Posted Tue Jan 10, 2006, 5:59am Subject: Re: French Press and Cholesterol
Consumer Reports magazine reported on this concern in the fall of 2004. Here is a quoted section from that article:
"The idea that coffee is bad for your heart pops up periodically--and seems to have a certain logic. Over a decade ago, several epidemiologic studies found that heavy coffee drinkers had higher blood-cholesterol levels than nondrinkers. Then lab tests, mainly from Europe, found that regularly drinking very strong coffee could sharply increase volunteers' cholesterol levels. Researchers even isolated a fatlike chemical in coffee, cafestol, that was clearly responsible for the rise. (Cafestol shows up in coffee whether or not it's decaffeinated.)
However, the brewing methods used in the lab studies involved boiling ground coffee in water, a method that produces extremely high concentrations of cafestol. By contrast, the filter and percolation brewing methods used by more than nine of ten Americans remove all but a trace of cafestol. (So-called French-press brewing results in a cafestol content close to that of the boiling method.)"
Posted Tue Jan 10, 2006, 11:01am Subject: Re: French Press and Cholesterol
I drink mostly filter coffee and every so often french press if I find a real good coffee. Doctor never mentioned filters. Going from 220 to 190 was a feat, It did start with the 4 days in the hospital with its 'good food' and most of it was, even the coffee was pretty good, but not like I do at home. I joke about not eating 4 legged farm animals for a while, and stay with my non-fat half and half in my coffee.
Posted Sat Jan 14, 2006, 11:34am Subject: Re: French Press and Cholesterol
At one time, it was believed that only Scandinavian boiled coffee had harmful levels of the LDL cholesterol-raising lipids (diterpenes) cafestol and kahweol. However dozens of studies have now shown that French press coffee is as bad or even worse. For example:
"Levels of the Cholesterol-Elevating Diterpenes Cafestol and Kahweol in Various Coffee Brews" - Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry; 1995; 43(8) pp 2167 - 2172 by Rob Urgert, Guido van der Weg, Truus G. Kosmeijer-Schuil, Peter van de Bovenkamp, Robert Hovenier, and Martijn B. Katan - Department of Human Nutrition, Agricultural University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
This report found the following levels of these dangerous lipids in each five-ounce cup (which is about half of a typical American mug):
Brewing Method Cafestol Kahweol
Scandinavian boiled 3.0mg 3.9mg French press 3.5mg 4.4mg Drip – Metal Filtered 2.5mg Not given Drip – Paper filtered 0.1mg Not given
This study, and nearly all others, found that paper filtering eliminates the danger. The above study is not available on line. But here are some links to reports that are available:
A quote from this link: "Of far greater concern, Urgert believes, were increases of between 9 and 14 percent in the concentrations of low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol -- the so-called bad cholesterol -- in volunteers drinking the pressed brew. An increase this large in LDLs, a risk factor for heart disease, might over a lifetime elevate an individual’s chance of developing coronary disease by up to 20 percent, he notes."
You can do your own search on Google with the words
cholesterol "French press"
French press coffee users like its strong brew. AeroPress (my invention) is paper-filtered and can brew even stronger than the French press if you wish. It is also faster and easier to use. See www.aerobie.com
I appologize for this plug, but it could save lives.
Posted Sun Jan 15, 2006, 2:11pm Subject: Re: French Press and Cholesterol
Urgert, Katan, and dozens of other respected scientists have ALL reported that French press coffee increases one's risk of heart attack. They cannot ALL be bought.
While it's true that there are two sides of the argument regarding the health effects of caffeine, the evidence against the harmful diterpenes in French press coffee is overwhelmingly concordant.
Smokers ignore the link between smoking and cancer because of their nicotine addiction. But nobody is addicted to the sediment in French press brew. Paper filtering, even with a simple cone on a cup, removes the risk.
counting Senior Member Joined: 8 May 2005 Posts: 823 Location: Baltimore, MD
Posted Sun Jan 15, 2006, 8:15pm Subject: Re: French Press and Cholesterol
Please cite the dozens of respected scientists who have reported increased risk of heart attack from French press coffee. What has been reported is increased cholesterol levels, and most of that research is from Urgert's lab. As for coronary artery disease, no research supports the idea that drinking FP increases risk by 20 percent. Or by any percent that is significant, for that matter.
matt18 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jan 2006 Posts: 8 Location: Michigan Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sun Jan 15, 2006, 9:49pm Subject: Re: French Press and Cholesterol
Yes, coffee oils can raise your cholesterol levels, just like eggs and Big Macs. But let me put things in perspective here.
First of all, the levels of cafestol and kahweol in brewed coffee is about 1000 times lower than Alan states above. I obtained the following information from a NIH-sponsored review of the toxicology of cafestol and kahweol: Click Here (ntp.niehs.nih.gov)
Compare these figures to the cholesterol content in a whole egg: 215mg.
So, tomorrow morning at breakfast, tell me if you are really worried about the 7.9mg diterpenes in your cup of french press as you are about to consume a two-egg omlette containing 430mg cholesterol. If so, just stick with a nice bowl of Cherrios (0mg cholesterol)!
Posted Sun Jan 15, 2006, 11:29pm Subject: Re: French Press and Cholesterol
I clicked on the NIH link provided by "matt 18" but that NIH page did not contain the words coffee or cafestol.
There seems to be some confusion here between cholesterol as found in eggs, and the cholesterol-raising lipids cafestol and kahweol in unfiltered coffee. Dr. Arild C. Rustan of the Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo identified these two lipids as “the most potent cholesterol-raising components known”. They are not cholesterol but they cause your body to raise cholesterol.
Senior member "counting" challenged the Netherlands institution which has contributed the greatest number of studies of these lipids. "Counting" wrote, "What has been reported is increased cholesterol levels, and most of that research is from Urgert's lab." Does "counting" know of any reason to distrust that institution? If so, please pass it along.
"Counting" also challenged the notion that an increase in LDL increases risk of heart attack. I leave it to each of you to decide that issue for yourself. However, in response to "counting" I attach the following file with a great number of references to sources other than the Netherlands. Included is the Norwegian study:
"Coffee consumption and death from coronary heart disease in middle aged Norwegian men and women."
Posted Mon Jan 16, 2006, 2:52am Subject: Re: French Press and Cholesterol
Matt 18 is correct, my figures were accidentally typed in g (grams) and should have been mg (milligrams). But, of course, the harmful increase in LDL cholesterol still ocurred from drinking brew with the mg levels. I have corrected the error in my original post. Thank you Matt 18.
Matt 18's source reported Scandinavian brew as worse than French press brew, while the source I quoted reported the opposite. Both sources reported the same levels for French press, but they differed on Scandinavian brew. I find that measurements on Scandinavian vary from report to report, probably due to variations in settling of grounds. However the reports on French press brew are more consistent and the clinical trials which show increased LDL cholesterol in people drinking French press brew are all concordant.
People's resistance to acknowledging the dangers of French press brew remind me of decades ago when the facts on smoking first came out. Smokers refused to believe it, or else they said, "We all die sooner or later anyway". Some of you may choose sooner, I prefer later.
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