The effect of espresso drinking on cholesterol - Page 5

Want to talk espresso but not sure which forum? If so, this is the right one.
Stanner
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#41: Post by Stanner »

Because I love science, I started looking at the references from the actual study, not the media blurb. Said study:
http://mend.endojournals.org/cgi/conten ... 007-0133v1

First, it's a mice study, which may or may not do a damn thing in humans (I know, other studies indicate human increases, but this is the study referenced). The studies referenced actually send mixed messages regarding if the possible method of action ("Inhibition of bile acid synthesis has been suggested to be responsible for the cholesterol-raising effect of cafestol").

So here's one study in support of the hypothesis:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9409 ... rom=pubmed

Here's one that in fact shows the opposite:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1579 ... rom=pubmed

And here's another study that shows that the effect was poorly reproducible in humans:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14613505

So, long story short, I'd worry more about diet than coffee to correct your cholesterol. Nevermind that there is no such thing as bad cholesterol and HDL/LDL are actually proteins: :D
Also, your cholesterol is likely artificially inflated. Most cholesterol tests don't take a direct measure of your LDL because it's cost prohibitive. There is a formula much more accurate than the Friedewald Equation for measuring that; run your numbers through and see what happens:
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2 ... tacks.html

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drdna (original poster)
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#42: Post by drdna (original poster) »

another jim wrote:You go to the doctor and it's "we can give you many, many years, but your life will suck."
Thanks, I'll be here all week...
AmishMenno wrote:Is your diet a real vegan diet? Or do you still eat cheese and meat?
Oh, no it is a strict vegan diet, except for steaks, hamburgers, cheese fries, and the pats of butter I eat a snacks throughout the day.
Kenntak wrote:Well, this thread has kind of depressed me. I guess I should limit my espresso drinking to one double a day.
Get your cholesterol checked first. It might be pretty good.
Adrian

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drdna (original poster)
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#43: Post by drdna (original poster) »

Thanks for a highly erudite post, Dick! You cover a lot of ground, which helps to enrich this thread.
dgreen wrote:You should look at the total picture.
It's really simple: calories-in versus calories-out.
If you don't do it already, read the labels on the food you eat.
Absolutely!
dgreen wrote:Does your family have a predisposition to high cholesterol and/or heart disease? How's your stress level? How's your weight? How's your BMI? What's your alcohol consumption? How's your diet? How's your overall calorie intake? Even a vegan diet can be unhealthy. It can have a high percentage of processed carbohydrates. It can have a high percentage of trans fats. You could be eating too many calories for your physical activity level. You could be drinking too much alcohol.
It's all good thinking to add to this thread. For myself personally: I am 5'8", 150 pounds, eat whole organic foods (mostly raw), avoid processed foods and anything with trans-fats, don't feel under any particular stress, meditate on a regular basis, and exercise 4-5 times a week. I am obsessive (any anyone who has read my other posts knows I am a bit OCD) about balancing protein, carbohydrate and fat in my diet and limiting myself to less than 1800 kcal per day. The only added fat I use is flax seed oil, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. My alcohol consumption is limited to a glass of red wine when I am out to dinner with friends (probably 2-3 per month). I try to get all my vitamins from the food I eat, but take a multivitamin and a calcium supplement.

This is why I was at a loss when I got my cholesterol test results. I really did not know what else I could do to improve my numbers. Everything recommended in lifestyle changes I am already doing. Otherwise I would not even be thinking about the espresso.
dgreen wrote:If you're drinking milk in your coffee, then you're not really a vegan (I think you'd be called a lacto-vegetarian.)
Correct, which is why said vegan EXCEPT for the milk in the cappuccino. Anyway, now that I am using soy milk, I can officially call myself vegan.
dgreen wrote:Skim milk would be better for you than soy milk.
Maybe. Here we have to consider that skim milk eliminates the fat in the cappuccino. However, the casein protein is inflammatory to the vascular endothelium, while studies have shown the benefit of soy (in admittedly larger quantities) on reducing cholesterol. Might be a toss up.
Adrian

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sweaner
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#44: Post by sweaner »

Adrian, another thing you can do is add flax seed to your diet. This has been shown to lower Cholesterol levels, and fits with your dietary restrictions.
Scott
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Espin
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#45: Post by Espin »

drdna wrote:Oh, no it is a strict vegan diet, except for steaks, hamburgers, cheese fries, and the pats of butter I eat a snacks throughout the day.
Chili bacon cheese fries with dipping gravy is really the only way to go.

But seriously, I'd look at having a bowl of oatmeal along with that capp. I'd probably even not butter it. :?

Which is really sad, because I love butter on my oatmeal.

godlyone
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#46: Post by godlyone »

Try adding garlic to your diet and if that doesn't help definitely get on some statins.

If you are willing to experiment for the sake of science, quite espresso for a month and get a new sample taken, then report the results and see if it really makes a difference?

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drdna (original poster)
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#47: Post by drdna (original poster) »

godlyone wrote:Try adding garlic to your diet and if that doesn't help definitely get on some statins.
Unfortunately, the largest study on garlic done at Stanford failed to show any effect on cholesterol levels. Nevertheless, I already eat about a half dozen onions and a couple heads of garlic a week. I am, after all, Italian.
godlyone wrote:Quit espresso for a month and get a new sample taken; then report the results.
Well, what I am going to do is to filter my espresso with standard paper coffee filters. I think this might work just as well as switching to drip coffee, in theory. It's easy to do: I just stick a #2 filter in my coffee cup before the extraction. I won't make any other changes; we'll see how the cholesterol changes in a month or so. If that doesn't do it, I guess its statins for me. YMMV.
Adrian

jherm77
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#48: Post by jherm77 »

This whole thread has me shaking my head. :roll: Apparently a lot of people stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Better put...Over-analyzation

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JohnB.
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#49: Post by JohnB. »

drdna wrote:Well, what I am going to do is to filter my espresso with standard paper coffee filters. I think this might work just as well as switching to drip coffee, in theory. It's easy to do: I just stick a #2 filter in my coffee cup before the extraction. I won't make any other changes; we'll see how the cholesterol changes in a month or so. If that doesn't do it, I guess its statins for me. YMMV.
You've already changed to soy from milk so that would be another factor. If it was me & I was going to retest in 30 days I wouldn't change a thing just to see if the high reading was typical or a temporary "issue". Of course that is just what I would do & should not be misconstrued as medical advice.
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Stanner
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#50: Post by Stanner »

jherm77 wrote:This whole thread has me shaking my head. :roll: Apparently a lot of people stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Better put...Over-analyzation
I find this post funny, as we are on Home Barista, the "Coffee for OCD Engineers" website. :lol: