Coffee consumption among 154 million people daily totaling 517 million cups can provide much-needed energy boost and heart protection. If coffee is part of your morning ritual, enjoy it for its health benefits as it could give a much-needed energy boost as well as helping protect the heart from diseases such as cardiovascular diseases.

Question is not whether coffee can be included as part of a heart healthy diet, but how and how often to drink it. While studies have linked coffee consumption with several health benefits, others have revealed how caffeine increases blood pressure levels and risk for coronary artery disease.

Researchers studied over half a million participants in an observational study to understand how coffee consumption affected cardiac outcomes. Overall, those who consumed more than three cups a day had lower risks of arrhythmias and total cardiovascular death compared with those who didn’t drink coffee at all. Additionally, people who drank their coffee in the morning rather than throughout the day experienced reduced risks than those who consumed coffee after noon.

Coffee contains polyphenols, plant compounds that act as both antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. This may help lower the risk of metabolic syndrome – an accumulation of factors which increases your risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Coffee may also help lower your risk of type 2 diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity, increasing metabolism and inhibiting fat absorption in the gut. Though adding coffee to your regular diet is healthy, limit how many cups per day and avoid adding any sugar.

At first, many patients come to me concerned about their coffee intake; however, many do not need to eliminate it from their regular diet altogether if they limit it to three or four cups daily and refrain from adding extra sugar.

Attain a balanced diet consisting of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins (eggs, poultry, fish) and nuts as well as low-fat dairy such as milk yogurt cheese or cheese. Also, ensure you consume an ample supply of fiber which can lower cholesterol and improve cardiovascular health; choose whole grain products such as brown rice whole grain pasta quinoa oats over refined grains to lower your blood pressure more effectively. Finally, limit red meat consumption to several times each week as alternatives exist such as beans or nuts as alternatives.