The morning americano many grab out of habit — no sugar, no syrup, seemingly harmless — may be quietly threatening vascular health.
According to the "Dyslipidemia Fact Sheet 2025" released Wednesday by the Korean Society of Lipid and Atherosclerosis, the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia among adults aged 20 and older reached 27.4% as of 2024. This means more than one in four adults already require management. Experts say the entire diet needs to be reviewed — and daily coffee is no exception.
The key issue is not coffee itself, but the extraction method. The americano commonly sold at cafes is espresso diluted with water. Espresso is made by passing hot water under high pressure through finely ground beans for a short time to concentrate and extract the components, and coffee oils are drawn out in this process.
Coffee oil contains diterpene compounds called cafestol and kahweol. These substances are involved in the liver's cholesterol metabolism, and their association with rising blood cholesterol levels has been consistently reported in academic circles. A Norwegian research team in Tromsø analyzed 21,083 adults aged 40 and older and found that those who drank three to five or more cups of espresso per day had total cholesterol levels an average of 6.2 mg/dL higher in men and 3.5 mg/dL higher in women, compared with those who drank no coffee at all. However, as this was an observational study, the findings are better interpreted as a statistical association rather than a direct causal relationship.
The backdrop that makes this trend particularly noteworthy is the structure of Korean coffee consumption. According to market research firm Euromonitor, Korea's annual per capita coffee consumption stood at 405 cups as of 2024 — effectively more than one cup per day. The difference of one cup a day may seem negligible, but it adds up to more than 300 cups per year, and the resulting changes in cholesterol levels accumulate gradually but clearly.
In contrast, paper-filtered drip coffee filters out a significant portion of the diterpene compounds, showing a relatively lower association with cholesterol. Even with the same coffee, the extraction method alone can change its impact on vascular health.
Beyond coffee, dietary adjustments are effective in managing cholesterol. Omega-3 fatty acids, abundant in oily fish and nuts, help lower triglyceride levels, while water-soluble dietary fiber found in oats and barley reduces the intestinal absorption of cholesterol itself.
Unsaturated fats in olive oil and avocado have a positive effect in lowering bad cholesterol (LDL) and raising good cholesterol (HDL). Experts emphasize the importance of reducing intake of processed foods and saturated fats, while maintaining regular aerobic exercise and the habit of periodically checking blood lipid levels.
