Cardiovascular health
Potential mechanisms – beyond caffeine
In the past, it was thought that any effect of coffee on the cardiovascular system was likely to be due to caffeine. Many studies only actually tested for the effect of caffeine. Recently the picture has changed.
Boiled coffee’s effect of raising serum total and LDL-cholesterol levels is generally accepted to be due to the coffee oil components cafestol and kahweol. Additionally, studies have found that participants who abstain from, or are used to a low caffeine level, show a short-term rise in blood pressure when given a high caffeine dose in the form of caffeine capsules19. This rise of 4 mmHg in this study is far higher than the 1-2 mmHg found with coffee in other studies. This would indicate that in habitual coffee consumers, more factors are involved than just caffeine. Many other substances in coffee, such as polyphenols, soluble fibre and potassium could also have biochemical effects.
