Coffee, Exercise, and Oxidative Stress

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy
• Normal and overweight subjects (BMI 19 - 29), with lean mass below the 90th percentile value
• Coffee drinkers with an average consumption of 1-3 cups per day
• Having given informed consent
• VO2 max as a function of age and gender, not higher than the values below:

Max oxygen uptake (VO2max, in ml/kg/min) in non athletes Age Males Females 20-29 49 41 30-39 47 39 40-49 45 37

Exclusion Criteria:

• Digestive (intestinal, gastric, hepatic or pancreatic), renal or metabolic disease, as determined by the medical (screening) visit and a blood chemistry analysis (glucose, cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, aspartate transaminase (ASAT), Alanine transaminase (ALAT), C reactive Protein (CRP), creatinin)

• Subjects at cardio-vascular risk rated as intermediate or high (according to the Swiss Society of Cardiology, lipids group (www.agla.ch/p11-1-2.html), meaning those who show at least one of the following criteria:

  • History of coronary disease / atherosclerosis
  • Diabetes
  • High level of risk (familial hypercholesterolemia, hyperlipoproteinemia type III, hypertension)
  • Metabolic syndrome defined by the presence of at least 3 out of the following criteria :

Abdominal circumference > 102 cm in men, > 88 cm in women Fasting triglycerides ≥ 1.7 mmol/l HDL-cholesterol < 1.0 mmol/l in men, < 1.3 mmol/l in women Systolic arterial blood pressure ≥ 130 mm Hg and/or diastolic arterial blood pressure ≥ 85 mm Hg Plasma glucose ≥ 6.1 mmol/l

• Anemia (Erythrocytes < 4.6 T/l (male) or < 4.2 T/l (women); Hemoglobin Hb < 13 g/dl (male) or Hb < 12 g/dl (women); Hematocrit Ht < 40% (male) or Ht < 37% (women); sera iron < 0.6 mg/l or plasma ferritin < 120 microg /l (male) or < 60 microg/l (non menopausal women)
• Troubles of hemostasis as determined by platelets number, prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time
• Have had a gastrointestinal surgery, except appendicectomy
• Pregnancy
• History of food or medication allergy
• Have a regular consumption of medication (only those impacting oxidative stress biomarkers (eg. impacting the metabolism of lipids / LDL / VLDL), oral contraception excepted)
• Have taken antibiotic therapy within the last 3 months
• Smokers (more than 5 cigarettes per day)
• Having given blood within the last month, or willing to make a blood donation until one month following the end of the study
• Have a high alcohol consumption (more than 2 drinks/day)
• Taking more than 3 cups of coffee per day
• Consumption of illicit drugs
• Subject who cannot be expected to comply with the study procedures, including consuming the test products.
• Currently participating or having participated in another clinical trial during the last month prior to the beginning of this study.