London, June 3 (IANS): There is good news for those who like their cup of coffee every morning. Drinking coffee, even up to 25 cups a day, is not as bad for arteries and heart as previously thought, says a study.

The researchers found that drinking coffee was not associated with stiffer arteries as previously thought.

Arteries carry blood containing oxygen and nutrients from heart to rest of the body. If they become stiff, it increases heart's workload and raises the chance of heart attack or stroke

"Despite the popularity of coffee worldwide, different reports could put people off from enjoying it. While we can't prove a causal link in this study, our research indicates coffee isn't as bad for arteries as previous studies would suggest," said Kenneth Fung, who led the data analysis for the research at the Queen Mary University of London.

For the study, involving 8,000 people in Britain, coffee consumption was categorised into three groups. Those who drink less than one cup a day, those who drink between one and three cups and those who drink more than three.

No increased stiffening of arteries was associated with those who drank up to this high limit when compared with those who drank less than one cup a day, said the researchers.

"Although the study included individuals who drink up to 25 cups a day, the average intake among the highest coffee consumption group was five cups a day. We would like to study these people more closely in our future work to help advise safe limits," Fung said.

"This research will hopefully put some of the media reports in perspective, as it rules out one of the potential detrimental effects of coffee on our arteries," said Metin Avkiran from British Heart Foundation.

The study was presented at the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) conference in the UK.