Can drinking a lot of coffee decrease the risk of heart attack and stroke?

There has been talk in the media recently about a recent study that looked at the impact coffee has on heart health. A recent study suggests that drinking coffee (over 3 cups per day) can help avoid clogged arteries which leads to heart attack and stroke.

What are clogged arteries?

If you picture the body as a town, the arteries and veins are the main streets within the map that the blood uses to flow throughout the body. The arteries take blood from the heart to all the other parts of the body.

Arteries in the body can become clogged when a person eats foods with a high “bad” fat, called saturated fat and trans fat. Saturated fat comes from animal products such as dairy products (cream, cheese, butter), meat (beef, pork. Trans fats come from processed foods such as fried foods, donuts, and cakes.

You have probably heard from a doctor to lower how much cholesterol that you eat, but you might not know why.

When we eat animal products, we eat the cholesterol that was inside their body and it can cause a buildup inside the arteries that is like a cement caused by inflammation, called plaque.

Within the town, picture plaque to be parked cars, and blood flow to be flow of steady traffic. When cars are parked lining both sides of the street, the street is limited to one lane of traffic, this slows down the flow of traffic.

This is called atherosclerosis.

The plaque can break apart and cause a clot of blood. The blood clot can float off and cause a blockage in the artery which blocks oxygen from the heart, leading to heart attack. The blood clot can travel to other areas of the body, such as the brain and block oxygen from the brain, which causes a stroke.

This study

Oxidative stress occurs in the when “bad” molecules called free radicals are present, leading to stress of the cells in the body causing inflammation leading to plaque buildup.

Coffee is suggested to have anti-oxidant properties – anti-oxidants are “good” molecules that can stop oxidation that the free radicals create, reducing the chance of the plaque buildup

This study does say that people who drink high levels of coffee have less plaque buildup than those who do not consume as high of levels of coffee.

So, should we drink more coffee?

Yes, and no. It is important to remember that studies have limitations and this may not be the best way to avoid arterial plaque build-up, but if you enjoy coffee and are interested in gaining extra antioxidants, sure.

My recommendation -

Reducing the amount of cholesterol that you eat has proven benefits on your arteries. The more cholesterol you eat, the larger the risk for plaque build-up, and the health complications that come with it.

Anti-oxidants come from other sources than coffee, such as fruits and vegetables or “good” fats, such as olive oil

Tips for lowering cholesterol -

• Eat low fat dairy, remove skin from chicken, cut off visible fat

• Eat more fruits and vegetables

• Increase fibre in your diet from whole grains

• Use "good" fats such as olive oil