New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS): Consuming 3-5 cups of coffee daily can help lower your risk of diabetes, hypertension or high blood pressure, and fatty liver risk, according to a top neurologist.

While coffee is known to provide multiple health benefits, the expert suggested drinking the beverage without sugar and with less milk.

Taking to social media platform X, Dr. Sudhir Kumar from Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, listed out some health benefits of coffee.

“Most notable benefits are lower risk of type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, stroke, fatty liver, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, depression, and certain cancers,” he said.

“Coffee drinking increases longevity. 3-5 cups of coffee per day is considered safe and healthy. Avoid adding sugar to coffee,” he added.

The expert also advised caution for people with insomnia to “avoid drinking coffee for about 5-6 hours prior to bedtime”.

While “pregnant women should limit their coffee intake to 1-2 cups per day, people with severe hypertension should switch to green tea or limit their coffee intake to 1 cup per day”, Kumar said.

The beverage is safe “in people with high normal BP and Grade 1 hypertension”.

The expert explained that the high levels of antihypertensive nutrients (that is, vitamin E, niacin, potassium, and magnesium) and polyphenols in coffee may be why coffee is associated with a higher risk of hypertension.

People suffering from severe hypertension can prefer green tea over coffee, suggested Kumar.

Several research have backed the health benefits of coffee, including for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

A study, published online in the April issue of the journal Neurology, showed that the highest coffee consumers had a 37 per cent reduced risk of getting Parkinson’s disease, compared to those who do not drink.

Another study, published in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, showed that, in preliminary in vitro laboratory tests, espresso compounds can inhibit tau protein aggregation -- a process that is believed to be involved in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.