New Research Finds That Cold Drinks May Increase Cholesterol Levels

According to recent research, ice-cold drinks may increase your cholesterol levels and lead to heart disease. For the study, researchers took blood samples from 381 participants and tested their cholesterol levels after they consumed either warm water or iced water that was just chilled and not frozen over. 

Both groups had the same average amount of triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which are considered good cholesterol levels, but those who drank the chilled water showed increased levels of LDL, an unhealthy form of cholesterol.

What Is Cholesterol? How Does It Work In Our Bodies?

Cholesterol is a waxy substance that our bodies use to make cell membranes, some hormones, and vitamin D, as well as other substances. 

Your body makes all of its own cholesterol in liver cells and packages it up into lipoprotein particles called low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) or high-density lipoproteins (HDLs). 

These little packages are then shipped around in your bloodstream to deliver their contents where they’re needed.

How Do We Test Cholesterol Levels?

Everyone has a normal range of healthy and unhealthy cholesterol. The standard for measuring them is called your total lipid profile, which combines your results from four different tests: total cholesterol, LDL (low-density lipoprotein), HDL (high-density lipoprotein), and triglycerides. 

In general, if any one of these numbers is out of whack, it can point to an underlying medical problem. For example, if you have high cholesterol, there’s a chance you might be at risk for heart disease or stroke. If you have low cholesterol, there’s a chance you might be lacking in vitamin D or iron. And so on…

The Link Between Cholesterol And Cold Drinks

In our bloodstream, cholesterol circulates as a fatty substance produced by our livers. The heart requires some cholesterol for healthy functioning, but when there is too much circulating, it builds up in our arteries and can lead to heart disease and high blood pressure. 

When fat from our diet combines with bile acids (produced by our liver to help digest fats) it transforms into a compound called LDL-cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol which sticks to artery walls. 

However, these compounds are also soluble in water and easily broken down by enzymes. This is why drinking ice water can actually reduce your body’s ability to break down LDL cholesterol because of its temperature. 

Water has been shown to lower concentrations of HDL-cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein), which helps remove excess cholesterol from arteries.

How Much Does It Affect Your Risk Factors For Heart Disease?

Cold drinks might make your HDL (good) cholesterol go down, but it doesn’t seem to affect your total cholesterol. Overall, researchers estimate that drinking a cup of ice water will raise LDL (bad) cholesterol by one to five points. 

That’s not much of a change, but it could be significant for people who are already at high risk for heart disease or other chronic health issues. 

High levels of LDL, or low-density lipoproteins, may lead to cardiovascular problems. The American Heart Association recommends keeping LDL under 130 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) of blood to reduce your risk. 

Total cholesterol is a bigger concern, especially when it comes to measuring heart health risks. But if you’re at high risk or have diabetes, even small changes in your total cholesterol could make a big difference over time.

What Can You Do To Lower Your Cholesterol When Drinking Cold Drinks?

Though researchers are still determining whether or not an association exists between drinking chilled beverages and rising cholesterol levels, there are a few things you can do to protect yourself. 

Make sure your diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. If you drink alcohol, stick to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. Also, if you smoke or are overweight both of which can cause your cholesterol level to rise you will benefit from giving them up.

The Reason Behind The Correlation

Cold beverages activate brown adipose tissue (BAT). This tissue contains a large number of mitochondria which break down fatty acids to generate heat. When BAT starts working, it releases fatty acids and glycerol into circulation where they can be taken up by other tissues such as the liver and muscle. 

High levels of circulating fatty acids will increase both LDL (bad) cholesterol and HDL (good) cholesterol. Brown adipose tissue is mostly found in babies, who use it to generate heat in order to stay warm. 

BAT’s main role is thermoregulation. As we grow older, most of our BAT dissipates.  However, recent studies have shown that some adults retain a small amount of BAT.