Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
The health benefits of coffee may be regularly disputed, but a new study has linked caffeine consumption with improvements in heart health. In fact, consuming four cups of coffee a day could help protect cardiovascular cells from damage and also help them to repair themselves.
In a study published in PLOS Biology, researchers from Heinrich-Heine-University and the IUF-Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine in Düsseldorf, Germany, found that caffeine may improve the health of the cells which line the arteries and veins, thus strengthening their ability to recover from damage. The researchers suggest drinking coffee – or other caffeinated beverages – could be particularly beneficial for the elderly, who are more at risk of heart problems than younger people.
“Our results indicate a new mode of action for caffeine, one that promotes protection and repair of heart muscle,” said study author Professor Judith Haendeler. “These results should lead to better strategies for protecting heart muscle from damage, including consideration of coffee consumption or caffeine as an additional dietary factor in the elderly population.”
Commenting on the research, Professor Tim Chico, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Honorary Consultant Cardiologist, University of Sheffield, said: “These are very interesting findings but need to be confirmed in clinical trials before we can tell whether caffeine is truly helpful after a heart attack in humans [...] I do not think people need to drink more coffee in response to this study, but that people who already drink coffee can be reassured that it might have health benefits, as long as they don’t use it to wash down an enormous muffin, cake, or doughnut.”
(Adapted from readtoolead.com)
