Researchers in Hamilton explain how caffeine helps fight heart disease
Published February 10, 2022 at 3:08 pm
Caffeine lovers may take comfort in the fact that researchers in Hamilton have discovered that the stimulant can help fight heart disease, but you might want to hold that sugar.
A recent study, co-led by researchers from the Hamilton Centre for Kidney Research at The Research Institute of St. Joe’s Hamilton, found that two to three average-sized cups of coffee a day can actually help to lower the level of ‘bad’ cholesterol in one’s bloodstream.
Senior author Richard Austin said that regular caffeine consumption is linked to reduced blood levels of the PCSK9 protein, which increases the liver’s ability to remove excess LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream.
“Coffee and tea drinkers have another important health reason to rejoice – minus the sugar,” said Austin, who is also a professor in the department of medicine at McMaster.
“These findings now 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.”
The study identified that caffeine and its derivatives can also block the activation of a protein called SREBP2, which in turn reduces the levels of PCSK9 into the bloodstream.
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Austin said that researchers could not explain how or why people who consumed caffeine had a reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease, but this finding has shed significant light on the biochemical explanation for the phenomena.
“These findings have wide-ranging implications as they connect this widely consumed, biologically active compound to cholesterol metabolism at a molecular level,” said study co-author Guillaume Paré, professor in McMaster’s department of pathology and molecular medicine.
“This discovery was completely unexpected and shows that ordinary food and drink have many more complex effects than we think.”
Hence, why you may want to hold off on the sugar when you’re having your afternoon cuppa.
For those who aren’t big fans of caffeinated beverages, the study’s findings have led to the development of new caffeine derivatives that potently lower blood PCSK9 levels, potentially leading to new LDL cholesterol treatments.
“We are excited to be pursuing this new class of medicines – or nutraceuticals – for the potential treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease,” said medicinal chemist and study co-author Jakob Magolan, associate professor in the department of biochemistry and biomedical sciences at McMaster.
The study included researchers from several McMaster University departments, as well as the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta at the University of Calgary and the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal, affiliated with the University of Montreal.
The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.
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