Got coffee? If you drink three to five cups of java every day you might lower the risk of acquiring clogged arteries. That could in turn reduce the risk of having a heart attack, a new medical study from Johns Hopkins University suggests. On March 2 the report was published online in the journal Heart.
According to the study, researchers found that drinking three to five cups of coffee daily resulted in less calcium building up in arteries, according to CBS News. When there's a calcium build-up, it's a sign that arteries are hardening and increases the risk of acquiring heart disease.
The study does not show that drinking coffee directly results in less calcium in the arteries. However, there seems to be a very strong link between the two activities
To complete the study, the team of Dr. Eliseo Guallar, a professor Johns Hopkins, collected data on 25,000 men and women residing in South Korea. The average age of the participants was 41, and none of them showed signs of heart disease.
Researchers compared the participants' build-up of calcium with their coffee consumption. Those people who drank three to five cups of coffee daily had the lowest amount of calcium build-up. These servings are small eight-ounce cups and not "jugs," according to Newsmax.
While many of us drink coffee to jump-start our mornings, coffee's health benefits are not just due to the caffeine. Coffee contains over 1,000 chemicals, including various antioxidants.
Also, the study proves that coffee can help the heart, rather than harm it. This will be a relief for those who are worried that a cup of jamoke will harm their heart health.
In fact, several studies have revealed that drinking coffee is associated with a decreased risk of strokes and heart attacks. The risk is minimized when people daily drink three to five cups of coffee.
Besides that, a report from the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee stated that drinking that much coffee daily results in few health risks. In fact, it can benefit one's health in many ways.
So go ahead and have that extra cup of joe-your heart (and unclogged arteries) will thank you!