People with habit of regular, moderate coffee consumption may be at an advantage when it comes to maintaining lower blood pressure, according to a new study published in the journal Nutrients.
Coffee consumption has been linked to a number of potential health benefits, including in people with diabetes. Drinking coffee regularly may reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes in women with a history of gestational diabetes, and it’s linked to a lower risk for retinopathy (eye disease) and a lower risk for declining kidney function in people with type 2 diabetes. General health benefits of drinking coffee may include a lower risk for both stroke and dementia, a lower risk for an irregular heartbeat, and greater longevity — even if you take your coffee with sugar in it. The health benefits of coffee may depend on what form of coffee you consume, and there are also potential health risks to consider, such as sleep disruption.
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Moderate coffee consumption linked to improved blood pressure numbers
For the latest study, researchers looked at the relationship between self-reported coffee consumption and blood pressure in 783 women and 720 men who took part in a study in Italy called the Brisighella Heart Study. The researchers measured blood pressure in two different ways — peripheral blood pressure, which is what gets measured using a cuff on your arm at the doctor’s office or at home, and central blood pressure, which uses a specialized device to measure the pressure in your aorta (the large blood vessel that sends blood from your heart to the rest of your body). When it came to peripheral (normally measured) blood pressure, the researchers found that compared with non-coffee drinkers, those who drank two cups per day had lower systolic blood pressure (the “top number” measured during heartbeats) by an average of 5.2 mmHg, while it was an average of 9.7 mmHg lower for those who drank three or more cups per day.
The researchers found similar trends — improved numbers among participants who drank coffee — when they measured central blood pressure, as well as both peripheral and central pulse pressure. Pulse pressure is the measure of how much your blood pressure increases during heartbeats compared with between heartbeats, and is the results of subtracting your diastolic blood pressure (the “bottom number” measured between heartbeats) from your systolic blood pressure. There was no significant difference in arterial stiffness — one factor in high blood pressure — between coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinkers.
The researchers noted that while coffee contains caffeine, it’s likely that other components in coffee are responsible for its potentially blood-pressure-lowering effect. “Caffeine is only one of the several coffee components and certainly not the only one with an active role,” said study author Arrigo Cicero, a professor in the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences at the University of Bologna, in a press release on the study. “We know that caffeine can increase blood pressure, but other bioactive components in coffee seem to counterbalance this effect with a positive end result on blood pressure levels.”
This study indicates that people with high blood pressure may be able to safely consume coffee without making the problem worse — but, of course, you should check with your doctor and limit or moderate your coffee or overall caffeine consumption if it has a harmful effect on your blood pressure or heart rate.
Want to learn more about high blood pressure? Read “Treating High Blood Pressure” and “Blood Pressure Myths and Facts” and see our “Blood Pressure Chart.”
