Is your Coffee Habit to Blame for your High Cholesterol?

If you are one of the millions of people in the world who starts your day with a strong cup of coffee and you've been skipping on the half and half to spare your cholesterol, think again.

Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine have found that the effect half and half may have on your LDL (bad) cholesterol is nothing compared to the oils in the coffee.

Researchers have found that cafestol, a compound found in the oils in coffee, elevates cholesterol by hijacking a receptor in an intestinal pathway critical to cholesterol regulation. In fact, cafestol is the most potent dietary cholesterol-elevating agent known, said Dr. David Moore, professor of molecular and cellular biology at BCM and co-author of the report that appeared in the July issue of the journal Molecular Endocrinology.

The study found that French press coffee, boiled Scandinavian brew and espresso contain the highest levels of the compound, which is removed by paper filters used in most other brewing processes. Cafestol is not removed when using permanent or cloth filters.

Although caffeine is often considered the villain in your daily cup of joe, the stimulant is not to blame for unfiltered coffee's effect on cholesterol levels. Removing caffeine does not remove or affect the levels of cafestol in coffee.

Studies by a co-author - Dr. Martijn B. Katan of Vriye Univeriteit Amsterdam, Institute for Health Sciences, The Netherlands - indicate that consuming five cups of French press coffee per day (30 milligrams of cafestol) for just four weeks raises cholesterol in the blood 6 to 8 percent.