which is lowering the risk for heart failure."

Although on the other side, whilst drinking two cups of coffee may help prevent heart failure Elizabeth Mostofsky and her colleagues found that drinking more than four cups a day seems to undermine the protective quality.  "Protection slowly decreases with more consumption and it seems there's no further benefit for people who drink five or more servings a day and there may actually be potential for harm," says Mostofsky.

Whilst the studies that made up the analysis did not factor in whether the participants drank caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee (http://www.espressocoffeeclub.co.uk/shop/decafeinato/), Mostofsky notes that the studies were conducted in Finland and Sweden, which are two countries where caffeinated coffee is typically drunk. The studies also did not look at how the coffee was brewed, how strong it was, or what time of day the participants drank it.

However, this research shows that two cups of coffee may be good for you, indeed, only last month, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study that found drinking at least two cups of coffee (http://www.espressocoffeeclub.co.uk/espresso/) was linked to a longer life.

So enjoying several cups of coffee (http://www.espressocoffeeclub.co.uk/overview/) throughout the day does not have to be a guilty secret, but as with everything in life moderation seems to be the key when it comes to brewing a cup of coffee or whether you choose caffeinated or decaf coffee.