Laurence Dollimore
SPAIN is one of the biggest coffee-loving countries on the planet.
From cortados to cafes con leche and more, millions of people enjoy the hot drink every day – and at any hour.
However, a medical study published by the European Heart Journal today has suggested there is a benefit to drinking the beverage at a certain time of day.
The research, led by the US-based Tulane University, studied 40,725 adults who participated in the US’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 1999 and 2018.
Around 36% of the participants said they drank coffee in the morning, mainly before noon, while 16% consumed it throughout the day and 48% did not drink it at all.
The results indicate that, compared to people who did not drink coffee, those who consumed it in the morning were 16% less likely to die from any cause and 31% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease.
However, there was no reduction in risk for all-day coffee drinkers compared with non-drinkers, Tulane University reported in a statement – suggesting only those who drank it in the morning benefited.
Additionally, the health risks were reduced more for those who consumed two to three cups or even more.
Those who had one cup or less saw health risks reduced, but not as strongly.
The report said the research conducted so far ‘suggests that coffee consumption does not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, and appears to reduce the risk of some chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes.’
Given the effects that caffeine has on the body, researchers led by expert Lu Qi wanted to see ‘if the time of day when you drink coffee has any impact on heart health.’
Qi wrote: “What is important is not only whether you drink coffee or how much you drink, but the time of day when you drink it.
“We don’t usually give advice about the timing of coffee in our dietary guidelines, but perhaps we should think about it in the future.”
The research doesn’t say why drinking coffee in the morning reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, but Qi pointed to a possible explanation.
The report reads: “Drinking coffee in the afternoon or evening can disrupt circadian rhythms and levels of hormones such as melatonin.
“This, in turn, causes changes in cardiovascular risk factors such as inflammation and blood pressure.”
The researcher said further studies are needed to validate these findings in other populations, as well as clinical trials to test the potential impact of changing the time of day people drink coffee.
