Posted on 12/01/2005 10:28:24 PM PST by neverdem
Vital Signs
Drinking decaffeinated coffee can raise the level of L.D.L., the bad cholesterol associated with cardiovascular disease risk, new research suggests.
The effect is significant, according to Dr. H. Robert Superko of the Fuqua Heart Center in Atlanta, who led the study. "If an individual has elevated L.D.L. and wants to lower it without drugs," Dr. Superko said, "a combined approach of diet, exercise, weight loss and cessation of decaffeinated coffee - if they drink three to six cups a day - could reduce the L.D.L. 30 percent and help avoid lifelong drug therapy."
The study, financed by the National Institutes of Health and presented Nov. 16 at a meeting of the American Heart Association, included 187 volunteers assigned at random to three groups. Fifty-nine people drank no coffee, 62 drank three to six cups of decaffeinated coffee per day, and 66 drank three to six cups of caffeinated coffee.
The coffee was prepared according to specific brewing instructions, and all subjects drank their coffee black.
After three months, the researchers found no statistically significant differences among the three groups in most factors that influence the risk of heart disease - body mass index, blood pressure, heart rate, total cholesterol, triglycerides, H.D.L. (the good cholesterol), insulin levels and glucose levels.
But among the decaffeinated drinkers, there was a significant increase in blood levels of L.D.L. and an increase in ApoB, a protein that may be an even better indicator of heart risk than L.D.L. alone.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
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