The Link Between Coffee and Cholesterol
If you’re counting on that morning brew to kickstart your day, we’ve got some grounds for concern: how you make your coffee might stir up trouble for your cholesterol.
A recent study published in Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases found a notable link between heavy coffee consumption and increased LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels. While coffee itself isn’t necessarily the problem, the brewing method you choose could significantly impact your cholesterol health.
Here’s why: brewing machine coffee, commonly found in offices, typically contains significantly higher levels of cafestol and kahweol—natural compounds known to raise LDL cholesterol levels.
Coffee contains natural compounds called diterpenes—specifically cafestol and kahweol—which are known to raise LDL cholesterol levels. These compounds are abundant in unfiltered coffee. Methods like French press, Turkish coffee, or espresso deliver higher levels of these diterpenes into your cup. On the flip side, filtered coffee methods, such as drip or pour-over brewing, effectively remove most of these compounds, keeping your cholesterol levels in safer territory.
But don’t panic and throw out your favorite espresso machine just yet! The good news is that simply swapping three cups of machine-brewed coffee per workday with paper-filtered coffee could notably improve your cholesterol health. Researchers estimate this small switch could reduce LDL cholesterol by 0.58 mmol/L, translating into a 13% lower heart disease risk over five years and up to 36% lower risk over forty years.
So if your heart is set on a morning coffee routine, a simple switch to filtered coffee could keep your cholesterol—and your mornings—a little smoother.
Sources:
- “Cafestol and kahweol concentrations in workplace machine coffee compared with conventional brewing methods.” Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases.
