By Jimmy Downs

Thuesday May 09, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- Martina Montagnana from Università di Verona in Verona, Italy and colleagues published a report in Semin Thromb Hemost. suggesting that drinking coffee or intake of caffeine can provide many health benefits.

The report says that epidemiological studies showed that both low (less than one cup per day) and high intakes of coffee (more than or equal to four cups per day) with or without caffeine, were associated with lower risk for cardiovascular disease while moderate intake (two to four cups per day) was linked to higher risk for the disease.

Individuals who were able to metabolize caffeine and had a low risk for cardiovascular disease at baseline can benefit most from drinking coffee.  Benefits vary from the type of coffee used including decaffeinated coffee, filtered coffee, coffee consumption during lunchtime or dinner, and coffee produced in the Italian style.

The authors say that the benefits of coffee are attributed to compounds found in coffee including caffeine and chlorogenic acids.  The former was associated with weight loss and increased flow-mediated dilation and fibrinolysis and the latter was correlated with lower blood pressure, reduced risk for systemic inflammation, risk of type 2 diabetes, and platelet aggregation.

Caffeine is commonly used in energy drinks and other food and beverage products.  Coffee has been also associated with lower risk for liver cancer.