Heavy Coffee Consumption and Plasma Homocysteine: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Healthy Volunteers

Background

• Plasma Homocysteine: Elevated levels are a strong risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.
• Coffee Consumption: Epidemiologic studies and experiments suggest that heavy coffee drinking is linked to high homocysteine levels.

Objective

• Determine if daily consumption of paper-filtered coffee increases plasma homocysteine levels in healthy individuals.

Study Design

• Participants: 26 healthy volunteers aged 18-53.
• Method: Randomized, crossover design.
  • Participants consumed 1L/day of paper-filtered coffee brewed with 70g regular ground beans.
  • Alternated with a period of no coffee consumption for 4 weeks each.

Results

• Homocysteine Levels:
  • Without coffee: Mean of 8.1 ± 1.8 micromol/L.
  • With coffee: Mean of 9.6 ± 2.9 micromol/L.
  • Difference: 1.5 micromol/L increase (95% CI: 0.9, 2.1 micromol/L) or 18% increase (P < 0.001).
  • Increased homocysteine in 24 out of 26 individuals.
• Vitamin Levels: No effect on circulating concentrations of vitamin B-6, B-12, and folate.

Conclusion

• Consuming large amounts of paper-filtered coffee raises fasting plasma homocysteine levels in healthy individuals.

Authors & Affiliations

• Authors: R Urgert, T van Vliet, P L Zock, M B Katan
• Institution: Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences, Nutrition and Health Programme, Netherlands

Publication Details

• Journal: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, November 2000
• DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/72.5.1107
• PMID: 11063436

Related Studies

• Caffeine's Role: Studies examining the contribution of caffeine to homocysteine levels.
• Filtered Coffee Impact: Research on abstention from filtered coffee and its effects on homocysteine and cholesterol.

Keywords

• Homocysteine, Coffee, Cardiovascular Health, Randomized Controlled Trial, Vitamin B-6, Vitamin B-12, Folate.