{"id":62195,"date":"2023-12-18T09:30:59","date_gmt":"2023-12-18T14:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=62195"},"modified":"2025-06-10T10:21:46","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T14:21:46","slug":"coffee-and-cholesterol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/coffee-and-cholesterol\/","title":{"rendered":"Does coffee affect your cholesterol?"},"content":{"rendered":"

For coffee lovers, your morning cup of joe is a way of life. The smell, the flavor, the caffeine\u2014it\u2019s all part of your daily ritual. If you\u2019re in the \u201cI love coffee\u201d club, you\u2019re not alone. A whopping 75% of Americans are coffee drinkers, and almost 50% of us drink it daily.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because coffee is so widely consumed you likely take time to think about how it affects your body in the long-term. It\u2019s easy to forget that drinking coffee can affect your health. High cholesterol is a dietary concern that can lead to <\/span>heart disease<\/span><\/a>, and it\u2019s crucial to understand how and whether coffee can affect your cholesterol.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Can coffee cause high cholesterol?<\/span><\/h2>\n

You may be wondering what coffee and cholesterol have to do with each other. Well, that\u2019s a great question. Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in many foods. It\u2019s also produced by our liver in two forms: high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). While everyone has cholesterol in their body, having too much can adversely affect heart health.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Coffee itself doesn\u2019t contain any cholesterol, but its natural oils contain <\/span>kahweol and cafestol<\/span><\/a>, two <\/span>chemical compounds<\/span><\/a> that have the potential to raise cholesterol levels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most experts agree that quitting a moderate amount of coffee <\/span>probably won\u2019t <\/span>lower<\/span><\/i> cholesterol levels<\/span><\/a>\u2014but could drinking lots of coffee or certain types of coffee <\/span>raise<\/span><\/i> levels? The truth is that it\u2019s very difficult to generalize how coffee impacts cholesterol levels in the average person. \u201cThis is very hard to track and correlate in real life,\u201d says <\/span>Mary Greene, MD<\/span><\/a>, a cardiologist at Manhattan Cardiology in New York.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Dr. Greene points out that many of the studies conducted linking coffee to higher cholesterol levels were small, and the elevations of patients’ cholesterol values in the blood work observed in the studies were modest. In other words, yes, the chemical compounds in coffee can raise cholesterol, but the effect coffee has on your cholesterol depends on individual factors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, who should be thinking about how their morning cup of joe impacts cholesterol? Well, firstly, if you\u2019ve already been told to watch your cholesterol or that you have cardiovascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure, you might want to monitor your coffee intake. Recent studies suggest that daily consumption of unfiltered coffee\u2014coffee that doesn\u2019t pass through a paper filter, such as French press or cold brew\u2014can lead to a marginal increase in <\/span>lipid levels<\/span><\/a>, says <\/span>Catalina Ruz<\/span><\/a>, MS, a registered dietitian with Top Nutrition Coaching in North Carolina. This effect is more pronounced in individuals with <\/span>pre-existing high cholesterol levels<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe rise in cholesterol levels is typically marginal in individuals with previously normal lipid profiles,\u201d Ruz adds. Marginal in this context means that the slightly higher levels of cholesterol in otherwise healthy individuals correlated with coffee isn\u2019t enough to make a difference in your health.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, there could be other reasons you should avoid coffee\u2014and that\u2019s its caffeine content. \u201cCaffeine, for some people, can worsen blood pressure and risk factors for arrhythmias,\u201d Dr. Greene says. \u201cThose people should avoid all forms of caffeine or stimulants, not limited to coffee.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/b>Does caffeine raise your blood pressure?<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Ultimately, coffee could impact your cholesterol levels, but it\u2019s not the only factor. \u201cA diet rich in saturated fats has a much more significant and substantial impact on cholesterol levels than coffee consumption does,\u201d Ruz says. When you are diagnosed with high blood pressure, it\u2019s important to speak with your cardiologist or healthcare provider about the best diet for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Factors that affect coffee and cholesterol<\/span><\/h2>\n

If coffee doesn\u2019t have any cholesterol in it, you may be wondering how it has any impact on cholesterol at all. Here\u2019s how it works: Kahweol and cafestol, which are diterpenes (active compounds) can raise the serum cholesterol levels and triglycerides found in the blood. In plain English, serum cholesterol is a way of measuring the amount of lipids (fats) in the body, and triglycerides are fats bundled with cholesterol.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In other words, these active ingredients in coffee change your body\u2019s chemistry in a way that increases the amount of fat that is measurable in the blood and serum. That\u2019s true for all types of coffee, but a few variables can impact how much it impacts your cholesterol, including how you brew it, how much you consume, and how you drink it.<\/span><\/p>\n

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