A cup or two of coffee helps arteries retain elasticity and could lead to longer, healthier life, according to researchers from the University of Athens. Patients with high blood pressure can also benefit from this property, they said.
“The study revealed that moderate coffee consumption, between one and two cups per day, is associated with higher values of aortic distensibility when compared with other hypertensive elderly individuals taking less coffee,” said Dr. Christina Chrysohoou, presenting the findings at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Stockholm.
The researchers studied 485 men and women aged between 65 and 100, all long-term residents of the Greek island of Ikaria where one third of the population reaches the age of 90. Islanders have 20% less cancer risk and 50% less heart disease risk compared to other westerners.
Together with a preference for herbal and honey concoctions, “drinking coffee is a deeply embedded social tradition in Greek culture which made it imperative to probe on this island of high life-expectancy,” according to Chrysohoou.
Of subjects that drank one to two cups every day, 56% were found to have the best arterial health. Their arteries were significantly more elastic than those who drank little or no coffee.
“People who reported four or more cups a day had almost an 18% reduction in the risk of being hospitalized for rhythm disturbances,” added Arthur Klatsky, a senior cardiology consultant at Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in California.