The Caffeine Debate Is Back. Is It Good For Us?

Rejoice, all coffee fanatics. The experts have concluded that drinking up to five cups of coffee is not only healthy, but may decrease your risk of various heart problems.

On Monday, the American Heart Association published a paper detailing findings from a panel of experts on decades of research related to caffeine, especially caffeine found in America’s favorite drink. 

The group concluded that the safe level of maximum caffeine consumption rests around 400 milligrams daily — that’s up to five eight-ounce cups of regular coffee.

“Data are fairly consistent that moderate caffeine consumption, again studied primarily in the setting of coffee consumption, was associated with a lower risk of stroke,” the paper said, adding that caffeine consumption in coffee was associated with a lower risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

The paper also said that “Randomized controlled trial data among regular caffeinated coffee drinkers showed that caffeinated coffee decreases the risk of atrial fibrillation occurrence but increases the frequency of premature ventricular contractions.” 

Atrial fibrillation is an irregular beating of the heart that can lead to blood clots, stroke, and heart failure. Premature ventricular contractions are irregular contractions in the lower part of your heart that give the feeling of your heart skipping beats. However, the premature ventricular contractions are mostly harmless.

In other words, coffee could potentially make your heart beat a little differently, but it could also prevent bigger beating irregularities down the road.

The experts did find some caveats with caffeine consumption. They determined that CYP1A2, the gene that creates the enzyme in your liver associated with metabolizing caffeine, is inherited, so caffeine tolerance and toxicity vary from person to person.

The experts found that “unfiltered coffee raises low-density lipoprotein cholesterol” — that’s the “bad cholesterol” that can create plaque buildup in the arteries and cause heart failure or stroke. Caffeine could also cause an increase in blood pressure, which can pose a risk for individuals suffering from hypertension.

Although caffeine in the context of coffee has been seen to be beneficial, the paper stated that “Data on high doses of caffeine such as that found in energy drinks are limited and generally suggest cardiovascular harm.”

According to the CDC, heart disease was the number-one cause of death in the United States, taking the lives of 683,491 Americans in 2024. It might be that some of those people needed more coffee.