A Greek study involved 485 men and women, aged 65 to 100, who live on a small island called Ikaria, in the Aegean Sea, where more than a third of people live to celebrate their 90th birthday.

Coffee Improves Blood Vessel Elasticity

Participants, all of whom had high blood pressure, underwent imaging scans to measure the stiffness of their blood vessels.

Of the total, 33% of participants drank no coffee or less than one cup of coffee a day, 56% drank one to two cups, and 11% drank three or more cups a day.

People who drank one to two cups of coffee a day had about a 25% greater elasticity in their major blood vessels than people who drank less coffee or none at all.

Their blood vessel elasticity was about five times greater than people who drank three or more cups a day.

The analysis took into account factors that can affect blood vessel aging — age, gender, smoking, education, physical activity, body weight, blood pressure, nutritional habits, and diabetes.

The study also showed that people who drank one to two cups of coffee a day were less likely to have diabetes, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, or to be overweight, compared to people who drank more coffee or less coffee, Chrysohoou says.

This study was presented at a medical conference but hasn’t been subjected to the “peer review” process yet.  Other factors in the Greek lifestyle may be responsible for these results.

via Coffee May Combat High Blood Pressure.