A study has suggested that people who drink coffee may be less likely to have high blood pressure than those who never enjoy a cup.
The Preventive and Clinical Investigations Centre in Paris ran research on the blood pressure of men and women aged between 16 and 95 for a ten-year period.
There were three categories: those who completely abstained from coffee and tea; those who drank one to four cups a day; and those who drank more than four cups.
It was discovered that coffee lovers had significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings than abstainers, with the people who drank the most seeing the greatest benefits.
With approximately one in four middle-aged Britons classed as having high blood pressure, this could have important implications for healthcare advice.
It is not the only study this year to have shown the positive effects of a daily coffee break either. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in the US said at Digestive Disease Week earlier in 2013 that greater coffee consumption seems to correlate with a lower risk of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), a disease of the bile ducts than can lead to liver disease and cancer.
PSC patients were more likely to never consume coffee than a control group whose members regularly drank it.
Elsewhere, scientists at the National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society in April found that natural substances extracted from unroasted coffee beans may help to control the elevated blood sugar levels and body weight that can cause type 2 diabetes.
Dr Joe Vinson said his research indicated that people who consumed seven cups of coffee a day were 50 per cent less likely to experience these issues than those who drank two.
"The evidence points to chlorogenic acids as the active ingredients in coffee that both prevent diabetes and improve glucose control in normal, pre-diabetic and diabetic people," he commented.
This could also be hugely important to healthcare officials, as this type of diabetes is becoming increasingly common in the developed world.
