Drinking coffee daily could lengthen lives and boost heart health, study finds

Your heart health and lifespan could be boosted by drinking two cups of coffee a day, a new study has found. The greatest health benefits were found in individuals who drank two or three cups a day compared to those who had none.These people had a 10 to 15 percent lower risk of developing coronary heart disease, heart failure, a heart rhythm problem, or dying for any reason.The study was the biggest analysis of its kind, tracking more than 400,000 Brits for at least 10 years.

Coffee's benefits applied to healthy people and those with heart disease, scientists reported. Researchers say their findings suggest drinking coffee every day shouldn't be discouraged, but rather included as part of a healthy diet.

Coffee beans are packed with over 100 nutritious plant chemicals.They dampen oxidative stress and inflammation and improve insulin sensitivity and metabolism, explained Prof Kistler.The biologically active compounds also block absorption of fat into the gut and molecules linked to abnormal heart rhythms.Overall, participants who downed less than two cups or more than three cups fared less well.

However, the risk of stroke or heart-related death was lowest among those who drank one cup of coffee a day. Drinking coffee was also associated with a lower risk of death for people who had been diagnosed with an arrhythmia, or irregular heart beat.For example, those with AFib (atrial fibrillation) where the heart beats rapidly were nearly 20 per cent less likely to die than non-coffee drinkers if they had one cup a day.Senior author Professor Peter Kistler, of the Baker Heart Institute, Melbourne, Australia, said: "Because coffee can quicken heart rate, some people worry that drinking it could trigger or worsen certain heart