If you've been watching your cholesterol, you may have wondered whether your daily cup of coffee is part of the problem. It's a fair question, and the answer is more interesting than a simple yes or no. Coffee can raise LDL cholesterol, but whether it does, and by how much, comes down to how the coffee is made and how much you drink. In this post we'll look at what the research shows, the two compounds that actually drive the effect, and how to think about your own cup.
LDL cholesterol is worth keeping in check because it's a major contributor to atherosclerosis and heart disease. When it comes to coffee, the reassuring news is that in small to moderate amounts it doesn't seem to contribute a great deal to elevated LDL. Some studies have even shown a small beneficial effect, while others show no effect at all.
The reason the research looks mixed is that the answer really depends on two things: the individual, and the type of coffee. By type, I don't just mean the beans. I mean how the coffee is prepared.
Two preparation factors matter most. The first is what you add. Stirring in high-fat dairy or coconut is not going to help keep your LDL in check, and it can raise it before we even get to the coffee itself.
The second, and the more surprising one, is whether the coffee is filtered or unfiltered. If you're boiling your coffee or using a French press, that lack of filtration allows higher amounts of certain compounds to end up in your cup, and those compounds can raise LDL cholesterol.
Unfiltered coffee contains two particular compounds that can raise LDL: cafestol and kahweol. Both have been shown to increase LDL cholesterol in some people. When coffee is passed through a paper filter or a metal mesh filter, much of the cafestol and kahweol is removed, so the final cup carries far less of them.
How much these two compounds affect your cholesterol varies from person to person, and it also interacts with the rest of your diet and lifestyle, including your overall saturated fat intake. Cafestol appears to be the stronger of the two. Kahweol's effect is less well understood and may matter less.
Here's where it gets practical. Some studies have shown that high doses of cafestol, somewhere around 14 to 20 milligrams, can raise LDL cholesterol by as much as 10 to 15 percent. So an LDL of 110 might climb toward 120 or beyond.
So how much is in a cup? Filtered coffee is probably nothing to worry about. Unfiltered coffee, like French press or espresso, is where these compounds show up, and the amount also depends on the bean, the roast, and the brew time. On average, a cup of unfiltered coffee carries roughly 2 to 5 milligrams of cafestol and 2 to 4 milligrams of kahweol. At the high end, that's around 9 milligrams from a single cup. Since 14 to 20 milligrams is the range that starts to move LDL, you'd generally need to drink somewhere around two to four cups of unfiltered coffee before the effect becomes meaningful.
If you drink one cup of filtered coffee a day, there's really not much to worry about here. If you're drinking two or three cups of unfiltered coffee, that's when the impact starts to add up. And if you happen to use beans or a brew method that runs high in these compounds, even a single strong cup could put you near the threshold.
The honest answer is that you may have to experiment. Going without coffee for a stretch and rechecking your numbers is the only way to know for sure how much your coffee is contributing. And remember that genetics and other lifestyle factors play a large role in your overall LDL, so it's worth looking at the whole picture rather than blaming the coffee alone. If your cholesterol is the bigger concern, I've covered the broader strategy in how to lower cholesterol without statins and how to control high cholesterol naturally.
Coffee can raise LDL cholesterol, but it's mostly a story about brewing. Filtered coffee removes most of the cafestol and kahweol that drive the effect, while unfiltered coffee like French press and espresso carries more. One filtered cup a day is a non-issue for most people. If you drink several cups of unfiltered coffee and your LDL is creeping up, switching to filtered, or simply cutting back, is an easy lever to pull.
If you want help sorting out what's actually driving your cholesterol numbers, work with me directly to build a plan around your specific labs.
Topics: Cholesterol, LDL Cholesterol, Coffee, Cafestol, Heart Health, Diet