Originally published December 1 2005
Drinking decaf coffee slightly raises LDL cholesterol, study finds
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Dr. H. Robert Superko of Fuqua Heart Center in Atlanta reported on his study of the healthiness of decaffeinated coffee, and his findings suggest that decaf results in slightly higher levels of LDL, or bad cholesterol, in those drinking it regularly.
Fresh questions are percolating about the health effects of coffee, this time the decaffeinated variety.
One of the first substantial studies to test it like a drug instead of just asking people how much of it they consumed found higher blood levels of cholesterol-precursor fats in those drinking decaf vs. regular coffee or none at all.
But the differences were very small, especially when compared with the effects of, say, the doughnut that might be dunked into the brew.
"I don't think there's a health threat," regardless of which type of coffee is consumed, said Dr. H. Robert Superko of Fuqua Heart Center in Atlanta, who did the study when previously at Stanford University.
He reported on it Wednesday at an American Heart Association conference.
It was one of the few coffee studies not funded by industry _ federal taxpayers picked up the more than $1 million tab.
The result: decaf drinkers had modestly higher levels _ 8 to 18 percent _ of fatty acids and precursors of LDL or bad cholesterol than the others.
Nobody knows why, but Superko has some guesses.
Fats give coffee flavor, and a more flavorful species of beans, robusta, is commonly used for decaf to make up for the flavonoids and other ingredients that are lost during the decaffeination process.
Regular coffee uses a different bean, arabica.
However, several experts were skeptical of the whole thing.
"That's interesting, but it would not affect my recommendations to patients," said Dr. Donald Lavan, a cardiologist at the University of Pennsylvania and a heart association spokesman.
"This whole area of coffee and heart disease has been brewing with inconsistent evidence of harmful effect," said Dr. Lawrence Appel of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml