Hello,

I have read in several places that drinking unfiltered coffee is a good way to raise your cholesterol. Does anyone know exactly what this means? I live in Greece where we drink a lot of unfiltered coffee (grounds are in the bottom of the cup) and also several concoctions made with instant coffee. Does this also apply to decaffeinated coffee? This information has been difficult to find. Any direction would be appreciated.

Lauri

Try

http://www.ineedcoffee.com/00/03/myths/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...1&dopt=Abstract

for starters.

Dodger, thanks for the links.

Yes, that's true. If you drink drip coffee (in paper filter) this filter traps chemicals and cholesterol does not enter your cup. If you want to raise your cholesterol drink French press or boiled coffee.

Hi,

I think that Greek coffee would qualify as boiled coffee...luckily, I don't drink all that much. We have an American-style coffee maker and use that at home most of the time.

I am not really worried about my cholesterol level. It was 140 before I started Atkins and I am confident that it's still fine (although my in-laws are all big naysayers about this diet ). My husband drinks more Greek coffee than me.

It's funny how everyone is hysterical about eating red meat and eggs, but not a peep about foods which really are associated with bad cholesterol levels.

--Lauri

"It's funny how everyone is hysterical about eating red meat and eggs, but not a peep about foods which really are associated with bad cholesterol levels."

Actually, dietary cholesterol intake has little or no effect on your blood cholesterol levels. In fact, if you don't eat enough cholesterol in your diet your body will manufacture it!

Cindysue,

I have read that too. It seems that foods with cholesterol (like eggs) don't have a significant impact on cholesterol levels. Like you wrote, your body needs it for many things and will manufacture it if you don't eat enough. Lutz (Life Without Bread) theorizes that when your body is forced to manufacture cholesterol, it may not know how much to make and may overproduce it--leading to higher cholesterol levels in people eating a low fat diet.

There is so much new information out there but for various reasons, it is not making it into the public domain. Since I have begun to educate myself about these issues, I am constantly stunned by the absolute nonsense out there. One website I saw (www.dietitian.com/locarb.html) stated that you need at least 130 grams of carbohydrates a day to prevent the loss of muscles and organs! This website also stated that in the absence of enough glucose for energy, your body will turn to burning muscles for energy!

I believe what Atkins wrote: that we used to KNOW that the world was flat!

Yes, some information about diets is very contradictory, and sometimes even confusing or stupid. It's hard to believe in some stunning facts

We should simply search as many facts as possible and listen to the most believed scientists and dietitians to be sure that we choose the right way to become healthy.

So, anyone know if there's a way to ultra-filter your coffee to reduce the risk further or do you just get pale, weak coffee?

cb to answer your question, no you can't filter out terpenes selectively. They are a lot of what makes coffee taste the way it does.

The research done on this is pretty unconvincing, and is inconcsistent with the larger population studies. I am personally ignoring their advice, and having my coffee.

You might have it with cream, and let the terpenes and other chemicals have a chance to bind with milk proteins prior to entering your system.

You make a great advisor - or at least, apologist Thank you!

I prefer kind of a smooth, medium coffee rather than the oily dark kind. (And I think the terpenes are in the oils or are the oils...)

By the way - for more than you ever want to know,

Coffee Flavor Chemistry - by Ivon Flament
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471720380/