There have been numerous studies over the years linking coffee consumption to improved heart health. From keeping your heartbeat regular to reducing the instances of heart failure, the pile of evidence that coffee positively affects your ticker keeps getting thicker and thicker. And researchers have discovered another benefit: coffee may help protect against heart attacks.
As reported by Sci Tech Daily, the new study is the work of researchers from the Department of Chemical Pharmacology at Toho University’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Japan and was recently published in the Journal of Pharmacological Sciences. For it, the researchers examined the effects of ferulic acid, a naturally occurring compound found in rice, some vegetables, and coffee.
Using pig arteries, which look and function similarly to those of humans, the researchers, they found that ferulic acid worked to prevent spasms in the coronary arteries, which can cause chest pains, heart attacks, and “other serious cardiovascular issues.” It did so through two primary mechanism. Per Sci Tech Daily, ferulic acid blocks calcium from getting into muscle cells via “L-type calcium channels,” which are responsible for artery contractions. And it also inhibits activation of “myosin light chain,” a protein “essential for muscle contraction.”
A cup of coffee is estimated to contain around 35mg of ferulic acid, though there is no recommended daily amount. Some studies testing other positive effects of ferulic acid found 1,000mg to be beneficial.
Perhaps the biggest find in the study was that ferulic acid supplementation was sometimes more effective than diltiazem, “a widely used medication for relaxing blood vessels.” And because it is plant-based and naturally occurring, this gives researchers hope that it may become a foundational part of future heart medications.
So it’s more good news on the health front. Not that you really needed it to keep drinking coffee, but it’s nice to have anyway.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
