Good news for coffeeholics, as coffee was found of no harm for people’s heart, on contrary, it has several beneficial health effects, new research in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests.

Dr. Esther Lopez-Garcia, assistant professor of preventive medicine at the Autonoma University in Madrid, Spain, and colleagues analyzed “the relationship between coffee and mortality,” basing their research on the coffee drinking habits of 41,736 men and 86,216 women (participating in the Nurses’ Health Study). All the participants were heart disease- and cancer-free at the beginning of the study. The men were followed for 18 years, while the women for 24 years.

The participants were interviewed every two to four years about their habits on coffee drinking, other dietary habits, smoking, and health conditions. The researchers further analyzed the frequency of death from heart disease, cancer or other causes.

Despite the fact that those who drank a few cups of coffee per day also tended to smoke more, drink more alcohol, not take vitamins and exercise less, overall, the participants had about the same death rates as those who did not drink coffee at all.

The researchers found that women consuming two to three cups of coffee per day had a 25 percent lower risk of death from heart disease during the follow-up period compared with those who did not drink coffee and an 18 percent lower risk of death caused by something other than cancer or heart disease.

The researchers believe antioxidants in the coffee have anti-inflammatory properties, which reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Previous studies have suggested that these antioxidants (together with tannins) may also be good for the liver and in reducing the risk of asthma attacks.

Things were different for men, as the same amount of coffee daily was not linked with either a higher or a lower risk of death.

When analyzing cancer risk in coffee drinkers, the researchers found no greater or lower risk of death among them.

Therefore, Dr. Esther Lopez-Garcia concluded: “regular coffee consumption does not increase the risk of death and probably has several beneficial effects on health.” However, she urged people with any disease to discuss their risks with their physicians, as caffeine is known to have an acute effect on short-term increase of blood pressure.

She also added that the study must be read with caution, as it is no clear whether the coffee decreased the risk of dying or something else in the coffee drinkers’ habits might have protected them.