Coffee & Cholesterol

Did you know that it’s best to brew coffee with a paper filter, to remove a substance that causes increases in LDL cholesterol?

Previous studies have indicated that consumption of boiled coffee raises total and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, whereas drip-filtered coffee does not

Coffee contains a substance called cafestol that is a potent stimulator of LDL-cholesterol levels (12). Cafestol is found in the oily fraction of coffee, and when you brew coffee with a paper filter, the cafestol gets left behind in the filter.

. So for people who have high cholesterol levels or who want to prevent having high cholesterol levels, it is better to choose paper filtered coffee or instant coffee, since they have much lower levels of cafestol than boiled or French press coffee. Espresso is somewhere in the middle; it has less cafestol than boiled or French press coffee, but more than paper filtered coffee.

If you have a history of high cholesterol, talk to your doctor about your coffee consumption.

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