In a new study from The Research Institute of St. Joe’s Hamilton, researchers found the protective effects of caffeine on the cardiovascular system.
While its stimulant effects have long been characterized, they discovered how caffeine interacts with key cellular factors to remove cholesterol from the bloodstream.
On average, the habitual caffeine-consuming adult ingests 400 to 600 mg of caffeine daily—about two to three cups of coffee per day.
Some recent studies have shown that coffee and tea drinkers having that amount of caffeine have a reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
In the study, the team discovered that caffeine is responsible for triggering a cascade effect that ultimately reduces LDL cholesterol in the blood—the so-called “bad” cholesterol.
High levels of LDL cholesterol are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
They found that caffeine consumption was linked to a decrease in blood PCSK9 levels. PCSK9 is a protein that reduces the liver’s ability to process excess LDL cholesterol.
In the absence of PCSK9, more LDL cholesterol can be quickly removed from the bloodstream via the LDL receptor located on the surface of the liver.
These findings provide the underlying mechanism by which caffeine and its derivatives can mitigate the levels of blood PCSK9 and thereby reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease
Specifically, the team found caffeine and its derivatives were shown to block the activation of a protein called SREBP2, which otherwise increases liver PCSK9 expression and its transport into the bloodstream.
Given that SREBP2 is implicated in a host of cardiometabolic diseases, such as diabetes and fatty liver disease, these findings may have strong implications in disease treatment and prevention.
If you care about heart disease, please read studies about novel causes of irregular heart rhythm, and “super-antioxidant” that could revolutionize your health.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies that statin drugs can do double duty on heart disease and cancer, and results showing that one cup of nitrate-rich vegetables per day may prevent heart disease.
The study is published in Nature Communications and was conducted by Richard Austin et al.
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