HERE’S some bad news for people who can’t get out of bed without a cup of
coffee—it can raise levels of an amino acid linked to heart disease. The
discovery has fanned the flames of the debate over coffee’s safety.
So far, epidemiologists have found no clear link between coffee and heart
disease. However, there are hints that it could cause heart problems. One study
showed that unfiltered coffee could raise levels of “bad” cholesterol because it
contains chemicals called diterpenes that would normally stick to a paper filter
(New Scientist, 29 January, p 28).
Filtering coffee seemed…
