I Love My Coffee, But Is It Bad For My Health?

About 80% of Americans over the age of 20 drink coffee. In fact, many of us are addicted to a daily dose of caffeine. But is our habitual coffee-drinking "grounds" for concern when it comes to heart health? About 30 years ago researchers began their studies for a possible coffee-and-heart-disease connection. Perhaps not surprisingly, researchers discovered that coffee drinkers appear to have a greater risk for heart attacks than non-drinkers.

Yet the scientific evidence wasn't solid; some studies found no ill effects of coffee. Some of the conflicting results were due to the fact that many heavy coffee drinkers are also smokers, which unto its own, causes heart disease. But this didn't explain why even among nonsmokers, heart-disease risk appeared linked to coffee-drinking under certain conditions.

Scientists noticed that European research studies tended to find a link between coffee drinking and heart attacks while studies here in the U.S. failed to find this connection. Why the difference? Coffee brewing methods typically used in Europe, such as boiled or espresso coffee, may be to blame.

According to new research, coffee beans contain substances that raise blood cholesterol levels. These chemicals, called cafestol and kahweol, are found in coffee oils which can be leached out into the coffee depending on how it is brewed. Cafestol and kahweol end up in the brew when the coffee grounds come in contact with boiling hot water. Boiled coffee (grounds combined with boiling water and allowed to steep), espresso, plunger pot coffee, and Turkish coffee are all prepared in this way. And it makes no difference if the coffee beans are decaf or regular, both contain coffee oils with cafestol and kahweol.

Drip coffee, however, is free of these chemicals. When coffee runs through a filter, cafestol and kahweol get trapped in the filter paper. So drip coffee, most commonly served in the U.S., has virtually no cafestol or kahweol. This helps explain why researchers in the U.S. didn't find a consistent connection between coffee drinking and heart attack risk.

Coffee made from instant is also low in these harmful substances. Researchers were surprised to find out that percolated coffee is also low in cafestol and kahweol despite the fact it comes in direct contact with the coffee grounds without a filter.

Cafestol and kahweol can raise cholesterol levels significantly. Cafestol and kahweol boost LDL levels, the cholesterol carrier that blocks arteries. In fact, several studies show that regular intake of cafestol and kahweol, the amount found in about five cups of Turkish brewed coffee, can raise LDL levels by a whooping 25%.

In addition to boosting blood cholesterol levels, coffee drinking may also spell trouble for people at risk for high blood pressure. In one study, researchers showed that young men at risk for high blood pressure may be more sensitive to caffeine's stimulatory effect by raising blood pressure. The study participants were tested under a mentally stressful situation following a dose of caffeine equal to two to three cups of coffee. Researchers found elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which causes blood pressure to rise. Other studies show that caffeine causes blood pressure numbers to rise in people that are already diagnosed with hypertension.

If you have high blood pressure or at a risk, keep caffeine consumption to a minimum. Ask your physician about interaction of caffeine and other medications you may be taking in the event excessive caffeine intake may change the effectiveness of your drugs.

Researchers are still not in agreement whether coffee is truly detrimental to your heart, especially when compared to other culprits such as eating too much fat. But enough evidence exists to warn coffee drinkers that moderating their coffee consumption may well be in their heart's best interest.

How much coffee is considered "not too much"? Most researchers agree that in excess of five cups of drip, instant, or percolated coffee per day warrants some cautions, particularly if blood cholesterol levels are in the risky range and/or blood pressure is on the rise.

If you drink several cups of coffee daily, ease back by cutting one cup every few weeks. This helps avoid possible caffeine withdrawal troubles such as headache and feelings of fatigue.

Try substituting decaffeinated grounds for regular. Start off slowly by replacing less than one-fourth the grounds with decaf. Then increase the proportion of decaf every few weeks.