How Much Coffee It Takes For Better (And Worse) Heart Health

Caffeinated drinks like tea and coffee can have some impressive heart health benefits, according to research.

And coffee is associated with a longer life, especially if you have it black, with no sugar, in the morning.

But too much coffee isn’t great for us either. Some research suggests that while drinking a “moderate” amount of it might benefit our mental health, too much could harm it.

Too much coffee has also been linked to higher blood pressure.

So, how much is “too much”?

Well, if we’re talking heart health here, the American Heart Association (AHA) shared updated advice recently.

The AHA said in a statement that up to 400mg of caffeine, or five 240ml (eight-ounce) cups of coffee, a day, “is generally safe for most adults and appears to be linked to a lower risk of several cardiovascular conditions, including heart failure, heart disease and stroke in some individuals”.

Meanwhile, the NHS suggests drinking a “moderate” amount per day; the British Heart Foundation puts the figure at 400mg daily. If you’re pregnant, the recommended amount is 200mg a day.

The AHA added that higher amounts of caffeine, such as the levels found in some energy drinks, could actually increase the risk of heart conditions like high blood pressure and/or arrhythmia (where the heartbeat is irregular, too fast or too slow).

Speaking to HuffPost UK previously, Dr Arun Narayanan, a clinical electrophysiologist and an assistant professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, said energy drinks may affect the heart differently to other caffeinated beverages “because they often deliver caffeine in larger doses, more quickly, and in combination with additional stimulants or additives”.

We don’t know for sure, but researchers think it could be down to beneficial compounds in the drink, including antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds.

Drinking unsweetened black coffee has been linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, heart failure and some irregular heart rhythms.

Those benefits don’t seem as strong if you take your coffee with milk, however.

Caffeine doesn’t seem to be the only factor at play here, either: decaf coffee is still linked to better health outcomes than no coffee at all.

Dr Gregory Marcus, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and the associate chief of Cardiology for Research at the University of California, who helped to write the AHA’s statement, cautioned that not everyone will respond to caffeine in the same way, though.

“Although research suggests that caffeine consumption may be associated with certain cardiovascular benefits for some people, it’s important to remember that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy for safe caffeine consumption,” he said.

“People can respond very differently to caffeine based on various factors, such as age, medications, underlying health conditions, genetics and how quickly their bodies metabolise it. What may be a reasonable amount for one person could cause unwanted effects, such as heart palpitations, anxiety or sleep disruption, in another.

“That’s why it’s important to pay attention to how your body responds to caffeine and talk with your healthcare team about what is right for you.”