Testing took place the following morning. The participants were asked to abstain from chocolate in the time leading up to the study and to have fasted overnight. To avoid the possibility that women’s menstrual cycle may affect their blood flow measurements, they were tested between the 7th and 21st day of their cycle. The participants were healthy, non-obese, non-smokers, who did not have heart disease or diabetes. The study recruited 10 male and 10 female hospital employees between the ages of 25 and 50, who all drank less than two cups of coffee per day. It is not possible to say the differences the researchers observed were not down to chance. The researchers wanted to assess whether caffeine would have an effect on these cells and affect artery function. The rate of blood flow is determined by dilation of the arteries, which are controlled by the cells (endothelial cells) that line the artery walls. This was a non-randomised, crossover double-blind study look- ing at the effect of coffee on artery function in healthy individuals. Much of this prior research has been covered by Behind the Headlines. The stories that have tended to hit the headlines on the effect of coffee on health have typically been relatively small and difficult to interpret. The press also tended to refer to other studies that have reported health benefits of coffee for diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. This study does not provide any evidence for the long-term effects of coffee on health. However, the Daily Mail did emphasis that this was a small study. The newspaper headlines tended to overemphasise the health consequences of coffee consumption based on the small changes in blood pressure and arterial dilation observed in this study. The paper was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study was funded by The Italian Ministry of Education and the Associazione Onlus Nutrizione e salute, Italy. This research was carried out by Dr S Buscemi and colleagues from the University of Palermo, Italy.
Consuming high amounts of caffeine every day is likely to have some effect on wellbeing, regardless of whether this includes an effect on the heart and blood vessels. Like many things, coffee should be drunk in moderation. In addition, the study was in only 20 people, and with such a small number of participants, there is an increased likelihood that the results are due to chance alone. The researchers did not assess whether these changes persisted beyond an hour or how long it took for blood flow to return to its starting point. It is normal for arteries to dilate and constrict throughout the day, for example, with exercise. Though this research found that a group of volunteers had raised blood pressure and slightly constricted arteries an hour after drinking caffeinated coffee, the actual effect was modest and unlikely to have any adverse health effects.
It said a study has found that one cup is enough to reduce blood flow to the heart by 22% within an hour of being drunk.
A “single espresso a day ‘can damage the heart,’” The Daily Telegraph reported.
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