Could French press coffee be bad for you?

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WLS) -- A professor at Harvard's School of Public Health is calling for further study of French press coffee to determine if it may have negative health effects.

The French press is a popular way to brew coffee. An article in Harvard Health Letter raises the question of whether it may be bad for your health.

Studies have shown that unfiltered coffee may raise 'bad' cholesterol and contains certain harmful compounds that would otherwise be trapped by a filter. A French press brews coffee by mixing boiling water and coarsely ground coffee beans in a small pitcher, letting the mixture steep for a few minutes, and then straining the liquid by pushing down a mesh plunger from the pitcher's lid.