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How Coffee Affects The Cardiovascular System

Almost since coffee was introduced in Europe, there has been a debate about its impact on the body. The point is that it is worth limiting the consumption of the harmful drink, or even excluding it from the diet altogether – some people complain that after drinking it, their heart hurts, their blood pressure rises, and they have trouble sleeping.

Many lovers of this flavorful drink have reported unpleasant sensations in the heart area after drinking a cup or two. But how true is this? Can your heart hurt after coffee? It is worthwhile to understand this issue so as not to fall victim to your love for a delicious but controversial drink.

What are the benefits of coffee?

First of all, this aromatic drink is valued for its invigorating properties and for the fact that it can stimulate the brain. But these are not the only reasons to love coffee. It has a number of other positive qualities.

For example, it improves the condition during hypotension attacks – a severe headache, drowsiness, lethargy, chills, nausea; speeds up metabolism and improves blood flow; increases efficiency; has a positive effect on the digestive system; helps to replenish the lack of iron, manganese, phosphorus, vitamins PP, B1, B2 and other trace elements.

But all this is possible only when drinking natural coffee. Instant coffee no longer has most of these beneficial properties, and its taste is significantly inferior to the bean version.
But if coffee is so good and can even be useful, why are there talks about its harmful effects on the cardiovascular system? Why do some lovers of this drink note that their hearts periodically ache, their heartbeat increases, tremors begin in their hands, and anxiety attacks appear after drinking it? This is because the vast majority are not used to monitoring their health and do not pay attention to the recommendations of specialists, even when it comes to such an important organ as the heart.

Negative effects of coffee:

First of all, it is worth mentioning that scientists have long found out that coffee is not capable of impairing the functioning of internal organs, and above all the heart if there were no health problems from the very beginning. And consuming this drink no more than three cups a day will allow you to get only the benefits of it, without any harmful effects on body systems.

In the case when initially there were disturbances in the work of the heart and blood vessels, problems with blood pressure, and, moreover, if serious illnesses were detected by a doctor, then the use of aromatic and tasty coffee can be not just with unpleasant consequences, but really dangerous.

The drink stimulates the nervous system. This can lead to the fact that people with sensitive nerves begin to experience bouts of irritability, anxiety, insomnia, or nightmares.

Coffee is believed to increase blood pressure. This statement is somewhat far from the truth – caffeine itself does not have such harmful properties. But it prevents blood pressure from dropping by keeping blood vessels constricted, which is quite dangerous for hypertensive patients.

Coffee flushes out potassium, calcium, and magnesium from the body, which is so necessary for the cardiovascular and nervous systems. This can be one of the reasons for heart pain and nerve problems.

As for such common conditions as tachycardia and angina, drinking coffee is undesirable. This drink can only worsen the condition, even if there have been no negative symptoms for a long time. With such diseases, you should especially carefully control your diet, giving up foods that have a stimulating effect on the nerves, heart, and blood vessels.

Coffee stimulates the secretion of gastric juice, which in people suffering from gastritis and peptic ulcer disease can cause a relapse of the disease. The drink causes blood stasis in the extremities, which can worsen the condition of varicose veins.

All these points should be taken into account, both by ardent coffee fans and those who drink the drink occasionally. If you already have some unpleasant manifestations on the part of your internal organs, you should reconsider your attitude toward coffee.

What to do

First of all, if you have health problems, such as heart pain, heart rhythm disturbances, nervousness, insomnia, and other symptoms, you should immediately visit a doctor. The specialist will prescribe the necessary tests and examinations to identify the cause of such manifestations. Only then will it be possible to judge how harmful coffee consumption is in this case? You can also take some actions on your own. They will definitely not be able to harm, but they are quite capable of improving the functioning of the whole body.

  • Reduce your coffee consumption to three cups a day.
  • Drink a weak drink, adding cream or milk and sugar. But first, you should familiarize yourself with the beneficial properties and contraindications of coffee with milk.
  • Include in your diet foods that contain calcium, potassium, and magnesium – dairy products, kiwi, dried apricots, baked potatoes, chocolate, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts.
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Written by Bella Adams

I'm a professionally-trained, executive chef with over ten years in Restaurant Culinary and hospitality management. Experienced in specialized diets, including Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw foods, whole food, plant-based, allergy-friendly, farm-to-table, and more. Outside of the kitchen, I write about lifestyle factors that impact well-being.

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