The effect of acute café latte ingestion on fasting serum lipid levels in healthy individuals

BackgroundMany patients drink café latte as part of their habitual morning routine to start their day and may be unable to skip this step before drawing a fasting blood sample for cholesterol testing. However, it is unknown what the acute effects of consuming a café latte are on fasting serum lipids just before blood sampling.ObjectiveThis was a prospective, open-label study with the primary objective of evaluating the acute effect of a 12-oz café latte (2% milk) on calculated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and secondary objectives of triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), non-HDL-C, and fasting blood glucose (FBG).MethodsA 10-hour fasting lipid profile was obtained before and 30 minutes after subjects consumed the café latte.ResultsForty-nine adult participants (34 females; age [mean ± SD] 32.2 ± 13.2 years) were studied. No significant changes in total cholesterol, LDL-C, or non-HDL-C were observed after coffee consumption. Triglyceride significantly decreased from a median of 76.0 to 75.0 mg/dL (P = .002). HDL-C and FBG increased from a mean of 54.4 ± 12.7 to 56.4 ± 14.5 mg/dL (P = .015) and 87.2 ± 7.0 to 97.3 ± 12.9 mg/dL (P < .001), respectively.ConclusionConsumption of 12 oz. of café latte within one hour of blood draw did not result in a significant change in LDL-C or non-HDL-C in young, nonobese healthy individuals. However, FBG levels increased by almost 12%.