Thursday, December 20, 2012

French Press Increases LDL Cholesterol

According to current research, drinking coffee can be very healthy for you – but watch how you brew it!  Recent studies have found conclusively that coffee brewed without filters (such as percolator coffee, Scandinavian boil brewing, and yes, even the oh-so-ubiquitous and beloved French press coffee maker) can actually be harmful to your health.

The problem is unfiltered coffee’s effect in increasing your LDL (bad) cholesterol.
According to an Auburn University study, “unfiltered coffee (such as French-press coffee, Turkish coffee, or Scandinavian boiled coffee, or coffee prepared in a percolator), specifically two diterpenes, cafestol and kahweol,” are potent stimulators of LDL cholesterol levels.

Why is coffee brewed with paper filter methods healthier?
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.  “…For people who have high cholesterol levels,” says one Harvard University 2012 study, “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.”

What about Espresso coffee?  Is that safe?
Espresso is moderately acceptable for your health; it has less cafestol than boiled or French press coffee, but more bad LDL cholesterol than paper filtered coffee.

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So if your Aunt Louise wants to get you that chic French Press coffee brewer for your holiday gift this year, tell her that you’ve decided to get off your statins this year and switch to a ceramic cone drip brewing system and unbleached paper filters.  If she’s unsure where to get these brewers, you can find some of them on WiseCoffee.com or on Amazon.com. 

Here are some links to our favorite sources of sound brewing equipment and supplies:
  • HIC Porcelain Coffee Filter Cone on Amazon.com
o   No. 2 and No. 4, starting at only $12.49 with free 2-day shipping
  • Porcelain No 1 Cone, $6.50 at WiseCoffee.com 
 
  • Unbleached paper filters at WiseCoffee.com
o   Coffee Filters, Natural Brown, 40-100 Count
o   No. 1, No 2, No. 4  starting at $2.00.
  • Chemex 8-Cup classic glass coffee brewer on Amazon.com
o   $38.85 with free 2-day shipping

1 comment:

  1. The human fascination and craze for coffee has been well known for many centuries. After experimenting with crude methods to prepare the beverage in the ancient periods, coffee making underwent several changes, and finally the process became mechanical my site

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