Is it possible to drink coffee if you have high blood cholesterol?

Coffee composition

Coffee is a product of plant origin. Its composition is truly impressive, because it is a source of about 2 thousand different elements, among which there are vitamins, in particular vitamin PP, B1 and B2, essential oils, which give that original smell and taste for which we all love it, so necessary for normal vital functions of elements such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, iron and calcium, as well as soluble polysaccharides and more than 20 different organic acids.

Among all the variety of constituent elements, caffeine still plays the main role. It is an organic alkaloid that primarily affects the functioning of the central nervous system. It has a stimulating and stimulating effect, leading to increased heart rate and increased blood pressure. In addition, caffeine takes part in the synthesis of dopamine, the hormone of joy. This is due to the fact that systematic use of the drink causes addiction and sometimes even dependence, akin to alcohol or tobacco.

Despite this, doctors note that when drinking this noble drink in moderate quantities, there is no risk of serious pathological conditions. And even vice versa. Drinking 1-2 cups of drink a day significantly reduces the likelihood of developing and alleviates the course of such diseases as:

• Alzheimer's disease
• Hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke
• Parkinson's disease
• Diabetes
• Asthma

Additionally, coffee inhibits the aging process in the body, has a positive effect on the ability to concentrate and brain activity in general, improves mood and reduces stress levels, and also has a mild laxative and diuretic effect.

Portal about coffee for baristas and coffee lovers

Studies conducted by American scientists among patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation showed that the chances of ending up in a hospital bed are 18% lower for those who regularly drink an invigorating drink. However, it is worth understanding that coffee has a number of contraindications, including cardiovascular diseases. That is why in the doctor’s office the question is asked with enviable frequency: is there an urgent need to completely give up your favorite drink?

Coffee: harm, benefits and... pleasure

We have tried to collect the latest and most significant research by scientists on this issue and are sharing it with you.

Attitudes towards coffee are changing

Scientific interest in coffee is growing as more and more work appears confirming its positive effects on health. Although for a long time few people dared to call coffee a healthy product. The alkaloid caffeine, which is found in coffee, has a stimulating effect on the cardiovascular and nervous systems, and with prolonged use can cause addiction. Coffee has a stimulating effect on the body and increases blood pressure. As a result, insomnia, and in hypertensive patients the risk of stroke increases.

Caffeine is not only found in coffee, it is also present in the seeds, nuts and leaves of a number of plants growing in South America and East Asia, such as tea, cocoa, mate, guarana, cola and some others. It is synthesized by plants to protect against pests. Pollinating insects, on the other hand, develop a dependence on caffeine.

Statistics assure: today scientists from different countries have already conducted more than 19 thousand studies of the beneficial and dangerous properties of coffee. Thus, in July of this year, the results of the largest recent study of the effect of coffee on life expectancy were published.

It covered 521,330 people aged 35 years and over living in ten European countries: Denmark (11%), France (14%), Germany (10%), Greece (5%), Italy (9%), the Netherlands (8). %), Norway (7%), Spain (8%), Sweden (10%) and Great Britain (17%). It was carried out jointly by the University of Oxford, Imperial College London and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as part of the large-scale EPIC study (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition). Volunteers were recruited between 1992 and 2000 and completed regular dietary questionnaires for an average of 16.4 years.

In addition, the results of biochemical tests were also used. By the end of the study, approximately 41,693 people had died from various causes. Causes of death include cancer, strokes, heart disease and circulatory problems.

The study showed an inverse relationship between coffee consumption and liver and digestive diseases, suicide in men, cancer in women, and diseases of the cardiovascular system. Those who drank three cups of coffee or more per day had a lower risk of death from all causes than people who drank no coffee at all. Scientists have concluded that drinking coffee is associated with a reduced risk of death from various causes. And this ratio did not change depending on the country.

Flowering branches of Coffea arabica / © wikipedia.org

But while the first study focused only on European countries, the University of South Carolina study, published in August, focused primarily on non-white populations in the United States.

Participants included African Americans (17%), Native Hawaiians (7%), Japanese Americans (29%), and Hispanics (22%) ranging in age from 45 to 75 years. Although white Americans also took part in it (25%). In total, the study included 185,855 people. Participants also completed questionnaires and answered questions about diet, personal life and health. During the course of the study, 58,397 participants—about 31 percent—died. The main causes of premature death are cardiovascular diseases (36%) and cancer (31%).

According to the study, people who consumed one cup of coffee per day were 12 percent less likely to die compared to those who did not drink coffee. The relationship was even stronger for those who drank two to three cups a day—they were 18 percent less likely to die. Lower mortality rates were observed regardless of whether regular or decaffeinated coffee was consumed.

Coffee contains many antioxidants and phenolic compounds, which play an important role in cancer prevention, says study co-author Veronica Setyawan. “While this study does not show causation or indicate which chemicals in coffee may contribute to longevity, it is clear that coffee can be included in a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Both studies separated smokers from non-smokers because smoking is known to shorten life expectancy and is associated with various diseases. However, coffee has also been found to have an inverse effect on mortality among smokers. Smoking does not reduce the positive effects of coffee.

Caffeine, cafestol, kahweol and others...

Some studies suggest that drinking three to four cups of coffee a day can significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (non-insulin-dependent diabetes), a disease that already affects about 30 million Americans. At first, scientists assumed that the reason for this lay in caffeine. But it soon became clear that a similar effect is also observed when drinking decaffeinated coffee. Scientists have suggested that other components of coffee may play such an important role.

A compound in coffee called cafestol has been shown to increase insulin secretion in pancreatic cells when they are exposed to glucose. This is what gives coffee its bitterness. This bioactive substance is as effective at increasing glucose uptake into muscle cells as commonly prescribed antidiabetic drugs. In a new study, the results of which were published in September, scientists wanted to see whether cafestol would help prevent, or at least delay, the onset of type 2 diabetes in experimental mice.

It was previously believed that the bitter taste of coffee was caused by caffeine. But it accounts for only 12–15% of the bitterness. The main bitterness of coffee comes from the diterpenes kahweol and cafestol.

The researchers divided mice genetically susceptible to type 2 diabetes into three groups. Rodents from two groups received different doses of cafestol. In the control group, cafestol was not given. After 10 weeks, both groups of mice treated with the substance had lower blood glucose levels and better insulin secretory capacity compared to the control group.

Cafestol also did not cause hypoglycemia or low blood sugar, a possible side effect of some antidiabetic drugs. The scientists concluded that if daily consumption of cafestol could delay the onset of type 2 diabetes in experimental mice, then the same effect would likely be observed in humans. This means that cafestol is a good candidate for developing drugs to treat or prevent this disease in humans.

Coffee berry and raw coffee beans / © caffebrasilena.it

Although with the cafestol itself, not everything is so simple. This substance suppresses the mechanisms that are responsible for regulating cholesterol levels and helps to increase its levels in the blood. Cafestol is the most potent cholesterol-raising compound found in foods.

It has long been established that regular consumption of natural coffee increases blood cholesterol levels by 8% in men and 10% in women. Even when preparing the drink, it was recommended to use paper filters in coffee makers to remove cafestol-containing coffee oils. True, instant coffee contains cafestol in small quantities. As we know, elevated cholesterol levels are associated with diseases of the cardiovascular system, such as angina pectoris, atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction and others.

But still, the importance of caffeine, as perhaps the most active “ingredient” of coffee, should not be underestimated. Let us remind you that various types of coffee contain from 0.6% to 2.7% of the total composition. The importance of caffeine was once again confirmed by a study by Chinese scientists. They concluded that caffeine reduced body weight in mice by stimulating metabolic energy expenditure and suppressing appetite. Apparently, these conclusions are also true for people. The study was published in June by the journal Nature Communications.

Caffeine crystals. Photo taken with a microscope / © medium.com

Chinese researchers have found that caffeine promotes the release of oxytocin, a hypothalamic hormone that is a powerful regulator of energy metabolism. However, it is worth noting that the experimental mice were given fairly large doses of caffeine: at the rate of 60 milligrams of the substance per kilogram of weight. For a person, this is the equivalent of 24–36 cups of coffee per day. Drinking such an amount of drink, of course, is not recommended. The daily caffeine intake for an adult should not exceed 400 milligrams per day, and for a teenager - 100 milligrams.

By the way, scientists have previously found that moderate coffee consumption prevents the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Caffeine may prevent the formation of neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques in the human brain. In addition, scientists have found that the effect of coffee on the brain depends on the habit of drinking it.

After analyzing data from one and a half thousand people aged 65 to 84 years, Italian scientists found that drinking this drink reduces the likelihood of developing minor cognitive impairment. But you shouldn't drink more coffee in old age. As it was established, if a person began to drink coffee more often in old age, then the chance of violations only increased by 1.5 times compared to people who did not change their long-term habit. But reducing coffee consumption at this age, as it turned out, does not carry any risks.

Scientists have not yet figured out exactly how caffeine reduces the risk of cognitive impairment. It likely blocks specific chemical receptors that can start to malfunction as we age, affecting areas of the brain that control memory and learning.

Caffeine is an adenosine antagonist, meaning it blocks, reduces, or prevents the physiological effects caused by the binding of an agonist (adenosine) to a chemical receptor. Adenosine is known to play an important role in stimulating sleep and suppressing alertness. While the body is awake, its concentration increases, and during subsequent sleep it decreases.

In addition, the results of at least five studies show that caffeine may help those suffering from Parkinson's disease and also reduce the risk of developing the disease. Interestingly, the disease develops less frequently not only in coffee drinkers, but also in smokers. Nicotine, by the way, like caffeine, belongs to the group of purine alkaloids.

Of course, it is not useful for everyone

Caffeine consumption increases the rate of bone loss in older adults. Coffee affects calcium metabolism and is not recommended for consumption by elderly people, in whom, due to age-related changes, calcium is washed out of the bones, as well as by children whose skeleton is in the phase of active growth.

A number of studies have confirmed that drinking coffee can reduce bone density in older women and increase the risk of fractures. According to a study by American scientists, women with high caffeine consumption had significantly higher rates of spinal bone loss than patients with low consumption.

But on the other hand, according to a study by British scientists from Coventry University, caffeine increases muscle strength in older people. And this, in turn, can protect them from falls and fractures. Experiments examined the effect of caffeine on the endurance and strength of the soleus muscle of laboratory mice. Thus, when using a certain amount of caffeine (70 micromol), muscle strength increases by 6 percent. Mice of different ages were used in the experiments. But among young mice, the effect of caffeine was found to be minimal.

Women who are expecting a child should not abuse coffee either. This is evidenced by the results of studies by Danish and American scientists. It has been noted that women who drink one to two cups of coffee per day (about 100-200 mg of caffeine) increase the risk of having an underweight baby by 20% compared to women whose caffeine intake does not exceed 100 milligrams.

Overall, research suggests that certain groups of people, including older adults, pregnant women, people with hypertension, children and teenagers, may be more vulnerable to the adverse effects of caffeine.

Don't drink coffee too hot. Regardless of the benefit or harm that the drink itself carries, drinking it hot (at temperatures above 65 degrees Celsius) may be associated with a risk of developing esophageal cancer. Last year, the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer recognized drinking excessively hot drinks, including coffee and tea, as hazardous to health.

Coffee fruits / © wikipedia.org

Today, coffee is the second most consumed drink among all drinks after water. About 2.25 billion cups of this drink are drunk every day. The chemical composition of coffee in the form of beans and in the form of a finished drink is noticeably different, and there is a difference between ground and instant drinks. Coffee is a complex mixture of chemical substances, of which more than 2,000 have already been identified. It contains proteins, carbohydrates, fats, organic acids and mineral salts of iron, calcium, potassium, phosphorus and vitamins. It is too early to say that all this wealth contained in the coffee bean and its effect on our body has been studied. But at the moment it can be argued that moderate and regular consumption of coffee by healthy people either does not cause harm or is even beneficial.

However, if, as a result of another study, scientists come to the conclusion that coffee is still harmful to health, it is difficult to believe that we will immediately give it up tomorrow. For many, coffee is more than an ordinary drink; it is an integral part of life, in which every new day begins with a cup of aromatic and invigorating drink. The pleasure you get from a morning cup of coffee can hardly be replaced by anything. Well, we don’t refuse other pleasures. Even very harmful ones.

Author: Sergey Sobol Published in the magazine “Naked-Science”, 09/24/2017

Does coffee increase cholesterol?

Cholesterol is an important component of the proper functioning of the body. Most of it is produced in the liver, and only a small part enters the body with food, which is what doctors recommend about following a diet for cholesterol. The level of cholesterol in the blood is directly related to the development of diseases such as atherosclerosis and the formation of atherosclerotic plaques.

New research into the effect of coffee on blood cholesterol has found that coffee alone does not have any effect on cholesterol levels. However, after the beans are roasted, the essential oils found in coffee release an organic element called cafestol. This is what causes coffee to influence cholesterol.

However, this does not mean that you will now have to completely give up coffee if you have high cholesterol. Fortunately, a wide variety of recipes for preparing it allows you to avoid the harmful effects of coffee on cholesterol levels.

Advantages and disadvantages of coffee

Coffee is an exquisite and unique gift from nature itself. Coffee beans saturate the human body with vitamins, protein structures, macro and microelements. The most important beneficial properties of the drink can be noted:

1. Reduces the amount of glucose in the blood, preventing the development of diabetes.
2. Prevents stone formation in the kidneys and gall bladder.
3. Tones the nervous system, helps with sleep disorders.
4. Reduces the risk of cancer.
5. Improves blood circulation.
6. Eliminates muscle pain after workouts.
7. Prevents the development of liver cirrhosis.
8. Accelerates metabolic processes.
9. Burns fat, making it easier to lose excess weight.
10. Helps get rid of dizziness and migraines.

On the other hand, the coffee drink also has disadvantages:

• Causes an increase in cholesterol in the blood.
• Promotes the development of arthrosis.
• Highly addictive. If you suddenly stop drinking, you feel constantly tired and sleepy.
• Lashes out calcium.
• Provokes attacks of heartburn.
• Disturbs the heart rate. If you have existing pathologies of the heart or blood vessels, the influence of caffeine can cause great harm to health, so before drinking coffee you should consult your doctor.

Is it possible to drink coffee if you have high cholesterol?

It is impossible to answer this question unambiguously, since everything depends on its method of preparation and the specific recipe. The cafestol mentioned above is released from essential oils during boiling, so its concentration is higher the more boiling cycles the coffee product has been subjected to. These types of preparation include Scandinavian coffee and various types of espresso, especially with milk, since milk is a source of natural cholesterol. It is highly not recommended to drink this type of coffee if you have high cholesterol.

The same applies to brewing natural coffee in a Turk. The optimal solution for lovers of natural ground coffee would be to purchase a coffee maker with a built-in paper filter. It will allow you to clean the finished drink from essential oils, which means reducing the level of cafestol content as much as possible.

Many people are interested in the question of whether it is possible to completely remove cafestol from coffee. Oddly enough, the answer in this case is positive. To do this, there is a special method of chemical treatment, during which the grain loses essential oils. As a result, cafestol is not produced, which means there will be no effect on cholesterol levels. However, in this case, one cannot count on an invigorating and tonic effect.

As an alternative to regular black coffee, you can drink cocoa, chicory or green coffee. Since the grains of the latter are not fried, but simply dried, cafestol will therefore not be produced either. In addition, green coffee has pronounced antioxidant properties, contains tannins, purine alkaloids, due to which it has an overall positive effect on the body, perfectly invigorates, tones and helps to effectively burn excess fat. The only thing you should be prepared for is the specific taste and smell, which differs from the familiar taste and smell of black coffee.

Choosing a Safe Drink

When drinking natural coffee, cholesterol in a person’s blood increases, but this does not mean that you have to give up the drink. You can replace it with alternatives:

1. Black coffee with filters. When coffee is brewed, cafestol is released during boiling, which provokes the production of cholesterol. To minimize the amount of the component, you should pass the drink through filters, then insoluble substances will remain outside.
2. Instant. Despite the fact that the freeze-dried caffeine-containing product is more toxic than the natural product, it does not contain cafestol. Instant coffee does not go through the brewing stage, and natural oils are extracted from its composition.
3. Cocoa is a unique drink that helps minimize the amount of cholesterol in the body and prevent its deposition on the walls of blood vessels.
4. Green coffee. Coffee oils open up during the roasting process; green beans do not require such a stage, so cafestol is not released. The main element of this drink is chlorogenic acid, which stabilizes the balance of cholesterol in the bloodstream.

What kind of coffee you can drink if you have high cholesterol depends on personal taste preferences and the method of preparing the drink.

Black

Coffee beans do not contain pure cholesterol and there seems to be no reason to worry. But as already described above, the problem is that cafestol is released during boiling; when this element enters the body, it disrupts processes and provokes increased secretion of cholesterol.

To avoid this, it is recommended to purchase a coffee maker with a filter or use improvised means: a clean cloth or napkins. To prevent the harmful effects of the drink, you are allowed to drink no more than 2 cups of coffee per day.

Instant

Cafestol is completely absent from the instant caffeine-containing product: since preparing the drink does not require boiling, it easily dissolves in warm water. Thanks to this, we can conclude that its use does not cause an increase in cholesterol.

But we should not forget that such a drink contains flavor enhancers, preservatives, flavorings and other harmful components that can cause irritation of the gastric mucosa or problems in the functioning of the pancreas.

Cafein free

There is an opinion that for atherosclerosis, a caffeine-free drink will be more beneficial, but such reasoning is erroneous. During the processing of coffee beans, the component is removed from the drink, resulting in 99% of the organic compound being eliminated. However, in relation to cholesterol, the drink exhibits the same properties. To reduce the influence of cafestol, it is recommended to use filters.

Green

Green coffee does not require roasting of the coffee beans, so there is no release of cafestol. The main component of the drink is chlorogenic acid, thanks to which green coffee:

• Tones the central nervous system.
• Stimulates blood circulation.
• Speeds up metabolism.
• Removes toxins.
• Stabilizes cholesterol levels in the bloodstream.

Natural coffee does not contain pure cholesterol. An increase in cholesterol in the bloodstream causes cafestol, which is released during cooking of grains. Moreover, the longer the coffee is prepared, the higher the concentration of this component will be in it. To avoid the negative effects of the drink, it is recommended to use special filters. You can also replace black coffee with instant or green coffee, since they do not contain cafestol.

Cafestol and cholesterol

As already mentioned, cafestol is formed during the roasting of coffee beans. Getting into the small intestine and affecting epithelial cells, cafestol affects the processes of cholesterol production, sending a false nerve impulse to the liver, which signals a decrease in cholesterol levels. In response to this, the liver begins to actively produce its own cholesterol, and, as a result, its level slowly but surely rises.

Studies have found that drinking 5 cups of regular black coffee daily leads to an increase in cholesterol levels of 6 to 8 percent after just 7-10 days, and by 12-18 percent after a year. It should also be remembered that cafestol has the ability to accumulate on walls of blood vessels, thereby reducing their patency. In this regard, the transport of oxygen to the organs and tissues of the whole body is inhibited. This has a particularly detrimental effect on the functioning of the heart and brain. However, this does not mean that you need to completely give up your favorite drink, but you should drink coffee with high cholesterol with extreme caution.

What could be a substitute?

It has been established that there are products that can invigorate the body and not increase the cholesterol index.

Due to their invigorating properties, they can replace a coffee drink:

• Fatigue causes dehydration of the body, so a glass of clean water will cheer you up and fill your body with energy . A glass of water on an empty stomach perfectly activates metabolism in the body without disrupting the process of lipid metabolism;
• Freshly squeezed juice from citrus fruits . Citrus juice contains large quantities of antioxidants and vitamin C, which tone the body;
• Dark chocolate with maximum cocoa content . Cocoa grains are rich in endorphins, as well as the hormone dopamine, which are hormones of happiness. Dark chocolate also contains small amounts of caffeine, which tones the body;
• Nuts of all varieties will help restore energy and tone the body . All nuts contain Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which fight high cholesterol. Nuts also contain protein molecules. Nuts perfectly satisfy hunger and become a source of energy for the body, relieving a person’s feeling of fatigue;
• Green and black tea is a drink that contains a minimum of cafestol and a high concentration of caffeine . Tea is very invigorating, although it affects all the body's receptors much more slowly.

A little about instant coffee

Instant coffee quickly gained popularity due to its ease of preparation. Although its taste and aroma are somewhat different from ground or custard, it is not only not inferior in quality, but sometimes even surpasses the latter. The soluble type of the drink has an undeniable advantage in terms of its effect on cholesterol, since its preparation does not require boiling, and accordingly, that very unnecessary cafestol will not be produced.

Also, in one of the episodes of the program “Live Healthy” with Elena Malysheva, it was said that daily consumption of coffee reduces the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease. However, despite all the benefits of an instant drink, its uncontrolled use can have a detrimental effect on the condition of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and pancreas. This effect on the digestive organs is associated with the production technology of the invigorating drink, which results in the formation of compounds that have an irritating effect on the walls of the stomach.

Is it possible to drink coffee with atherosclerosis?

An increase in cholesterol levels is dangerous primarily because it leads to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, and as a consequence, the development of vascular atherosclerosis - the most common disease of the cardiovascular system. Based on all of the above, the answer to the question of whether it is possible to drink coffee with atherosclerosis suggests itself. Even with elevated cholesterol levels and the presence of atherosclerosis, it is not necessary to completely deny yourself the pleasure of enjoying a cup of aromatic, invigorating potion. However, it is worth taking a responsible approach to the issue of choosing it and limiting the number of cups you drink per day.