A new study from Semmelweis University has found that drinking up to three cups of coffee a day may help protect your heart and lower your risk of stroke and early death. The findings are based on one of the largest studies of its kind and offer good news for coffee lovers.
Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world, but its long-term effects on heart health have not been fully understood. Some people worry that regular coffee consumption might be harmful, especially for the heart. However, this new research suggests otherwise.
The study included data from nearly half a million people—468,629 adults—from the UK Biobank, a large health database. At the time they joined the study, none of the participants had any signs of heart disease. The average age was around 56 years, and more than half were women.
Participants were divided into three groups based on how much coffee they usually drank:
- Non-drinkers (22.1%)
- Light-to-moderate drinkers (0.5 to 3 cups per day, 58.4%)
- Heavy drinkers (more than 3 cups per day, 19.5%)
After following participants for 10 to 15 years, researchers found that people who drank 0.5 to 3 cups of coffee a day had the best outcomes. Compared to those who didn’t drink coffee, this group had:
- 12% lower risk of death from any cause
- 17% lower risk of dying from heart disease
- 21% lower risk of having a stroke
Even those who drank more than three cups a day did not have worse outcomes, which suggests that regular coffee drinking is generally safe for the heart over the long term.
To understand more about how coffee might affect the heart, researchers also studied heart scans from over 30,000 participants using cardiac MRI—a detailed and reliable way to check heart health.
The scans showed that people who drank coffee regularly had larger and better-functioning hearts compared to those who didn’t drink coffee at all. These heart changes were in a healthy direction and could help counteract the effects of aging on the heart.
While scientists don’t yet fully understand why coffee might have these benefits, they believe it could be due to the way coffee affects heart structure and function. Coffee contains many natural compounds that may help reduce inflammation, improve blood vessel function, and support the heart’s ability to pump blood.
The researchers say that more studies are needed to confirm the results and to learn more about how coffee works in the body. But for now, the study suggests that enjoying up to three cups of coffee a day may be part of a heart-healthy lifestyle.
So, if you’re a coffee drinker, there’s no need to feel guilty about your daily cup—or even two or three. It might just be giving your heart a helpful boost.
If you care about nutrition, please read studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and vitamin D supplements strongly reduce cancer death.
For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies about plant nutrient that could help reduce high blood pressure, and these antioxidants could help reduce dementia risk.
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