Protects the heart

Coffee in the morning reduces the risk of death

Further studies are needed to validate the results in other population groups. As this is an observational study, only associations and no causal relationships could be established.(Bild: STEPHAN WINKLER @littleTravel_moments, stock.adobe.com)

According to a new study, drinking coffee in the morning protects the heart. People who mainly drink coffee in the morning have a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than those who do not drink coffee or drink coffee throughout the day.

Study results* show that morning coffee drinkers had a 31 percent lower risk of cardiovascular death and a 16 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality compared to coffee abstainers.

However, no such health benefits were found in study participants who drank coffee throughout the day.

Further studies are needed to validate the results in other population groups. As this was an observational study, only associations and not causal relationships could be established.(Bild: STEPHAN WINKLER @littleTravel_moments, stock.adobe.com)

Why does the timing of coffee drinking play a role? 
The researchers suspect that drinking coffee in the afternoon or evening disrupts the internal biological clock and thus negates any positive effects.

Two to three cups are ideal
The positive effect of drinking coffee in the morning was most pronounced in people with a coffee consumption of two to three cups. However, according to the study, those with a coffee consumption of more than three cups every morning also benefited from positive effects on the risk of death.

Positive effects were also measurable in people who consumed between one and two cups of coffee every morning. However, they were smaller.

*The test subjects took part in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2018. For the study, which was published on Wednesday in the European Health Journal, the researchers from Tulane University in the USA analyzed data from over 40,000 adults.