Cardiologists explain a new study’s surprising findings.

Office coffee doesn’t pretend to be the crème de la crème of brews, but new research suggests your common room’s cup of joe could be actively messing with your health, along with your tastebuds.

A new study, which was published in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases, found that certain components in coffee are more likely to slip through office machines, land in your cup, and cause cardiovascular health issues. The findings sound kind of shocking, but cardiologists don’t seem to be surprised by the news.

Here’s what the study found, plus how to sip responsibly in the future.

What Did The Study Find?

For the study, Swedish researchers brewed coffee in 14 different office machines. Samples were taken from each machine every two to three weeks using medium and dark roast coffees. The researchers also looked samples from peculator coffee, espresso, French press coffee, boiled coffee, and boiled coffee poured through a fabric filter.

The samples were analyzed for the presence of something called diterpenes, which are compounds that can raise levels of LDL cholesterol (the bad kind). But we’ll dive deeper into that later on.

The researchers discovered that office coffee machines, which tend to rely on a metal filter, are not actually that great at filtering out these diterpenes, and specifically, compounds called cafestol and kahweol. On the other hand, home brewing methods like French press and percolated coffee had the lowest level of these compounds.

“Intake of insufficiently filtered coffee during working hours could be an overlooked factor for cardiovascular health due to its effect on plasma cholesterol concentrations,” the researchers wrote in the conclusion. Basically, your office coffee could be secretly raising with your cholesterol levels.

What’s The Difference Between Filtered And Unfiltered Coffee?

You can make coffee a bunch of different ways, including brewing it through a paper or metal filter, or through unfiltered methods, which let oils and particles land in your cup. As the study found, unfiltered coffee brewing methods allow compounds that raise LDL cholesterol levels to seep into your cup.

The scientists also found that metal filters weren’t perfect, either. Coffee brewed through a paper filter proved the best for ensuring low levels of cafestol and kahweol.

What Are Diterpenes?

Diterpenes are a class of organic compounds found naturally in coffee beans, and cafestol and kahweol are the two main types, explains Ragavendra Baliga, MBBS, a cardiologist and professor of internal medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “These compounds are oily and are released during the brewing process,” Dr. Baliga says.

How Do Certain Types Of Coffee Raise LDL?

While you can remove most diterpenes by using a paper filter, not every coffee machine can utilize these. “Certain machines present in offices don’t use paper filters. They use metal filters that don’t remove diterpenes as effectively,” says Cheng-Han Chen, MD, an interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA.

Previous research has linked these diterpenes with higher levels of LDL cholesterol. “It’s not entirely understood how it works,” Dr. Chen says. However, the diterpene compounds seem to impact how much LDL receptors in cells are able to process circulating LDL in the body, he says. Diterpenes also seem to suppress enzymes linked to the production of bile acid in the body, and that can increase LDL cholesterol, Dr. Chen explains.

How Can I Lower My LDL?

Dr. Chen recommends focusing on a diet that’s lower in saturated fats if you’re trying to lower your LDL cholesterol. That means leaning more toward plant-based foods and away from things like fatty cuts of meat and cheese. “High saturated fat intake will definitely increase LDL levels,” Chen says. Exercising regularly can also help lower LDL levels, Dr. Baliga points out.

But on the coffee front, Dr. Baliga suggests switching to drinking the filtered kind if you can, like a drip coffee that goes through paper filters. “It is a simple step,” he says.

Important Notice: This article was originally published at www.womenshealthmag.com by Korin Miller, where all credits are due.