Scientists studied the effects of coffee and its implication on the health of 500,000 coffee drinkers over the age of 20. They have found that filtered coffee is good at lowering cholesterol levels and promoting healthy hearts.

They claim that the filter removes the oily component in the coffee, which causes cholesterol levels to rise in the body. Furthermore, they say that drinking filtered coffee is better than not drinking coffee at all.

European researchers studied the relationship between the various approaches of brewing coffee and the risk of heart attack and death. They recruited more than 500,000 healthy men and women who were aged between 20 to 79 and recorded the amount and type of coffee they drank for an average of 20 years.

They also took note of other factors that could affect the heart, such as cholesterol level, blood pressure, smoking, and physical activity.

The results of the study reveal that filtered coffee drinkers are 15 percent less likely to die from heart conditions. According to the researchers, a cup of filtered coffee contains 30 times lower concentration of lipid-raising substances as compared to unfiltered coffee.

There have been previous studies that linked coffee consumption to bad cholesterol, which could be damaging to one's heart. However, this only applies to unfiltered coffee.

The findings of the study on filtered coffee were published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Filtered Coffee is Good For You

Analysis from the team's study revealed that drinking filtered coffee is better than not having coffee at all. Filtered coffee is associated with a 15 percent risk of death from any cause without regard to a person's age, gender, or lifestyle.

The risk of death from cardiovascular disease was particularly lowered in filtered coffee drinkers by 20 percent in women and 12 percent in men. In addition, those who drank one to two cups of filtered coffee a day displayed the lowest level in mortality.

Dag Thelle of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, one of the study's authors, recommends switching to filtered coffee, especially for those who are concerned about high cholesterol. Thelle also cautions those who have high cholesterol to avoid unfiltered coffee, which includes coffee made with a French press.

Choose Your Coffee Properly

Dressing your coffee up too much with cream and sugar can risk negating its health benefits, the American Heart Association says. The federal dietary guidelines say that three to five cups of coffee per day can be part of a healthy diet but only applies to plain black coffee.

Penny Kris-Etherton, a nutrition professor at Penn State University, says that frappuccinos and other fancy caffeinated drinks can add calories up quickly, cause weight gain, and increase one's cardiac risk.

A previous study from the Baylor College of Medicine also revealed that cafestol, a compound found in coffee, elevates cholesterol by hijacking a receptor in an intestinal passageway essential to its regulation.

Cafetiere or French press coffee, boiled Scandinavian brew, and espresso are among some examples that contain the highest levels of the compound, the study revealed. Cholesterol and cafestol were effectively removed by paper filters used in most brewing processes.