The role coffee plays in increasing your risk for heart disease remains an area of interest for scientists and doctors. Some doctors encourage patients to limit their intake of coffee to avoid potential adverse health effects. Doctors base this advice on the fact that the caffeine in coffee may cause an increase in blood pressure, one risk factor for heart disease, in some patients. Research results published by the Baylor College of Medicine confirms that specific types of coffee may also increase LDL, or bad, cholesterol levels, and drinking decaffeinated coffee does not change this effect.
Caffeine in Coffee
Whole coffee beans naturally contain caffeine along with many other chemical compounds. Caffeine has received a lot of attention because as a central nervous system stimulant it can be mildly addicting and can trigger many biological effects in the body. Caffeine increases gastric secretions which suppresses your appetite. It also affects brain function by increasing alertness and boosting your ability to concentrate. In larger doses caffeine can increase your heart rate and blood pressure. When it comes to affecting your blood cholesterol level, however, research published in the May 1983 issue of the "Annals of Internal Medicine" confirms that caffeine does not affect blood cholesterol levels. If coffee increases your LDL cholesterol level, then it must be due to another compound in the coffee. For once, the caffeine is innocent.
Cafestol -- The Cholesterol Factor
The majority of the coffee consumed comes from two types of coffee beans; Coffea Arabica and Coffea Robusta. Both of these coffee beans naturally contain a chemical compound known as cafestol, or cafesterol. Cafestol stimulates bile acid receptors in the intestines, which activates the production of a gene known as fibroblast growth factor 15. This gene alters the activity of genes in the liver responsible for regulating cholesterol levels. The research published by the Baylor College of Medicine confirms that the cafestol in coffee induces the increase in cholesterol levels. Integrated Laboratory System conducted a toxicology analysis on cafestol which confirms that this chemical, only found in coffee, increases total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels.
Coffee Preparation
Just because the two main types of coffee beans contain cafestol, it does not mean that all who regularly drink coffee need to worry about their cholesterol levels. The way you prepare your coffee makes a large impact on the amount of cafestol in your cup. The cafestol compound is bound to the oil droplets in coffee. Brewing processes that filter the coffee, such as the drip-filter or percolated method, remove the cafestol from your coffee. Coffee prepared by boiling or French pressed coffee contains the highest amounts of cafestol, so drinking these types of coffee can affect your LDL cholesterol level. To produce decaffeinated coffee, manufacturers soak the coffee beans in water to dissolve the caffeine. They then remove the caffeine using a solvent or activated carbon. This process does not remove the cafestol, so drinking decaffeinated boiled coffee can still increase your LDL cholesterol level.
Coffee Benefits
Despite the fact that the caffeine in coffee may increase your blood pressure and the cafestol in coffee may increase your LDL cholesterol level, drinking coffee may protect you from heart disease. A summary published in the June 2008 "Annals of Internal Medicine" reports that coffee drinkers have a lower risk for dying from heart disease. The study found that people who drink decaffeinated coffee enjoy the same lower risk as those who drink caffeinated coffee, showing that the caffeine in coffee is not responsible for the protection from heart disease. Information provided by the Harvard Medical School also confirms that moderate coffee consumption does not cause harm and may actually provide health benefits like a decreased risk for diabetes, a reduced risk for liver damage and protection from cognitive disorders like Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease.
References
- Baylor College of Medicine; Researchers Discover How Coffee Raises Cholesterol; June 2007
- Annals of Internal Medicine; The Health Consequences of Caffeine; Dr. Peter W. Curatolo, Dr. David Robertson
- Integrated Laboratory Systems; Toxicology Summary for Cafestol; Tice, R.; October 1999
- "The Annals of Pharmacotherapy"; Acute Coffee Ingestion Does Not Affect LDL Cholesterol Level; Rebecca J. Cheung; May 2005
- "Annals of Internal Medicine"; The Relationship of Drinking Coffee and Death; E. Lopez-Garcia, et al.; June 2008
- Harvard Health Publications: Coffee Health Risks; August 2004
