Sip With Caution: Your Daily Office Brew Could Be Harming Your Heart!

Your daily coffee might be raising your cholesterol, switch to paper filtered coffee for a healthier choice.

Highlights:

Coffee prepared in office machines with metal filters includes high levels of chemicals called cafestol and kahweol
The coffee makers that use metal filters have the highest quantities of diterpene, whereas those that use instant or liquid coffee have less
Instead of giving up your regular caffeine, switching to paper-filtered coffee

What if your office coffee is doing more than just keeping you awake? You rely on it to help you through lengthy meetings and hectic days. According to recent studies, the way your coffee is prepared at work may be subtly increasing your cholesterol levels. By using an office espresso machine to make several cups of coffee every day, you may be unconsciously endangering your Heart. But do not worry—even a tiny adaptation could have a significant impact. Let's discuss what this entails and how you can still get your coffee fix while making a healthy decision!

Cholesterol Risk Calculator
The Cholesterol risk calculator assesses your risk for heart disease using the result of cholesterol test (lipid profile test).

‘Did You Know?
Coffee made with a metal filter can contain up to 15 times more cholesterol-raising compounds than paper-filtered coffee!’

What’s Hidden in Your Coffee?

Not all coffee is created equal! Depending on how it's brewed, your cup may contain some naturally occurring components that are not the healthiest. According to research from Chalmers University of Technology and Uppsala University, workplace coffee makers that use metal filters let through larger concentrations of kahweol and cafestol. These compounds, which are present in coffee oils, have been connected to elevated levels of LDL or Bad cholesterol.

Cafestol concentration in machine-brewed coffee: 176 mg/L

Cafestol concentration in paper-filtered coffee: 12 mg/L ()

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Is coffee addiction bad for the heart? Yes, drinking too much tea, coffee and other caffeinated drinks can increase your risk for heart disease.

How Much Coffee is too Much?

It's possible that you're slowly raising your cholesterol levels if you drink three or more cups of coffee every day at your office. The study indicates that, equivalent to consuming more saturated fat, drinking high-diterpene coffee gradually could result in a detectable increase in LDL cholesterol.

Is Black Coffee an Anti-Aging Superfood?
Anti-ageing properties of black coffee makes this superfood a perfect morning ritual. But ideally have black coffee without milk and sugar and to get maximum benefit.

Not All Coffee Machines are the Same!

#Diterpenes are organic substances that occur naturally in a variety of plants, including coffee beans. Both cafestol and kahweol, which are present in the oil component of the beans, are the principal diterpenes in coffee. Paper filters fail to remove these chemicals, which is especially prevalent in unfiltered coffee brews like French press, Turkish, or Scandinavian boiling coffee ().

Significant variations in diterpene levels were discovered by the study after testing various office coffee makers:

To Consider

Coffee makers that use instant coffee (freeze-dried coffee) had the lowest amount of diterpene, thus it can be considered a healthier option compared to others.
Liquid coffee makers that blend concentrate with hot water had moderate levels of diterpene.

To Not Consider

Brewing machines (grinding beans and using metal filters) had the highest diterpene levels. Hence, you may want to reconsider your coffee-drinking habits if your workplace has a brewing machine.

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Simple Swaps for a Healthier Brew!

If your office has liquid coffee machines ,this might be a better option as they have diterpene levels similar to those of paper-filtered coffee.
If you enjoy strong coffee, consider switching to a Moka pot or AeroPress with a paper filter, which can help reduce diterpene levels while keeping that bold flavor!
Want to keep your French press? A small change that could have a significant impact over time is to try passing your brewed coffee through a paper filter before drinking.

Final Sip
You don’t need to quit coffee altogether—just be mindful of how it’s brewed! If you're unsure about your office machine, think about bringing your own filtered coffee or advocating for a switch to a healthier brewing method. Making small changes today could lead to a healthier heart later.

References:

Cafestol and kahweol concentrations in workplace machine coffee compared with conventional brewing methods - (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/389195792_Cafestol_and_kahweol_concentrations_in_workplace_machine_coffee_compared_with_conventional_brewing_methods)
Effects of cafestol and kahweol from coffee grounds on serum lipids and serum liver enzymes in humans - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7825527/)

Source-Medindia