Filtering Through Coffee Vs. Cholesterol Controversy

Question: When are the researchers going to make up their minds about coffee? First the commercials tell us that caffeine is bad because it makes you jumpy. Then the papers say filtered coffee is better because it won’t raise cholesterol. Now I hear that decaf makes cholesterol go up. I won’t give up coffee, but what’s the safest way to drink it?

A. The coffee and cholesterol controversy has been raging for years. At long last we are starting to get answers to some puzzling contradictions.

Years ago Scandinavian scientists reported that coffee raised cholesterol levels, but U.S. investigators couldn’t confirm the findings. Now there’s an explanation. New research shows that the way the coffee is prepared may influence the results.

Scandinavians generally boil the grounds, and coffee prepared that way raises cholesterol. Americans mostly make coffee with a paper filter, which appears to eliminate whatever component raises cholesterol. Unfortunately, decaffeinated coffee, even if filtered, may raise the bad LDL cholesterol level. Unless another study contradicts these findings, stick with regular filtered coffee.

Q. I had to laugh when I read about all the interest in Bag Balm for dry skin. We have been using an udder product called Bova Cream for years. It is greaseless, odorless and doesn’t stain. You can’t get a better hand cream.

A. We have been inundated by enthusiastic readers endorsing both Bag Balm and Bova Cream for dry, cracked skin. Several catalogues now carry Bag Balm, including Burpee and the Vermont Country Store. You can also order it directly from the Dairy Assn. Co., Lyndonville, Vt. 05851. Bova Cream is sold by agricultural co-ops across the country.