Your office coffee could be putting you at risk of a heart attack after scientists find shocking link

YOUR office coffee could be putting you at risk of heart attack and stroke, scientists have warned.

Do you make a beeline for your workplace coffee machine during your breaks?

According to Swedish researchers, it could be pumping your body with compounds that raise your cholesterol levels – potentially increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease over time.

Cholesterol is fatty substance in the blood.

Too much of a ‘bad' type of cholesterol – called non-high-density lipoproteins (non-HDL) – can clog up blood vessel walls, narrowing them and increasing the risk of heart attack or stroke.

Scientists at Uppsala University and Chalmers University of Technology discovered that automated coffee brewing machines found in most offices contain higher levels of cholesterol boosting substances compared to other preparation methods.

The research – published in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases – examined coffee produced by 14 machines in four Swedish healthcare facilities, analysing samples for two specific compounds: cafestol and kahweol.

These chemicals, known as diterpenes, are the main culprits behind unfiltered coffee’s cholesterol-raising effect.

Paper filters typically trap these compounds, but metal filters found in many coffee machines – as well as moka pots and coffee plungers – allow them to pass into your cup.

Meanwhile, coffee boiled in a pot contains the highest levels of cafestol and kahweol.

Researchers collected samples from each coffee machine – which used medium roast and dark roast from five common brands of ground coffee – every two to three weeks.

They also analysed diterpene levels in other coffee-making methods – such as espresso, French press, boiled coffee, and boiled coffee poured through a fabric filter.

David Iggman, a researcher at Uppsala University who led the study, said: “We studied fourteen coffee machines and could see that the levels of these substances are much higher in coffee from these machines than from regular drip-filter coffee makers.

“From this we infer that the filtering process is crucial for the presence of these cholesterol-elevating substances in coffee.

“Obviously, not all coffee machines manage to filter them out. But the problem varies between different types of coffee machines, and the concentrations also showed large variations over time.”

The study identified three main types of of coffee machines found in workplaces: brewing machines, liquid-model machines, and instant machines.

The brewing machines, which produce coffee in 10-30 seconds by passing hot water through ground beans and a metal filter, showed the highest diterpene levels.

In contrast, liquid-model machines, which mix liquid coffee concentrate with hot water, tended to contain lower levels, similar to paper-filtered coffee.

Researchers found that boiled coffee contained the highest levels of diterpenes per cup.

Some espresso samples also contained high levels, but there was variation between them.

Dr iggman said: “Most of the coffee samples contained levels that could feasibly affect the levels of LDL cholesterol of people who drank the coffee, as well as their future risk of cardiovascular disease.”

The study authors estimated that office workers using the machines would consume about three cups of coffee per workday, five days a week.

They said replacing three cups of machine coffee with a paper-filtered brew five days weekly could reduce non-HDL cholesterol by 0.58 millimoles per liter.

That's the equivalent of skipping two ounces of cream in each cup of coffee.

Over a five years, this cholesterol-reducing switch could decrease heart disease risk by approximately 13 per cent.

Over a 40-year career, people who switch to filtered coffee would see a 36 per cent lower risk of heart disease compared to people to frequented coffee machines, researchers claimed.

Dr iggman suggested: “For people who drink a lot of coffee every day, it’s clear that drip-filter coffee, or other well-filtered coffee, is preferable.

“To determine the precise effects on LDL cholesterol levels, we would need to conduct a controlled study of subjects who would drink the coffee.”