Sugar added to cola drinks and coffee beverages can definitely elevate your triglycerides. So can the saturated fats in coffee cream and the trans fat in non-dairy coffee creamers. Unsweetened cola and some types of plain coffee are also linked to higher triglyceride levels, although caffeine has not been proven to be the cause.
Healthy Triglyceride Levels
Triglycerides, a type of fat, can clog your arteries and make you more susceptible to heart attack and stroke. Triglycerides that measure more than 200 milligrams per deciliter of blood put you at high risk for cardiovascular disease, and numbers above 500 milligrams per deciliter put you at very high risk. Aim to keep your triglycerides below 150. The American Heart Association recommends you keep triglycerides even lower – at 100 milligrams per deciliter or less.
Oslo Health Study
A study done in Norway showed that people who regularly consumed cola tested higher than persons who consumed other types of soft drinks for triglycerides and other factors associated with metabolic syndrome – a cluster of conditions that also includes high blood pressure, excess abdominal fat, high insulin levels and high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The Oslo Health Study, led by A.T. Hostmark, included 5,373 men and 6,181 women. Hostmark said consumption of cola, including sugar-free cola, correlated to higher triglycerides and reduced levels of high-density lipoprotein – HDL or “good” cholesterol – even after adjusting for other risk factors such as a high-fat diet, alcohol intake and smoking. Hostmark published his findings in the October 2010 issue of “Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism.”
Coffee Studies
Coffee consumption can increase your triglycerides, but something other than caffeine might be responsible. N. Naidoo, a researcher at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, found that a property in coffee – diterpenes – elevated both triglycerides and LDL or “bad” cholesterol. Levels of diterpenes are higher in unfiltered or pressed coffee than in filtered coffee, and people who drink more than five cups of coffee prepared with a French or Turkey press or without any filters proved more likely to test high for triglycerides, according to the report in the May 2011 edition of “Nutrition Journal.” A Pennsylvania State University study, published in the 2006 issue of “Toxicological Reviews,” also found that people who drank boiled, unfiltered coffee had higher triglycerides than people who drank differently brewed coffee.
Considerations
The American Heart Association does not suggest you give up coffee or other sources of caffeine to avoid increasing your triglycerides. It does, however, recommend you quit smoking; limit alcohol intake; exercise at least five days a week; and follow a low-fat, low-sugar diet. You should limit saturated fat to 16 grams a day, trans fat to 2 grams a day and added sugars such as those in cola drinks to no more than 100 to 200 calories a day – 5 to 10 percent of daily calories based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
References
- “Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism”; The Oslo Health Study: Soft Drink Intake Is Associated With the Metabolic Syndrome; A.T. Hostmark; October 2010
- "Circulation"; Triglycerides and Cardiovascular Disease: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association; Michael Miller et al.; April 2011
- MayoClinic.com; Metabolic Syndrome; November 2009
- "Nutrition Journal"; Cholesterol-Raising Diterpenes in Types of Coffee Commonly Consumed in Singapore, Indonesia and India and Associations With Blood Lipids: A Survey and Cross Sectional Study; N. Naidoo et al.; May 2011
- "Toxicological Reviews"; Boiled or Filtered Coffee? Effects of Coffee and Caffeine on Cholesterol, Fibrinogen and C-Reactive Protein; I.M. Rodrigues and L.C. Klein; 2006
- MayoClinic.com; High Cholesterol: Tests and Diagnosis; June 2011
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