According to this study led by Dr. Lu Qi, holder of the HCA Regents Distinguished Chair and professor at the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University in New Orleans, it would indeed be better to limit your morning coffee consumption, independently of the quantity consumed and other potentially influential factors.
But why?
Dr. Lu Qi explains that while most previous research showed that moderate coffee consumption may be associated with lower risks of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and premature death, scientific evidence of the influence of factors such as genetics, the amount of coffee consumed or sweeteners added, have been “inconsistent” or sometimes “controversial”.
See also: “Significant increase”: prepare to pay a lot for your coffee in 2025
Dr Lu Qui’s team therefore conducted a 10-year study, between 1999 and 2018, with 40,725 adults aged 18 and over. Caffeinated coffee and decaffeinated coffee were taken into account, and the time of consumption was divided into three periods: morning (4 a.m. to 11:59 a.m.), afternoon (noon to 4:59 p.m.) and evening ( from 5 p.m. to 3:59 a.m.).
The study highlights two consumption patterns, in the morning and throughout the day.
At the end of the research, there were 4,295 deaths “from all causes”. Among the deaths, there were 1,268 from cardiovascular disease and 934 from cancer.
Dr. Lu Qui’s study demonstrates that compared to people who did not drink coffee, drinking coffee only in the morning was associated with a 16% reduced risk of premature death from all causes and a 31% reduced risk of premature death from all causes. by cardiovascular disease. People who tended to drink coffee all day did not see their risk decrease.
-In its article on the subject, CNN specifies that the results remained valid even after taking into account factors such as hours of sleep, age, gender, levels of physical activity or dietary intake.
So, should you only drink one coffee a day, in the morning? No, don’t worry.
According to the study, for morning coffee drinkers (between 4 a.m. and 11:59 a.m.), the amount of coffee (caffeinated or not) did not matter whether they drank less than one cup or more than three cups. of coffee per day. “Doing it in the morning was always more effective than other habits in terms of mortality risk,” it says.
Dr. Lu believes one possible explanation for these findings is that drinking coffee in the afternoon or evening may disrupt circadian rhythms and levels of hormones such as melatonin. “Low levels of melatonin have been associated with higher levels of blood pressure and oxidative stress, as well as increased risk of cardiovascular disease,” he reports.
Coffee also acts as an anti-inflammatory thanks to its antioxidants which neutralize free radicals (such as polluted air, cigarette smoke or pesticides) which can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. According to the authors, certain inflammatory markers in the blood “have their own clock,” and they are typically higher in the morning, so “the anti-inflammatory effect of concentrated morning coffee consumption may be more beneficial than that of consumption distributed between morning, afternoon and evening.
Obviously, a study can have some shortcomings, and this is the case of the one on coffee consumption, confirm the authors, specifying that, for example, memories of food intake can be inaccurate or biased and that they do not do not take into account long-term habits.
Another example of a gap submitted to CNN: “The team could not rule out the possibility that morning coffee consumption pattern is a marker of an overall healthy lifestyle. For example, morning coffee drinkers may be more likely to exercise and eat non-ultra-processed foods,” the authors explain.
Related News :