Is coffee good for you? What the biggest studies found, and who should cut back

The short answer: for most adults, yes. Coffee seems generally safe at usual amounts and is more often linked with benefit than harm, according to a 2017 BMJ review of 201 meta-analyses. The lowest risks showed up at about three to four cups a day. The evidence is mostly observational, though, and coffee isn’t right for everyone, especially in pregnancy.

Two things matter as much as the coffee: how it’s brewed, and what you put in it. Both are covered below. For how long caffeine stays in your body and how much is in each drink, see our guide to how long caffeine lasts.

Is coffee good for your health?

Coffee drinking is linked with lower risk of several diseases, but those studies can’t prove coffee is the cause. The biggest summary is a 2017 umbrella review in the BMJ by Poole and colleagues. It pulled together 201 meta-analyses of observational research covering 67 health outcomes. Coffee was more often associated with benefit than harm, and the largest drops in risk for most outcomes came at three to four cups a day. Going above that didn’t look harmful, but the benefit shrank.

Here’s the honest catch. The authors rated most of this evidence as low or very low quality. Coffee drinkers can differ from non-drinkers in smoking, income and other habits, and people who feel unwell often cut back. The review says randomized trials are still needed. So coffee looks safe for most people, and there’s no need to start drinking it for your health.

Is coffee bad for your heart?

For most people, coffee doesn’t appear to be bad for the heart. In the BMJ review, people who drank about three cups a day had a 19% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than non-drinkers. Harvard’s Nutrition Source sums up the wider research the same way: caffeinated coffee doesn’t seem to raise the risk of heart disease, and 3 to 5 cups a day is consistently linked with lower risk of several chronic diseases.

A 2022 UK Biobank study of almost 450,000 people followed for 12.5 years found the same pattern for decaf, ground and instant coffee, with the lowest risk at 2 to 3 cups a day. Coffee is a different drink from an energy drink, and our guide on whether energy drinks are bad for your heart explains why those raise more concern.

Is coffee bad for your heart rate?

Coffee doesn’t seem to cause heart rhythm problems in most people, though it can cause palpitations in some. In a UK Biobank study of 386,258 people, each extra daily cup was linked to a 3% lower risk of arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation. A 2023 trial in the New England Journal of Medicine tracked 100 adults with heart monitors. On coffee days, extra beats from the heart’s upper chambers didn’t rise significantly. Extra beats from the lower chambers did, from 102 to 154 a day, and people slept 36 minutes less.

Harvard notes that high amounts of caffeine can cause unwanted palpitations in some people. If your heart races, flutters or skips after coffee, try less and tell your doctor. Get urgent help for palpitations with chest pain, fainting or severe shortness of breath.

Does coffee raise blood pressure?

Coffee raises blood pressure for a few hours, but regular drinking doesn’t seem to raise it long term. A 2011 review looked at people who already had high blood pressure. In five trials, 200 to 300 mg of caffeine raised the top number by about 8 points and the bottom by about 6. The rise started within the first hour and lasted at least 3 hours. In studies lasting two weeks, coffee didn’t raise blood pressure, and seven cohort studies found no link with heart disease.

Severe high blood pressure may be the exception. In a Japanese study of 18,609 people, those with severe high blood pressure who drank two or more cups a day had about twice the risk of dying from heart disease as non-drinkers. That link wasn’t seen in people with normal or mildly high readings. Harvard suggests people who have trouble controlling their blood pressure may want to moderate their coffee. Ask your doctor what’s right for you, and don’t change any blood pressure medicine on your own.

One practical tip: coffee can skew a reading. Our guide to taking blood pressure at home says to wait 30 minutes after caffeine.

Is French press coffee bad for cholesterol?

French press and other unfiltered coffee can raise LDL cholesterol, while filtered coffee has almost no effect. Coffee beans contain oily compounds called diterpenes, mainly cafestol and kahweol. Harvard says these raise LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and that filtering removes them.

Trials in the BMJ review found coffee raised LDL by about 0.14 mmol/L, or about 5 mg/dL, and the authors put that down to diterpenes. In the Norwegian study of over 500,000 people, unfiltered coffee was linked to higher death rates than filtered coffee. If your LDL is high and you love a French press, switching to filtered coffee is a simple change. Our list of foods that lower cholesterol covers the rest of the plate.

How much coffee a day is healthy?

About three to four cups a day is where the BMJ review saw the lowest risks, and MedlinePlus calls four 8-ounce cups, about 400 mg of caffeine, a moderate amount for most people. Those are standard 8-ounce cups. Many mugs and coffee-shop sizes hold twice that, so count ounces rather than drinks. Our caffeine guide covers how much caffeine is too much and how late in the day to stop.

Who should not drink coffee?

People who are pregnant should keep caffeine under 200 mg a day, and some people do better with less or none. In pregnancy, MedlinePlus and the NHS both set that 200 mg limit, and the BMJ review linked high coffee intake to low birth weight and pregnancy loss. MedlinePlus says you may want to limit caffeine if you:

• Have anxiety, stress or sleep problems
• Have acid reflux or stomach ulcers. The NIDDK lists coffee among common reflux triggers
• Have fast or irregular heart rhythms
• Have high blood pressure that’s hard to control
• Get chronic headaches

The BMJ review also found a higher fracture risk with heavy coffee drinking in women. Caffeine interacts with some medicines, so ask your pharmacist if you take any regularly. If you’re cutting back, MedlinePlus suggests doing it slowly to avoid withdrawal symptoms.

Is coffee with cream and sugar bad for you?

Coffee with cream and sugar is fine now and then, but the extras can add up fast. Black coffee has about 2 calories a cup. Here’s what common add-ins bring, using USDA FoodData Central values:

Two tablespoons of heavy cream is about a third of the FDA’s 20 g daily value for saturated fat, in one cup. The NHLBI counts sweetened coffee and tea among the sweetened drinks that supply about half of all added sugars Americans eat. Harvard notes that specialty coffee drinks can run 200 to 500 calories. Try this: switch to low-fat milk, and cut the sugar by half a teaspoon each week until you like it with less.

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Quick questions

Is coffee bad for your heart?

For most people, coffee doesn’t appear to be bad for the heart. A 2017 BMJ review found people drinking about three cups a day had a 19% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than non-drinkers. The evidence is observational. People with severe high blood pressure or heart rhythm problems should ask their doctor about coffee.

How much coffee a day is too much?

For most adults, more than about four 8-ounce cups a day, roughly 400 mg of caffeine, is above what MedlinePlus calls moderate. In pregnancy, the limit is under 200 mg of caffeine a day. Big mugs and coffee-shop cups can hold twice a standard cup, so count ounces rather than drinks.

Is decaf coffee good for you?

Decaf coffee seems to share many of coffee’s links with better health. The 2017 BMJ review found decaf was linked to lower risk of death from all causes and from heart disease, with the biggest drop at two to four cups a day. A UK Biobank study linked decaf to lower heart disease risk, but not to fewer arrhythmias.

Is it OK to drink coffee with high blood pressure?

Many people with high blood pressure can drink coffee, but ask your doctor. Caffeine raises blood pressure for at least 3 hours, though two-week studies found no lasting rise. A Japanese study linked two or more cups a day to higher heart death risk only in people with severe high blood pressure.

Is French press coffee bad for cholesterol?

French press coffee can raise LDL cholesterol because it’s unfiltered. It keeps oily compounds called cafestol and kahweol, which filtering removes. Harvard says filtered drip and instant coffee contain almost none. If your LDL is high, switching to filtered coffee is an easy change to discuss with your doctor.

Is coffee with creamer bad for you?

Coffee with creamer isn’t harmful now and then, but the extras add up. Two tablespoons of heavy cream add about 7 grams of saturated fat, a third of the FDA daily value, and two teaspoons of sugar add 8 grams of sugar. Low-fat milk and less sugar keep coffee closer to its 2 calories.

This article is general information, not medical advice. Most coffee research is observational and can’t prove cause and effect. If you are pregnant, have a heart rhythm problem, high blood pressure, reflux or anxiety, or take regular medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist about caffeine, and talk to your doctor before changing any medicine. Get urgent help for palpitations with chest pain or fainting.

Sources

• Poole R et al. Coffee consumption and health: umbrella review of meta-analyses of multiple health outcomes. BMJ, 2017
• Chieng D et al. The impact of coffee subtypes on incident cardiovascular disease, arrhythmias, and mortality: long-term outcomes from the UK Biobank. Eur J Prev Cardiol, 2022
• Kim EJ et al. Coffee Consumption and Incident Tachyarrhythmias. JAMA Intern Med, 2021
• Marcus GM et al. Acute Effects of Coffee Consumption on Health among Ambulatory Adults. N Engl J Med, 2023
• Mesas AE et al. The effect of coffee on blood pressure and cardiovascular disease in hypertensive individuals. Am J Clin Nutr, 2011
• Teramoto M et al. Coffee and Green Tea Consumption and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Among People With and Without Hypertension. J Am Heart Assoc, 2023
• Tverdal A et al. Coffee consumption and mortality from cardiovascular diseases and total mortality: Does the brewing method matter? Eur J Prev Cardiol, 2020
• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, The Nutrition Source. Coffee
• MedlinePlus. Caffeine in the diet
• NHS. Foods to avoid in pregnancy
• NIDDK. Eating, Diet, and Nutrition for GER and GERD
• NHLBI. Heart-Healthy Living: Choose Heart-Healthy Foods
• FDA. Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels
• USDA. FoodData Central, SR Legacy