A recent study by Tulane University reveals that the timing of coffee consumption significantly impacts its health benefits, especially for moderate and heavy coffee drinkers. Drinking coffee in the morning, as opposed to throughout the day, may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. This finding offers a new perspective on the potential health benefits of coffee and prompts a reevaluation of common coffee-drinking habits.
The study highlights that morning coffee drinkers experience a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Researchers discovered significant metabolic benefits, such as reduced glucose levels and adverse lipids, among those who enjoy their coffee in the morning.
“Prior evidence has also shown the benefits of coffee drinking on metabolism including metabolic factors related to cardiovascular health such as lowering glucose and adverse lipids. Our study indicates that drinking coffee in the morning may strengthen such benefits,” Qi added.
The research, led by Lu Qi, MD, PhD, involved a subgroup of 1,500 participants who meticulously documented their food and beverage intake over a week. This comprehensive approach underscored the importance of circadian rhythms in dietary habits.
“Food eating and beverage drinking are key circadian time cues. While most nutrition studies focus on the quantity of dietary intakes, few investigate the circadian patterns of food/beverage intakes. Coffee affects sleeping and various circadian rhythm related hormones such as melatonin, cortisol, and inflammation markers, which are relevant to heart health.” — Lu Qi, MD, PhD
Though previous studies have associated coffee drinking with health benefits, this is the first to emphasize the timing aspect. Cheng-Han Chen, MD, underscores this novel insight, suggesting that morning coffee consumption may optimize health benefits.
“We’ve known for a while now about the health benefits of coffee drinking. This is the first indication that the timing of coffee drinking may have an impact on the actual health benefits, namely, that you get the health benefit only if you are a morning coffee drinker. It certainly throws a new perspective on how we may potentially recommend coffee drinking for its health benefits.” — Cheng-Han Chen, MD
Drinking coffee later in the day may disrupt circadian rhythms and lead to sleep disturbances, thereby negating potential health benefits.
“We don’t really understand why coffee drinking might be better in the morning,” he continued. “It actually may be that the health benefits of coffee are negated by the negative consequences of drinking coffee at other times of the day, such as the afternoon or evening, in the sense that coffee drinking at those later times would be more likely to disrupt the body’s natural rhythms, what we call circadian rhythms, and potentially even lead to sleep disturbances.” — Cheng-Han Chen, MD
While moderate and heavy morning drinkers benefit significantly from their routine, light drinkers who consume one cup or less experience only a modest advantage. The study did not explore why morning coffee offers better cardiovascular benefits than consumption at other times of the day.
In addition to heart health, other studies have shown that coffee consumption may lower the risk of non-heart-related issues such as head and neck cancer.
“Our data indicates that drinking coffee in [the] morning only may strengthen the beneficial effects; while late drinking may minimize the benefits. Our results indicate that drinking in the morning is particularly beneficial for moderate and heavy drinkers (2 or more cups),” Qi said.
Leave a Reply