Drinking three cups of coffee a day could lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke, a study suggests.
In a study of more than 350,000 adults, Chinese researchers compared those who drank just one cup of coffee a day to those who drank three.
Using the patients’ health records, the team found that people who drank about three cups of coffee per day had the lowest risk of cardiometabolic diseases, such include diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
While the team is largely unsure why coffee has such a protective effect, experts believe it could reduce harmful inflammation and help lower cholesterol, which can lead to long-term metabolic diseases.
Researchers in China found that people who drank three cups of coffee a day had a 48 percent lower risk of diseases like diabetes and stroke than those who had just one cup
However, there is a fine line when it comes to overdoing it.
Other research has shown that drinking four or more cups a day could raise the risk of heart disease due to high heart rate and blood pressure.
Dr Chaofu Ke, lead study author and associate epidemiology professor at the Suzhou Medical College of Soochow University in China, said: '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 death].'
In the new study, published Tuesday in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, researchers evaluated health records of 360,406 adults in the database UK Biobank.
Participants ranged from ages 37 to 73, and just under half had no history of cardiometabolic disease.
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Using self-reported responses, records from primary care doctors and hospitals, and death certificates, the team compared the risks of developing these disorders in people who drank either no caffeine or one cup of coffee a day (100 milligrams of caffeine) to those who drank three (200 to 300 milligrams a day).
The team found that people who had three cups of coffee in a day had a 48 percent lower risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases. And those who had 200 to 300 milligrams of caffeine in other forms, such as tea, had a 40 percent reduced risk.
Dr Ke said: 'Consuming three cups of coffee, or 200-300 mg caffeine, per day might help to reduce the risk of developing cardiometabolic multimorbidity in individuals without any cardiometabolic disease.'
The researchers are largely unsure why exactly coffee can lower the risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes and stroke, though past research has pointed to coffee's high levels of polyphenols, a form of antioxidants.
Antioxidants are molecules that attack free radicals, unstable compounds that increase oxidative stress throughout the body. If left untreated, oxidative stress can increase inflammation and blood pressure, which raise the risk of cardiometabolic diseases.
Other recent research has supported the new study's findings. For example, a 2022 study of nearly 450,000 adults found that those who drank two to three cups of coffee a day had a lower risk of heart disease and early death than those who steered clear of the beverage altogether.
However, moderation is key. A study published last month, for example, found that drinking more than four cups of coffee a day raised the risk of heart disease.
The researchers noted this is likely due to sustained high heart rate and blood pressure, which can damage blood vessels and weaken the heart.