Coffee from super-automatic workplace coffee makers may contain significantly higher levels of cholesterol-elevating substances than coffee from home and other commercial brewers, according to new research.
While coffee consumption overall has been associated with a number of heart health benefits — including better long-term health, reduced heart failure, reduced risk of multiple cardio diseases, reduced blood pressure, and significantly lower risk of heart disease — the study shines new light on how brew machine type may affect the presence of compounds known to increase LDL cholesterol.
Conducted by a group of researchers from the Sweden’s Uppsala University and Chalmers University of Technology, the study suggests the method of filtration in coffee brewing may have the most impact on the presence of cafestol and kahweol, naturally extracted diterpenes that are known to raise cholesterol.
Numerous previous studies have already affirmed that unfiltered methods — such as “boiled coffee” or “cowboy coffee” — result in the highest levels of the two diterpenes, while filtered brew methods using paper filters result in the lowest levels.
With a specific eye on workplace coffee, the Swedish study focused on 14 different models of workplace coffee machines, divided into two types: “brewing machines,” which combine ground coffee and hot water before metal filtering; and “liquid machines,” which combine liquid coffee concentrate with hot water, with no filtering.
“Considering how much coffee is consumed in Swedish workplaces, we wanted to get a picture of the content of cholesterol-elevating substances in coffee from these types of machines,” study lead author David Iggman of Uppsala University said. “We studied fourteen coffee machines and could see that the levels of these substances are much higher in coffee from these machines than from regular drip-filter coffee makers.”
The study included different types of coffee with various roast levels. Researchers also used methods such as percolator, French press, boiled coffee, and boiled coffee poured through a fabric filter for comparison.
While the study showed generally higher levels of the dipertenes coming from the super-automatic machines than it did from common filtered coffee methods, it did not attempt to explain a correlation between the dipertenes in coffee and health outcomes.
“Most of the coffee samples contained levels that could feasibly affect the levels of LDL cholesterol of people who drank the coffee, as well as their future risk of cardiovascular disease,” said Iggman. “For people who drink a lot of coffee every day, it’s clear that drip-filter coffee, or other well-filtered coffee, is preferable. To determine the precise effects on LDL cholesterol levels, we would need to conduct a controlled study of subjects who would drink the coffee.”
The full study was published in February in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases.
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