Your health: Coffee may reduce risk of cardiac damage

Coffee: A cup a day may help your heart

It sounds like an unlikely prescription, but drinking at least one cup of coffee a day could be the secret to survival after a heart attack, British researchers have found.

Patients who drink one to two cups a day are 20 percent less likely to die prematurely from heart damage than those who never touch coffee, while those downing more than two are nearly half as likely to die early, the Daily Mail reports.

The findings, by a team at York University, support other recent research suggesting coffee — once considered a potential danger to the heart — may actually have a protective effect when drunk in moderation.

The popular beverage has been shown to protect against liver cancer, Alzheimer's disease and even strokes.

Last year, experts at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston found three to five cups a day reduced the risk of dying from heart disease, as well as incurable conditions like Parkinson's.

Now a British team has found coffee may also help those who have already had a heart attack.

U.S. beer will get calorie counts

Under new beer-industry guidelines, U.S. drinkers will be able to see how many calories they're consuming when they reach for that next brew.

The largest sellers of beer in the country will begin listing calories, carbohydrates, protein and fat — along with alcohol by volume — on their labels, according to the Beer Institute trade group, The Washington Post reported. The companies involved, which include Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors, account for more than 81 percent of beer volume sold.

“Beer is the most popular alcohol beverage in the United States,” said Jim McGreevy, the Beer Institute's chief executive officer. “Providing meaningful information will ultimately empower the consumer when making decisions regarding the beer beverage of their choice.”

The change was set in motion after an Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Trade Bureau ruling in 2013 allowed brewers to add more information to their labels.

Beer companies are joining much of the food and beverage industry in bringing more transparency to ingredients and nutrition.

Under the new beer guidelines, brewers are expected to adopt the labels across their product lines by the end of 2020.