Your Coffee Habit Could Be Good For Cardiometabolic Health

There’s some good news for coffee and tea lovers: A new study has linked moderate caffeine consumption with a lower risk of developing multiple cardiometabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, stroke, or coronary heart disease.

The research, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, specifically found that people who drank around three cups of coffee or tea a day had a 48% lower risk of having two or more cardiometabolic diseases compared to those who drank less than one cup a day. 

“The findings highlight that promoting moderate amounts of coffee or caffeine intake as a dietary habit to healthy people might have far-reaching benefits for the prevention of cardiometabolic diseases,” the study’s co-lead author Chaofu Ke, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Soochow University in China, told Health. 

So, how does caffeine impact cardiometabolic health? And does this new research mean you should go ahead and add an extra shot of espresso to your morning coffee? Here’s what experts had to say.

To assess how caffeine might influence cardiometabolic health, researchers analyzed the caffeine habits of roughly 360,000 people aged 37 to 73 from the UK Biobank, a large longitudinal study that includes anonymous health data from participants who had completed questionnaires about their caffeine consumption and habits. The participants had no history of cardiometabolic disease when the study began.

The scientists looked at caffeine consumption and whether participants’ had developed cardiometabolic diseases.

After crunching the numbers, the team found that people who consumed about 200 to 300 milligrams (mg) of caffeine a day had a lower risk of developing multiple cardiometabolic diseases compared to people who drank less than 100 mg a day. Participants who selected coffee as their caffeine drink of choice had the lowest risk, at roughly a 50% reduction. In comparison, those who consumed coffee and tea were around 40% less likely to develop cardiometabolic health conditions.

The researchers also found that caffeine didn’t seem to have a negative effect on cardiometabolic health for the 4% of people who consumed more than 400 mg of caffeine—from either coffee or tea or both. 

Researchers aren’t entirely clear about why caffeine may improve cardiometabolic health. However, Ke said that a moderate amount of daily caffeine may regulate levels of specific metabolites—compounds produced when the body breaks down food and liquids—associated with cardiometabolic disease, such as certain lipids.

The authors pointed to several limitations of the study, including that it evaluated caffeine as an ingredient in coffee or tea but not carbonated beverages and energy drinks. Additionally, the research only found a link between moderate caffeine intake and a lower risk of cardiometabolic disease but did not prove causation.

“Future studies are warranted to gain a more in-depth insight into the pathway from caffeine intake to circulating metabolites and then to” cardiometabolic disease, Ke said.

Though more research may be needed, the study’s finding that moderate caffeine intake may reduce metabolic disease risk isn’t entirely new.

“From a metabolic standpoint, while not conclusive, the associations with benefits are robustly reported,” Jonathan Fialkow, MD, Deputy Director of Clinical Cardiology at Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute, told Health.

Indeed, previous studies that have focused on moderate coffee drinkers, in particular, have shown that they have lower rates of cardiometabolic diseases, such as diabetes and liver disease, and fewer events like heart attacks. 

However, the “interesting aspect of the study is that they have now linked lower cardiometabolic disease risk to the caffeine found in drinks like coffee or tea,” Samuel Mathis, MD, assistant professor of Family Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, told Health.

Researchers have traditionally chalked up coffee’s benefits not to the caffeine, he added, but to the polyphenols, which are compounds found naturally in fruits, vegetables, and legumes that have anti-inflammatory properties.

Experts agree that if you’re consuming one to three cups of coffee a day and it’s not having any adverse effects on you, such as acid reflux or palpitations, there may be good reason to continue your routine.

“The takeaway should be that if you are a coffee drinker, there may be some benefits from drinking coffee,” Mathis said. “That is, assuming you aren’t canceling that out with whatever you add to your cup of coffee each morning.”

He’s referring to add-ons like sugar, artificial sweeteners, or whipped cream, which increase calories and may therefore raise your risk of developing cardiometabolic conditions.

However, Mathis doesn’t recommend becoming a first-time coffee or tea drinker or reaching for caffeine supplements simply based on the study’s results. He also cautions against ingesting too much caffeine, even for people who regularly consume it.

A typical cup of coffee has about 100 mg of caffeine, while a shot of espresso has around 63 mg. A large espresso drink from your favorite coffee shop may have four shots, which is something to avoid.

“Many people are getting too much caffeine in their diet, which can cause irritability, difficulty sleeping, and withdrawal symptoms if they go too long without caffeine,” Mathis added.

Research has also shown that daily consumption of more than 400 milligrams of caffeine a day may raise heart rate and blood pressure over time, and some studies suggest a link between a greater caffeine intake and a higher risk of dementia and stroke. 

Ultimately, Fialkow said, it’s important to remember that caffeine is not a silver bullet for improved metabolic health, regardless of whether you’re consuming it responsibly. “Regular exercise, good sleep quality and quantity, avoidance of tobacco and alcohol, and maintaining a healthy weight will go much further in helping you stay healthy than a few cups of coffee,” he said.