- Medical News Today has gathered its recent coverage about some of the possible benefits of coffee.
- The American Heart Association (AHA) suggests that up to 5 cups of coffee per day could be safe for heart health for most people.
- Five cups of coffee per day could help reduce the risk of certain liver problems, such as cirrhosis, according to one study.
- Researchers of another study found that one cup of caffeinated coffee per day could help lower the risk of recurrent atrial fibrillation (AFib) episodes.
Around 66% of American adults drink coffee every day, according to the National Coffee Association.
When consumed in moderation, coffee may offer a range of health benefits. In particular, recent research has explored the potential impact of coffee on heart and liver health.
Read on to learn about some of the recent studies Medical News Today has covered and the insights researchers discovered about regularly drinking coffee.
The AHA recently published a scientific statement in Circulation. It suggests that 3 to 5 cups of coffee at 8 ounces (oz) per cup, or 400 milligrams (mg) of caffeine, per day is generally safe for most adults.
Up to 5 cups of coffee could also help lower the risk of cardiovascular problems, such as:
According to the statement, a “regular, brewed, nonspecialty” coffee contains around 9.4 to 20.6 mg of caffeine per fluid oz. Specialty coffees contain 7.9 to 15.8 mg of caffeine per fluid oz.
The caffeine in decaffeinated coffee is around 0.25 mg per fluid oz.
Nutrition expert Michelle Routhenstein, MS, RD, CDCES, CDN, preventive cardiology dietitian at EntirelyNourished spoke with MNT about the AHA’s statement.
“I see it as evidence that, for most generally healthy adults, up to about 5 cups of filtered coffee per day can be compatible with cardiovascular health, but it’s not a recommendation or a target intake,” explained Routhenstein in a previous interview.
“Black or minimally sweetened coffee, particularly when consumed in moderation, appears to offer benefits that extend well beyond its caffeine content,” Claire Cohen, dipCNM, mBANT, rCNHC, nutritional therapist at Nat-Nut Nutritional Therapy, who had also spoken with MNT previously, added.
“However, individual responses to coffee vary. Our genetics influence how quickly we metabolize caffeine, so while several cups may have little effect on one person, the same amount could raise blood pressure, trigger palpitations, or disrupt sleep in someone who metabolizes caffeine more slowly,” Cohen said.
The researchers analyzed the data of more than 354,000 adults from the U.K. Biobank. Participants did not have liver cancer or liver cirrhosis at the beginning.
After a median of 13 years, participants drinking 5 or more cups of coffee daily saw a reduction in the risk of:
Meridan Zerner, MS, RDN, CSSD, LD, CHWC, founder of Meridan Zerner Nutrition in Dallas, TX, spoke with MNT about these findings.
“The synergistic mechanisms could include that coffee is a rich source of antioxidants and plant compounds that may help reduce chronic inflammation,” Zerner, who was not involved in the study, told MNT in a previous interview.
“In addition, the components in coffee have been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and support healthier blood sugar regulation. Regular coffee consumption has also been associated with lower liver fat and slower progression of liver fibrosis, both of which are important because fatty liver disease and cirrhosis are major risk factors for liver cancer,” Zerner added.
One cup of caffeinated coffee per day could help lower the risk of recurrent AFib episodes by up to 39%.
This is according to a clinical trial from 2025. During the trial, 200 adults with persistent AFib either drank at least 1 cup of caffeinated coffee daily — or 7 per week — or abstained from caffeine for 6 months.
The researchers found that those who drank coffee had a 39% lower risk of the recurrence of atrial flutter compared with those who did not drink any coffee.
Two of the study authors published a follow-up article in August 2026, stating that the trial should “strongly challenge conventional beliefs” regarding the potential for caffeine to worsen arrhythmias.
In a previous interview with MNT, Gregory M. Marcus, MD, MAS, professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the University of California, San Francisco, lead author of the JAMA study, and co-author of the Cardiovascular Research paper, said:
“It is important to emphasize that these were participants randomly assigned to consume at least 1 cup of caffeinated coffee a day. This is the first long-term randomized trial of caffeinated coffee in general. A randomized study design is the best method we have to infer actual causal effects.”
He added: “The fact that those who were randomized to the coffee arm experienced a lower risk of atrial fibrillation should certainly reassure our atrial fibrillation patients who consume and enjoy caffeinated coffee and should provide data for healthcare providers that they should not generally prohibit their atrial fibrillation patients from consuming caffeinated coffee.”
Marcus concluded that “This study also opens the door to future studies to determine if caffeinated coffee might actually be a tool to protect against atrial fibrillation.”
