Does French Press Coffee Raise Cholesterol? (Solved & Explained!)

Drinking more than five cups of coffee made with a French Press can, unfortunately, increase the cholesterol level in your body from 6 to 8%. 

If your coffee has not been filtered properly or is made without a filter, this may lead to increased cholesterol, affecting your heart and leading to heart diseases.  The effects of consuming cafestol and kahweol push your body to such a level that it creates an increase in LDL cholesterol and triglycerides levels.

This article will look at the components in French Press coffee that can be damaging to your health, and the many ways to prevent and protect yourself while still enjoying your favorite cup of coffee.

What is the Research Behind French Press Coffee and Health?

Researches show that the brewing method used in making a cup of coffee lowers the risk of high cholesterol and ultimately the risks for heart diseases. 

Thirty years ago, Professor Thelle discovered that the person who drinks french press coffee has higher blood cholesterol levels and a higher risk of developing heart diseases.

This is in comparison to the person who uses the filter methods for his coffee. Someone who uses a paper filter is less likely to develop heart disease due to lower cholesterol levels.

The experiment revealed that different brewing methods could reduce the risks of high cholesterol levels and cardiac diseases in the body.  

Is Drip Coffee Healthier than French Press Coffee?

Drinking filtered coffee is better than stovetop and french press coffee for your heart. Research shows that drinking brewing coffee has a positive impact on your health than the people who do not consume coffee.

A study that was published online in April of 2020 by the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology shows that filtering coffee using any kind of filter paper is better for health especially for old people.  

Some experts also recommend the pour-over method which is a kind of vessel on which some kind of filter paper is placed for the purpose of filtration. It is an unbleached filter that avoids extra chemical exposure. By using this method you can eliminate maximum but not all terpenes. 

What Are Some Ways to Reduce Cholesterol Risk Due to the French Press? 

If you are a heart patient and have high cholesterol levels in your body, you should consider cutting out french press coffee from your diet. This will help your overall health.

If you still want to drink french press coffee, you should limit it to one or two small cups a day. Try to avoid adding more sugar or cream to it. And you can also use filter paper to help make the coffee healthier, straining out some of the bad cholesterol agents.

Another method is the dark roasting method. If you roast the beans more, it will have 60% less cafestol than before. 

Why Is French Press Coffee Bad for You? 

Although French press coffee tastes good, it’s unhealthy for several reasons. The Harvard health blog, in 2016, told us about the harmful effects of French press coffee involving cafestol and kahweol.

Cafestol and kahweol are two damaging constituents of french press coffee that are the main reasons behind increased levels of cholesterol in your body. The seeds of Coffea arabica contain kahweol and Cafestol which are known for their anticancer properties but also are the risk factors for the increase in cholesterol levels in the body.

How Does French Press Coffee Increase Cholesterol Levels in Your Body?

Cafestol and kahweol are two primary components in coffee that decrease neutral sterols and bile acids by hijacking receptors in an intestinal pathway to its regulation. The cafestol compounds are considered to be directly linked to high cholesterol levels. 

These compounds are most commonly found in unfiltered coffee, such as french press coffee. Unfiltered French press coffee not only increases the risk of cholesterol increases but may also cause an increased risk of stroke, heart disease, and premature death. 

According to a study, when the concentration of Cafestol was measured in paper-filtered drip coffee and French press coffee near about 300 times, it was found that metal filter paper did not remove much cafestol from the coffee as compared to boiled coffee. 

Cafestol and kahweol have an indirect impact on your body system. These compounds are also responsible for increasing triglycerides and LDL cholesterol levels in your body, making you obese and more susceptible to deadly health conditions. 

What Kind of Coffee Raises Cholesterol? 

Coffee which is unfiltered, such as french press coffee, can raise the cholesterol in your body 

While filtered coffee can rarely increase cholesterol. The increase in cholesterol also depends on how many coffee cups you drink in one day and your sensitivity level to the caffeine. 

According to a modern research paper, the amount of cholesterol is not directly dependent on caffeine, it is the amount of oil present in the coffee beans. These oils are diterpenes which are cafestol and kahweol.

So the concentration of oils in coffee depends on the brewing methods. For instance, if you are using filter paper, then most of the diterpenes remain in it so coffee has less contained in it, and less is passed into you to make trouble for your health.

In most cases, you do not need to worry about brewed coffee as it has lower cholesterol. 

These are some of the types of coffee that have a higher amount of cholesterol:

1. French Press coffee.
2. Turkish coffee. 
3. Expresso coffee. 

For these types of coffee, you can drink them in a controlled way, such as taking two cups or less for heart patients or up to five cups in a day for a young and healthy person. 

How Does Cholesterol Affect the Body? 

LDL cholesterol is poor for your health as it can deposit fat in your arteries, reducing the amount of blood and oxygen to your heart. Unfortunately, this then leads to many health problems, such as a stroke.

HDL is good cholesterol as it lowers the number of LDL in your bloodstream.