Coffee could reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke by a third, scientists say – but only if you drink it at THIS time of day
Coffee reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke – but only if you drink it in the morning.
Research shows that the time you spend enjoying an espresso or flat white is more important to your health than how much you drink.
Drinking one to several cups before noon was found to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 31 percent, compared to those who drink it throughout the day.
Drinking coffee is linked to better heart health and has been shown to lower the risk of certain chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes.
In the first time-consuming study, researchers used data from more than 40,000 American adults who participated in health, diet and lifestyle surveys over a decade.
They found clear patterns in coffee drinking: 36 percent enjoyed it before noon, 16 percent drank coffee throughout the day, and half didn’t drink it at all.
Compared to people who didn’t touch the caffeinated drink, morning consumers were 16 percent less likely to die from any cause and 31 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease.
These benefits were seen in both ‘moderate’ drinkers who drank two to three cups and ‘heavy’ drinkers who drank more than three cups of coffee before noon.
Coffee reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke – but only if you drink it in the morning
Research shows that the time you spend enjoying an espresso or flat white is more important to your health than how much you drink
Those who drank one cup or less also benefited, but with a smaller reduction in risk, according to the findings published in the European Heart Journal.
There was no reduction in risk for coffee drinkers who drink coffee all day, compared to those who never drink it.
Lead author Dr Lu Qi, from Tulane University in Louisiana, said: ‘Our findings indicate that it is not only whether you drink coffee or how much you drink that is important, but also the time of day you drink coffee.
‘We normally don’t give advice about timing in our nutritional guidance, but we may have to think about this in the future.’
The authors said that drinking coffee after midday can disrupt the circadian rhythm, where the body clock affects the daily cycles of physical, behavioral and mental changes.
Many coffee drinkers who drink coffee all day may experience sleep disturbances because it suppresses melatonin, an important sleep mediator in the brain. This in turn can lead to changes in cardiovascular risk factors such as inflammation and blood pressure.
Professor Thomas Lüscher, consultant cardiologist at the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals in London, said: ‘On the whole, we have to accept the now substantial evidence that drinking coffee, especially in the morning hours, is probably healthy. So drink your coffee, but do it in the morning.’