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A team of German researchers reports that four cups of strong coffee a day might be the recipe for a healthy heart, especially for older adults. The researchers think they have discovered how coffee improves heart health and how much caffeine we should drink each day to see the best benefits. The researchers studied how a jolt of caffeine could improve the way cells inside our blood vessels work — essentially, by making certain proteins inside older adult cells perform more like young and nimble ones.

The researchers found that caffeine promotes the movement of a protein called p27 into mitochondria in the heart. The study was published in the journal PLOS Biology. Study leader and molecular biologist Joachim Altschmied told Business Insider “When you drink four to five cups of espresso … that seems to improve the function of the powerhouses of our cells, and therefore seems to be protective.”

Scientists have for years noticed that coffee drinkers seem to be less likely to die from all sorts of causes, including heart disease, stroke, or diabetes. Perhaps the best evidence yet for this comes from two massive studies: one of more than 400,000 people in the US by the National Institutes of Health, and another of more than 500,000 Europeans. Both studies found that regular coffee drinkers were less likely to die from any cause than people who don’t regularly drink coffee.

Coffee is also associated with a whole host of other health benefits, including a lower risk of liver disease (cirrhosis), a lower risk of developing certain kinds of cancer, lower rates of dementia and Alzheimer’s, and a reduced risk of depression. It’s also great for your heart — people who drink three or four cups a day may be 19% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease.

Mr. Altschmied said that drinking the equivalent of about four shots of espresso a day could help reduce the risk of heart attacks, especially for people who are obese or prediabetic. He told BI that coffee can help some people, “It will not replace other things … Keep on doing your sports, eat healthy, and add coffee to your diet.”

BI says you could try green tea if you don’t drink coffee. Green tea has similar levels of caffeine and could also be an effective way to boost heart health.

It’s important not to overdo it with the new recommendation, as too much coffee can quicken your heartbeat and cause other health problems the article warns. But drinking up to six cups a day should be OK, cardiologists say, and may even reduce arrhythmias in people with irregular heartbeats.

One caveat: What works in a hypercontrolled test environment for mice, may not be the same results as what happens when you drink a cup of joe at home. Mr. Altschmied said, “If I had four cups of espresso and you had four cups of espresso, we cannot guarantee that we reach the same level in the blood.”

He also cautioned that the coffee-drinking advice might not hold for people who have cancer. He explained that caffeine can make blood vessels grow, providing more oxygen to fuel tumors.

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Sounds to me that a couple of cups of coffee are not only good, but they are also good for you. Our ol’ friend Joe will not harm you, and it might help your heart and circulatory system stay work better for a longer time.

Related article

• Colombia’s coffee is in danger. These scientists are fighting to save it. (NBC News)

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.