Caffeine is one of the most commonly used chemical stimulants in the United States, and our favorite way to get it is in a cup of joe. The caffeine in coffee is what gives us a boost of mental alertness to start the day and helps rev up our metabolism. But another ingredient in coffee is linked to high cholesterol. Generally speaking, U.S. health authorities say coffee is not harmful when consumed in small amounts -- one to two cups per day. You can avoid the cholesterol-raising problem by paying attention to how you prepare your coffee.
How Coffee Affects the Body
Coffee has both positive and negative effects on the body. Coffee is a stimulant to the body's central nervous system and it has a major effect on the kidney, causing you to use the bathroom more frequently. The American Heart Association says the caffeine in coffee releases free fatty acids from fatty tissue in the body. That makes it a popular ingredient in weight-control programs. Coffee contains antioxidants and may reduce inflammation. Studies have reported that coffee also affects the body's cholesterol carriers -- both the "good" and "bad" types.
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a soft waxy substance found in the fat in your bloodstream. The body needs cholesterol to form cell walls, manage hormones and handle other important functions. Because it doesn't simply dissolve in the blood, cholesterol is transported to cells through lipoproteins. The presence of lipoproteins is how we measure how much cholesterol is in the body. The two most important ones are low-density lipoprotein, known as the LDL or bad cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein, known as HDL or the good kind.
The Role of LDL Cholesterol
LDL cholesterol is bad because if too much of it is circulating in the blood, it clumps together with other substances to form plaque on the walls of your arteries. Plaque blocks the smooth flow of blood and clots can form. Clotted blood that travels in an artery to your heart or brain can cause a heart attack or stroke. So knowing your LDL level is crucial to understanding your risk of cardiovascular disease. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, an LDL level of less than 100 milligrams per deciliter is optimal, and anything over 160 mg/dL is considered high.
Unfiltered Coffee
The way you prepare coffee affects its cholesterol-raising ability. Most cases of coffee-induced high cholesterol are traced to unfiltered coffee, like that made by percolator, French press, Scandinavian boiled, Turkish and Cafetière coffee. Unfiltered coffee contains cafestol, a chemical composed of mainly hydrogen and carbon molecules, which affects the production of LDL in several ways. Drinking five cups of unfiltered coffee yields about 30 milligrams of cafestol, and in a study published in the journal "Molecular Endocrinology," that much coffee raised cholesterol in participants by 6 to 8 percent over just four weeks. That same study called cafestol "the most potent cholesterol-elevating compound known in the human diet."
Bottom Line
Cholesterol levels in the body are determined by your lifestyle, what you eat and your genes, says the American Heart Association. If you maintain a healthy diet, have low cholesterol, get plenty of physical activity and have your health monitored by a provider on a regular basis, you need not worry about the effects of a couple cups of coffee. On the other hand, if you lead a mainly sedentary life, have a family history of high cholesterol and engage in other harmful activities like smoking, you should do all you can to reduce the cholesterol-raising parts of your diet under the watch of your health-care provider.
References
- MSN: Coffee and Cholesterol
- Science Daily: How Coffee Raises Cholesterol
- Molecular Endocrinology: The Cholesterol-Raising Factor from Coffee Beans, Cafestol, as an Agonist Ligand for the Farnesoid and Pregnane X Receptors
- eHealth Forum: Coffee Improves HDL Cholesterol Levels
- Nutrition Research Newsletter: Coffee and Cholesterol: Three Reports
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