Three Cups Of Coffee Per Day Protects From Heart Disease

A study from the Shiba medical center in Israel has revealed that a daily caffeine intake equivalent to 3 cups of coffee  could protect against heart disease.

The research team examined the influence of caffeine on  blood vessels among 80 adults, half healthy and half currently suffering from heart disease.

The patients were asked to come twice to the clinic, one week apart and received a pill containing 200mg of caffeine, equivalent to three cups of coffee. On the second visit the patients received a placebo pill. Blood tests were performed one hour after the taking of the pills and artery ultra-sounds were performed in order to evaluate the Endothel function, the inner layer of the artery.

The results showed that the intake of caffeine increased the Endothel function by 30 percent while the CRP maker [a plasma protein that rises in the blood with the inflammation from certain conditions such as heart attack and stroke]  decreased by 40 percent. Ediponectin, involved in preventing heart attacks and strokes, also rose by 25 percent. Both groups, healthy and ill, showed the same outcome.

The findings by the Israeli researchers mirrors research published in other countries.  In January,  American researchers reported that coffee drinking does not increase the risk of heart failure and German researchers reported in April 2010 that daily intake of 4 to 8 cups of coffee per day increases the levels of good cholesterol (HDL). A British study reported in November 2010 that coffee and tea consumption decrease the risk of developing Glioma- brain cancer.
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To read the whole article in Hebrew click here
Translation by Maya Rizel
Via http://www.haaretz.co.il
Photo by thepinkpeppercorn