Study Shows Coffee Not Hazardous to Heart Health

Source: Tufts University
January 22, 2001 (Reviewed: February 18, 2003)

Introduction

Coffee is as much a ritual, or a way of life, as it is a beverage for many people. But does coffee drinking interfere with another lifestyle choice - healthful eating? Some researchers suspect that coffee consumption increases cholesterol levels and therefore leads to heart disease. To obtain some more insight into this issue, Finnish researchers examined whether coffee is a risk factor for those trying to minimize heart disease risk. The results are reported in a recent Archives of Internal Medicine.

And the good news is...

More than 20,000 Finnish men and women were surveyed about their coffee drinking habits and categorized according to consumption levels. Medical history, health behaviors, blood pressure, and cholesterol were also noted. For ten years, the researchers used national hospital register data to track the volunteers' health and monitor both the development of heart disease and deaths attributed to heart disease.

For coffee lovers, the good news is that scientists found no evidence that coffee drinking was connected to heart disease. In fact, deaths from heart disease were highest in those who did not drink coffee. Those who abstained or drank less than one cup a day were more likely to report symptoms like back problems, constipation, nausea, gallstones, and congestion. Unfortunately, consistent with other studies showing that coffee drinkers may have poorer health habits than those who abstain, the people who drank coffee in this study were more likely to smoke and have higher cholesterol levels. The women who drank coffee also had greater amounts of body fat.

The coffee drinkers had fewer self-reported complaints and symptoms and a lower incidence of mortality from heart disease. This was probably not due to any protective effect of coffee. A possible explanation is that those who did not drink coffee may have stopped doing so because of their symptoms or illness. In a nation like Finland where coffee is so popular, those who avoid it probably do so for specific reasons, but this information was not collected as part of this study.

The ability of coffee to elevate cholesterol levels has been studied for many years and seems to be related to how the coffee is prepared. Boiled coffee, the traditional preparation method used in Scandinavian countries, appears to have the greatest ability to raise cholesterol. Although this study did not consider what type of coffee was consumed, during the years in which the study was conducted, drip coffee became more popular than boiled coffee.

Finland has one of the world's highest intakes of coffee per person. The average amount consumed in this study was between five and six cups each day. While each serving of Finnish coffee is smaller than the usual US serving -- about 4 ounces compared to 8 ounces or more -- the coffee is stronger, so the Finns were consuming about the same amount of caffeine (approximately 100 milligrams) per cup.

Should you drink all you want?

Even though this study showed coffee was not a factor in heart disease, the message still isn't "drink all you want." Coffee has been implicated in stomach distress and increased calcium losses from bone. Many people who suddenly cut back the amount they drink experience withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, a testimony to caffeine's powerful effects.

For now, how should the health conscious take their coffee? The current recommendation is 'in moderation, 2 or 3 cups a day'. And, be careful as to what goes in the coffee. Many of the specialty coffee drinks are made with full-fat milk and cream, which will quickly boost calorie and fat intake.

Source

• Coffee consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease and death P. Kleemola, P. Jousilahti, P. Pietinen, Arch Int Med, 2000, vol. 160, pp. 3383--3400

Related Links
How To Eat If You Have Cardiovascular Disease
Drinking Habits and Risk of Heart Disease
High Cholesterol Often Goes Undetected
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