There’s nothing like a morning coffee to add an extra spring to your step. And new evidence shows that boosting energy doesn’t just happen in your head: a daily habit can bring real, long-term benefits to your health.
The latest study, scientific statement published by the American Heart Association in its journal. Circulationreaches an encouraging figure: for most adults, up to 5 cups of caffeinated coffee per day (about 400 mg of caffeine) is safe, and for some people may even be associated with a lower risk of several heart diseases.
There’s one catch where accurate counting matters. In people with healthy blood pressure, drinking as little as 1–3 cups per day was associated with higher The risk of developing high blood pressure, while drinking more than 3 cups was associated with lower cup intake, is one of several findings that suggest one morning cup may not benefit your heart anyway.
Gregory Marcus, MD, who led the team writing the statement and is associate chief of cardiology for research at the University of California, San Francisco, put it bluntly: Up to 5 cups a day “is safe and does not increase cardiovascular risk”—as long as it’s black and has no added sugar or fillers.
But the fine print goes both ways. Drinking 2 to 4 cups of coffee per day was associated with a lower risk of heart disease, heart failure, and stroke. If you go beyond four, the researchers warn that the risk of heart failure may begin to rise.
Your daily coffee intake checked
Researchers from the University of California warned that among people with healthy blood pressure, drinking one to three cups a day was actually associated with increased risk of developing high blood pressure.
Drinking more than three cups per day was associated with a lower risk.
According to a review, caffeinated coffee may reduce insulin sensitivity in the short term. But regularly eating it in its black form, without additives, flavorings or sweeteners, was associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes over time.
The researchers also concluded that drinking two to four cups of caffeinated coffee per day was associated with a lower risk of heart disease, heart failure and stroke.
“However, drinking more than 4 cups of caffeinated coffee per day may increase the risk of heart failure,” it warned.
For workers who want to get the most out of their coffee habit, four cups a day is optimal.
But it’s worth noting: the benefits were associated with black coffee without milk and sugar. So this isn’t a green light to start chugging caramel oat lattes in the name of your health.
Good news for tea lovers, bad news for energy drinks
If coffee isn’t your thing, you’re out of luck. The scientists noted that tea is also “associated with a reduced risk of atrial fibrillation, heart failure and stroke, similar to caffeinated coffee.”
Energy drinks, on the other hand, don’t have the same ratings.
The study warned that these performance-enhancing drinks may contain between 40 and 69 milligrams of caffeine per fluid ounce. That is, three to four times more concentrated than a regular cup of coffee.
And the review found that higher caffeine intake at these levels was associated with real-world cardiovascular harm, including a higher risk of high blood pressure and irregular heart rhythms—even in people generally considered low risk, such as healthy adults under 30.
This isn’t the first time coffee’s reputation has come under scrutiny. Previous research has shown that your morning buzz may be due in part to a placebo: The ritual of brewing and drinking coffee does almost as much heavy lifting as the caffeine itself.
But the latest results show that one cup is not enough anyway. If you want real bang for your buck, you’ll have to go back for a second, a third, and ideally a fourth. Just don’t let the 4:00 p.m. slump convince you to reach for that fifth cup or energy drink.