Using a coffee filter may be good for your heart! The folks @wired explain why:
“Researchers in the Netherlands found that coffee filters eliminate a chemical that causes heart problems. Meanwhile, an international team of researchers found that the grounds help remove copper and lead from tap water.”
And there’s more good news for those of us still using the ol’ drip and filter machines:
“A group of international scientists found that coffee filters can remove from 78 to 90 percent of dissolved heavy metals such as lead and copper from tap water.”
Australian researcher, Mike McLaughlin, (no relation) breaks it down: “The reason is that coffee grounds have uncharged or negatively charged molecules in them, whereas dissolved heavy metals are positively charged. As a result, the heavy metal ions bind strongly to the coffee”. And for those who prefer tea: “It is also possible tea-bags and tea leaves may work in the same way, but not as well as coffee” When choosing a coffee filter, look for unbleached options as the white ones have been, well, whitened with chemicals like chlorine or a process called oxygen bleaching, yikes! You can find sites that tell you it’s “only a minuscule amount of bleach”, but honestly, it’s just not worth it. Especially when the price different between the two options is so small. I love the ones from @ifyoucare_usa but there are lots of good choices out there.
