Three Coffees a Day Protect Against Diabetes and Stroke: Study

Is coffee good or bad for the heart? It’s a recurring question in the homeland of espresso lovers. An answer comes from science: according to a new study published in the ‘Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism’, regularly consuming moderate amounts of the drink and therefore moderate amounts of caffeine can offer a protective effect against several cardiometabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke. The researchers who signed the work found an association between a lower risk of new-onset cardiometabolic multimorbidity (Cm) – which refers to the coexistence of at least 2 cardiometabolic diseases – and regular coffee or caffeine intake.

How much coffee is ‘good for you’?

What would be the ideal amount for a shielding effect? ​​”Consuming three cups of coffee or 200-300 mg of caffeine per day could help reduce the risk of developing cardiometabolic multimorbidity” in people without any cardiometabolic disease, says lead author Chaofu Ke, MD, PhD, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Suzhou Medical College – Soochow University, China. Today, with the aging of the population observed across the world, the prevalence of people with multiple cardiometabolic diseases is becoming a growing public health concern, the study notes. Coffee and caffeine consumption could play a protective role that should not be overlooked, the researchers note.

The study found that those who regularly consumed moderate amounts of coffee (3 per day) or caffeine (200-300 mg per day) had a 48.1% lower risk of cardiometabolic multimorbidity compared to non-drinkers or 40.7% lower risk compared to those who consumed less than 100 mg of caffeine per day. Ke and colleagues based their findings on data from the UK Biobank, a large and detailed longitudinal study of diet, with more than 500,000 participants aged 37 to 73. The study excluded those with ambiguous information about caffeine intake. And the pool of participants reached a total of 172,315 people, free from cardiometabolic disease to start with, used for caffeine analyses, and 188,091 for analyses of coffee and tea consumption.

Why coffee is good for you

Coffee and caffeine intake at all levels was inversely associated with the risk of cardiometabolic multimorbidity in participants without these diseases. But those with moderate consumption had the lowest risk, the study found. Moderate coffee or caffeine intake was inversely associated with nearly all stages of cardiometabolic multimorbidity development.

“The results – concludes Ke – highlight that promoting moderate amounts of coffee or caffeine as a dietary habit for healthy people could have far-reaching benefits for the prevention” of this problem.

Numerous epidemiological studies have revealed protective effects of coffee, tea, and caffeine consumption on the morbidity of individual cardiometabolic diseases. However, the potential effects of these beverages on the development of multimorbidity on this front were largely unknown. The authors reviewed the available research on the topic and found that people with a single cardiometabolic disease may have a risk of all-cause mortality that is two times higher than those without any cardiometabolic disease. And they found that individuals with cardiometabolic multimorbidity may have a risk of all-cause mortality that is nearly 4 to 7 times higher. With respect to the latter condition, the researchers finally noted that it may also present higher risks of loss of physical function and mental stress than patients with single diseases.