COFFEE is good for your heart and your brain, according to a study.
Research found people who drink two or three cups a day have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke or type 2 diabetes.
AlamyCoffee beans are packed with antioxidants (stock image)[/caption]
It is good news for Brits, who now love it almost as much as tea and drink 98million cups per day versus 100million.
Experts at Soochow University in China used data from 500,000 British people aged 37 to 73.
They found moderate coffee drinkers – two to three cups daily – were half as likely as non-drinkers to develop two or more cardiometabolic diseases.
These are serious but preventable illnesses including heart attacks, strokes, type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance and fatty liver disease.
Having more than one is called multimorbidity.
They are among the most common conditions in the UK, affecting millions of people, and are mostly caused by unhealthy living.
Moderate amounts of coffee might have far-reaching benefits
Dr Chaofu Ke
The study, in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, found people got similar benefits if they consumed 200 to 300mg of caffeine per day from other food or drink.
Lead author Dr Chaofu Ke said: “Our findings highlight that moderate amounts of coffee or caffeine intake might have far-reaching benefits.
“Consuming three cups per day might help to reduce the risk of developing cardiometabolic multimorbidity.”
Coffee beans are packed with health-boosting polyphenols and past studies suggest the brew brings a raft of medical benefits.
Research has found it can protect the heart and liver and reduce the risk of dementia and some cancers.
WHAT ARE COFFEE’S HEALTH BENEFITS?
STUDIES regularly find that drinking coffee can be good for your health – here are some of its reported benefits:
A longer life: It helps us stay awake and could also keep us alive, according to science. Southern Medical University in China found coffee drinkers were a third less likely to die young.
A healthier heart: Semmelweis University in Hungary found average coffee drinkers had a 21 per cent lower chance of having a stroke and a 17 per cent lower risk of dying of heart disease.
A mighty memory: Research by the University of Verona found regularly drinking espresso coffee can reduce your risk of dementia-causing Alzheimer’s disease.
A curb on cancer: Studies suggest drinking moderate amounts of coffee can reduce the risk of cancers of the bowel and womb.