Coffee Caution

We’ve seen a lot of good news about coffee lately. For example, the majority of studies have found zero link to heart attacks, and other studies have shown health benefits from the brew’s antioxidant content. Some research even shows that drinking coffee can help prevent sun damage to the skin, including melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer.

As for workouts, coffee’s been proven to increase intensity and endurance in the gym, and it can support fat loss. Almost all of the research points to it as being a health food, but there is one caveat: Make sure you drink filtered coffee. Unfiltered types—such as coffees prepared in espresso machines or percolators—tend to raise both low-density-lipoprotein and total cholesterol. Filters take out most of the coffee oils, which contain the terpenes that lead to those negative effects. Also, use paper filters. The popular gold filters aren’t very good at trapping the oils. IM