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For many people, coffee is a daily ritual and a staple of their morning routine to jump-start their day. However, if you’re watching your cholesterol, you might want to consider paying more attention to your morning cup of coffee.
Nutrition experts say both the way coffee is brewed (what method you use to make it) and the way it’s prepared (what you add to it) can affect your cholesterol.
Candice Pamper, a registered dietitian at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, says coffee contains oil-based compounds called diterpenes that, when consumed regularly, can interfere with the body’s cholesterol control processes and raise LDL (the “bad” cholesterol).
“Unfiltered coffee contains much more of these compounds than paper-filtered coffee, so brewing method is an important factor for cholesterol,” she added.
When it comes to brewing methods, Pamper explained that while paper-filter coffees like drip and pour-over are the best choices for heart health, filter-free methods like Scandinavian brewed coffee and Turkish coffee contain the highest amounts of these compounds.
“French presses can also fall into this unfiltered category because they don’t use paper filters. However, they are often classified with metal filtration methods such as percolators because the metal mesh filters the lees while letting most of the oil through,” she said.
Although research on coffee alone is limited and mostly based on observational studies, registered dietitian Laura Rigos said it’s likely that what someone adds to coffee has more of an impact on cholesterol than the coffee itself.
“We know that saturated fats, such as those found in heavy cream, butter, and coconut oil, can affect cholesterol. We also know that insulin resistance can also contribute to lipid (and) triglyceride deterioration,” she said.
So what’s the best option for at-home baristas? Rigos suggested black, or with your desired amount of sugar or milk.
“If you’re consuming a lot of saturated fat and sugar throughout the day, adding more sugar to your coffee can be a problem,” she says. “However, if you eat a balanced diet, stay well hydrated, and enjoy coffee as a hobby, adding heavy cream or sugar may be OK. It depends on the person, their health goals, and their overall intake.”
Coffee is only part of the picture, experts agreed.
“It’s helpful to keep in mind that many different factors besides brewing methods can affect cholesterol, including genetics, age, gender, diet, lifestyle, and certain health conditions,” says Pamper.
And for most people, Rigos added, coffee will not be the only “significant contributor to cholesterol levels.”
“That said, dose is important in all things, and drinking too much coffee, especially caffeinated coffee, can lead to other heart health issues,” she says.
