Coffee may not cause stiff arteries

While drinking coffee may be a staple for money, the hot or cold beverage came with bad rep too. Reports about coffee blocking up a person’s arteries were doing rounds. But according to recent reports, that may not be true. So if you like that large mug of coffee every day in the morning or 25 cups throughout the day, drink away!
Arteries are responsible for carrying blood that contains oxygen and nutrients from the hearts to the rest of the body. Hence, if they become stiff, it can increase the workload on the heart and therefore increase their chances of having a heart attack or stroke.
The research carried out by a group of researchers from the Queen Mary University of Long, studied over 8,000 people to debunk previous studies about coffee causing the arteries to stiff. The study suggested the previous studies were inconsistent and limited to lower participant numbers.
"Despite the huge popularity of coffee worldwide, different reports could put people off from enjoying it," said Kenneth Fung, from the Queen Mary University of London. "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," Fung said. Although the study included individuals who drink up to 25 cups a day, the average intake amongst the highest coffee consumption group was five cups a day. "We would like to study these people more closely in our future work so that we can help to advise safe limits," he 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," said Professor Metin Avkiran, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation. "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 potentially detrimental effects of coffee on our arteries," said Avkiran.