

The purpose of this project is to determine which Starbucks drinks (Frappuccino blended and Espressos) among all coffee and tea options are best for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention. A health index was constructed considering different coffee nutritions, including: saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, sugars, protein, and caffeine. Antioxidant activity of flavonoids from Caffeine component can reduce free radical formation and scavenge free radicals. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was used to explore all factors in the analysis and to inform on the utility of the health index in relation to its link to CVD prevention. Principle Component 1 is more relevant to unhealthy components such as sugars, carbohydrates, saturated fat, and total fat. Principle Component 2 is more related to Caffeine. Additionally, Dietary Fiber and Caffeine are most opposite against the other unhealthy components along the direction of the 1st Principle Component. PCA Eigen Analysis is very powerful to recognize coffee product types based on Nutrition patterns. In order to avoid variance factor in PCA analysis, original data has been Z-transformed. The new PCA-based Health Index was derived based on the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the first two Principle Components. The new PCA-based Health Index was also compared to the Science-based Health Index (about 70%-80% R-Square Curve Fitting).