Decaffeinated Coffee Harms Heart

Not only regular coffee, but also decaffeinated coffee appears to have harmful effects on the heart. Researchers have found that decaffeinated coffee increases the levels of a certain type of cholesterol in the blood, as the beans caffeine-free coffee is made of have a higher fat content.

A three-month study conducted by scientists at the Piedmont-Mercer Center for Health and Learning in Atlanta, Georgia looked at the effects of decaffeinated coffee on the heart health of 187 people. The participants were assigned into 3 different, similar-sized groups: the first group drank three to six cups of caffeinated coffee per day, the second, the same number of cups of decaffeinated coffee, while the third group had no coffee at all. Statistics show that US coffee drinkers have an average of 3.1 cups of coffee per day.

Blood samples from the three groups were taken both before and after the study period, and the levels of cholesterol and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs) were determined. Both are key indicators of heart disease risk.

The results revealed an 18% increase in NEFAs in the decaffeinated coffee group, accompanied by an 8% increase in apolipoprotein B, a protein associated with a type of cholesterol dangerous for the heart. No such increase was noted in the other two groups.

Dr. Robert Superko, lead author of the study, says that the heart risk caused by decaffeinated coffee consumption is not great, as "the fatty acids can be burnt off easily by exercising." However, he strongly discourages people with high cholesterol who consume four or five cups of decaffeinated coffee a day.

Researchers have found that decaffeinated coffee is usually made from a different type of bean, called Robusta, which is stronger flavoured, because by the decaffeination process, some of the compounds that give coffee flavour are extracted. Caffeinated coffee is usually made from a type of beans called Arabica. Robusta contains a larger quantity of fats called diptenes, which stimulate fatty acid production in the body, and this perfectly explains the results of the study.

"The coffee industry is selling more and more decaffeinated coffee because people think it's healthier, but if you have high cholesterol, it may not be", Dr. Superko concludes. The results were presented at the American Heart Association Sessions 2005, held in Dallas, Texas.

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