Your choice of brewing methods for your morning cup of coffee may make it an unhealthy choice. Most people, when questioning the health effects of coffee, consider the caffeine content, whether or not to add cream and perhaps contemplate a sugar substitute. But there's more to coffee health considerations than that: the connection between it and triglycerides.
Coffee
An unroasted coffee bean does not have the taste we associate with coffee. It contains acids, protein and caffeine. According to National Geographic, roasting the coffee bean involves heat, making a chemical reaction that turns the fats and carbohydrates into aromatic oils. The process of roasting is what gives coffee its flavor and when the bean releases its natural oils, cafestol and kahweol.
Triglycerides
Triglycerides exist in food and the body in chemical form. Calories ingested that are not used right away are converted into triglycerides and transported to fat cells for later energy use, according to the American Heart Association. Hormones regulate the release of triglycerides when the body needs energy. Excess triglycerides may increase the risk of heart disease.
Significance
Coffee's oils, cafestol and kahweol, has been linked to raising cholesterol and triglycerides. The oils increase the synthesis of cholesterol by decreasing bile acids and neutral sterols, according to the American Journal of Epidemiology. Bile acids help to regulate cholesterol and triglyceride levels. A 2004 study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation showed a positive correlation to bile acids lowering triglyceride levels. Thus coffee oils can also raise triglyceride levels.
Expert Insight
A 2001 study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology researched the effect of coffee drinking on cholesterol and triglycerides. Results found that on average, drinking six cups of coffee significantly increased total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Another study, published in the 1994 issue of the Journal of Lipid Research looked at boiled coffee and the effect of the oils on cholesterol and triglycerides. Results found that cafestol raised both cholesterol and triglycerides. After four weeks, levels still had not reached a plateau.
Considerations
The coffee oils, cafestol and kahweol, are found in boiled or French pressed coffee, both of which are unfiltered. According to the American Journal of Epidemiology, the reason boiled coffee has a higher concentration of coffee oils is because of the higher temperatures used producing it. The paper filters commonly used in homes, restaurants and coffee shops with traditional coffee makers filter out the coffee oils associated with elevated cholesterol and triglycerides.
References
- Journal of Lipid Research: Identity of the Cholesterol-Raising Factor From Boiled Coffee and Its Effects on Live Function Enzymes
- American Journal of Epidemiology: Coffee Consumption and Serum Lipids: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials
- National Geographic: Coffee
- American Heart Association: Triglycerides
- Mayo Clinic: High Cholesterol: Triglycerides: Why Do They Matter
- The Journal of Clinical Investigation: Bile Acids Lower Triglyceride Levels Via a Pathway Involving FXR, SHP, and SREBP-1c
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