French Press Friday

It's Friday already?  Wow, this week went fast.  I really thought I had posted more than once this week.  Maybe I'm just posting in my head....

Last week I introduced, or re-introduced, you to french press coffee.  A friend had a concern about the amount of cholesterol in coffee, specifically french press.  That fact was new to me, so I decided to research a bit about it and share my findings.  Do with it what you may.

The oils, called terpenes, found in coffee tends to be what increases the cholesterol.  These are typically removed by filters.  So, when we use our coffee makers that require filters, we do not need to worry about the impact our morning cup o' joe has on our cholesterol levels.  This made me very sad because I love my french press coffee!  Do I need to give it up?!  I continued my research.

It seems that a healthy person with low cholesterol levels may not need to worry too much about the effects of coffee.  (Happy!)  But what about my friends and family who DO need to be more careful about cholesterol?  For some reason, the following did not surprise me:

"People try to pin a culprit" when it comes to coffee and cholesterol, "but people do not live in an isolated world," says Dr. Gail C. Frank, a professor of nutrition in the department of family and consumer sciences at California State University Long Beach. According to Frank, there are "several pieces to the coffee story," including not only whether people drink filtered or unfiltered coffee, but how much they drink and what they are doing besides drinking coffee‹such as smoking. (link)







It's true.  We don't live in an isolated world.  So many of our choices affect so many aspects of our lives and it seems coffee and cholesterol follow that same truth.  So are you ready for this no-brainer?  If you are a friend or family member who needs to be mindful of cholesterol:

  Eat healthy foods.  Get some regular exercise.  Don't smoke.  Drink plenty of water. And don't go overboard on things that aren't beneficial for you! 

 Here's another good article.  Easy to read.  Nothing about it screams "the sky is falling!!" if you know what I mean.  Just good common sense.