FRIDAY, Aug. 31, 2001 (HealthDayNews) -- Does the Starbucks on the corner need a warning sign out front?
A Norwegian study suggests it might not be a bad idea. Scientists found that filtered coffee appears to raise the risk of heart disease by boosting levels of cholesterol and another substance that's bad for the circulatory system.
But don't have a latte lapse just yet.
Three U.S. medical experts say current research offers no good reason to avoid moderate coffee consumption. "There's not an overwhelming amount of evidence that coffee is detrimental to health," says one of them, Dr. Martin Sullivan, an associate professor of medicine at Duke University.
Norwegian researchers studied 183 men and women between 24 and 69 years old who were divided into three groups. One group was told to avoid coffee, another to drink one to three cups a day, and the last to down four cups a day. The results of the research appear in the September 2001 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Over six weeks, the study found, the cholesterol levels dropped in those who eliminated coffee from their diets. Levels of homocysteine, which is connected to heart disease, also fell. The levels of both stayed the same in those people who kept drinking coffee.
The researchers estimate that going from four to zero cups of coffee a day could reduce the incidences of cholesterol-related heart disease by 10 percent.
A previous study, also in Norway, suggested that non-filtered, boiled coffee -- rare in the United States -- could raise the risk of heart disease. At the time, some American doctors suspected that filters might remove some of the oils that appeared to raise the risk.
This new study suggests that isn't the case.
Even so, experts aren't sure the risk is worth worrying about, as long as coffee drinkers don't go overboard.
"I would [say] this research is in the preliminary stages," notes Dr. Arthur Klatsky, a senior consultant in cardiology at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Oakland, Calif.
He adds that coffee drinking may actually lower the risks of some medical problems. For example, he cites research that showed people who drink coffee may be at lower risk of suicide, perhaps because their bodies are more stimulated.
"It probably all balances out," he says. "[Coffee] probably doesn't affect health a lot either way, overall."
Sullivan also points out that higher cholesterol levels don't always translate to higher rates of heart disease and death because the body doesn't work in such a simple cause-and-effect fashion.
"The bottom line is whether it increases or decreases heart attacks and deaths," he adds. Research suggests that coffee has little, if any, effect on fatality rates.
A bigger problem for heart patients may be the caffeine in coffee, experts say.
"We know that anything caffeinated will cause the heart to beat a little faster, and will increase electrical conduction [and possibly] cause arrhythmias," or heartbeat irregularities, says Dr. Jerrold Glassman, head of cardiology at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego.
Glassman says he encourages his patients to embrace moderation and worry more about their overall diet and health than coffee.
"As cardiologists, our goals aren't that people radically change their lifestyles. We want them to enjoy life, but just not do anything stupid," he adds.
What To Do
Moderate consumption of coffee doesn't seem to be bad for you, at least according to most research. But think again if you're drinking at least four cups a day, and watch out for caffeine if you have heart disease or are at high risk for it. If you're pregnant, ask your doctor for his advice.
Is coffee healthy? The people who make coffee certainly think so. Read their thoughts about existing medical research at coffeescience.org, created by the National Coffee Association trade group.
Learn about the risks of high cholesterol from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
