Drinking coffee can certainly help you stay awake during that work meeting or get energized before a test. However, a recent study shows that drinking a cup of caffeinated coffee a day can help boost blood flow in fingers.
Researchers found that the inner lining of the body’s smaller blood vessels could actually produce more blood flow with the help of a caffeinated drink.
In fact, they note that participants who drank a cup of caffeinated coffee a day had a 30 percent increase in blood flow over a 75-minute period compared to those who just drank a decaffeinated cup.
“This gives us a clue about how coffee may help improve cardiovascular health,” lead study researcher Masso Tsutsui, M.D., Ph.D., a cardiologist and professor in the pharmacology department at the University of the Ryukus in Okinawa Japan said, via a press release.
Previous findings have suggested that drinking coffee can help lower the risk of dying from heart disease and stroke, and that high doses of caffeine may improve the function of larger arteries.
Researchers had each participant–ranging in age from 22 to 30 who were not regular coffee drinkers–drink one five-ounce cup of Joe a day or a decaffeinated cup. Following, their finger blood flow was measured via a non-invasive technique for gauging circulation, known as flowmetry. This experiment was repeated with each type of coffee for two days.
The researchers found that when compared to decaffeinated coffee, the caffeinated version was able to help raise participants’ blood pressure and improve vessel inner lining function.
Though it is unclear at this time how this improvement occurred, researchers hope that caffeine may help open blood vessels in order to potentially reduce inflammation.
More information regarding the study was presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2013.
Source: Science World Report