It’s often portrayed as being bad for your heart , but a new study suggests that coffee isn’t as bad for your arteries as previously thought.
Researchers from Queen Mary University of London have revealed that drinking up to 25 cups of coffee a day is not linked to having stiffer arteries.
Dr Kenneth Fung, who led the study, said: "Despite the huge popularity of coffee worldwide, different reports could put people off from enjoying it.
“Whilst we can't prove a causal link in this study, our research indicates coffee isn't as bad for the arteries as previous studies would suggest.”
In the study, the researchers looked at the effect of drinking coffee on the hearts of 8,412 participants.
Coffee consumption was categorised into three groups - those who drank less than one cup a day, those who drank 1-3 cups a day, and those who drank more than three a day.
Participants underwent MRI heart scans, as well as infrared pulse wave tests.
The results revealed that people who drank more coffee did not have stiffer arteries than those who rarely had a cup.
And while people who drank more than 25 cups of coffee a day were excluded, amazingly, the researchers found no increased stiffening of arteries was associated with those who drank up to this limit.
Professor Metin Avkiran, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation , said: "Understanding the impact that coffee has on our heart and circulatory system is something that researchers and the media have had brewing for some time.
"There are several conflicting studies saying different things about coffee, and it can be difficult to filter what we should believe and what we shouldn't.
“This research will hopefully put some of the media reports in perspective, as it rules out one of the potential detrimental effects of coffee on our arteries."
