For Coffee Lovers...

What do you think about it?  Do you love it, or hate it?  Is it good for you?

I learned this week that us Americans haven’t always drank coffee.  I learned this from reading an article in our local newspaper, written by Tessa York.

Evidently coffee was originally used in Arabia in the 15th century.  It was probably introduced to Americans in the 17th and 18th centuries.

In 1773, when young America clashed with Britain over being taxed without any colonial representation (after Britain placed high taxes on imported items such as paper, paint, tea, lead and glass), a few things happened.

There was a deadline when Boston must pay the tax and the tea must be unloaded from three ships loaded with tea. 

The night before the deadline, dozens of well organized men, some disguised as Indigenous Americans, silently boarded the three ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor—approximately 46 tons.

At today’s value, the tea would be worth approximately $1.7 million.

The town of Lexington, in an act of rebellion in support of the Bostonians, burned their town’s entire supply of tea.

At the end of the Revolutionary War, Americans considered drinking tea to be unpatriotic.  And coffee began to gain popularity, serving at the time as an act of Patriotism.

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When I was young and had a young family at home, and worked as a secretary, I absolutely did not like coffee at all.  I felt out of place when everyone else would be drinking coffee together.  I tried bringing my chocolate milk, but realized that actually made me feel more out of place than before.

So I added lots of sugar, and lots of cream, and liked it.  I eventually cut back on both of those, and finally began using honey instead of sugar and leaving off the creamer.

I eventually started the day with a bit of honey in my coffee and anything after that was black… then finally felt like I became an adult, and drank plain, black coffee.

When I discovered Functional Medicine and learned how to make myself well with life changes, even though it wasn’t part of the protocol to leave off coffee, my husband I quit drinking it for about two years.  We cut back gradually for 3-4 days, and it never gave us any ill effects to quit the habit.

We had always just bought the coffee off the grocery store shelf, and cheap was good.  I usually needed a cup by mid-afternoon to give me energy to finish the day and get home.  If I drank too much, I’d be jittery or have some heartburn, or both.

When we began drinking coffee again, we began using Bulletproof Coffee, which was certified mold-free by an independent third party.  It tasted good, and it was healthy.  Two thumbs up! 

We’ve recently found out that Bulletproof is no longer third-party certified mold-free, so we’ve changed to Fabula Coffee, but plan to also try Purity Coffee and LifeBoost Coffee, which are recommended by Dr. Jockers and Dr. Mark Hyman.  Dr. William Li uses Reishi Mushroom infused coffee.

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Dr. William Li, Functional Medicine Doctor, says there are many reasons to drink coffee every day.

1.     Coffee slows down cellular aging.  He says 1-3 cups a day slow down the burn rate of your telomeres, which slows down the process of aging.

2.     Coffee protects stem cells in your body.  Stem cells live in our bone marrow; they come out into the bloodstream to repair us from the inside out. 

a.      As we get older, they are less vigorous than when we’re younger.

b.     Coffee protects the shield of our stem cells so they can keep on regenerating us from the inside out.

3.     Coffee improves our metabolism; contains chloragenerative acid which activates our metabolism.  It stimulates the production of brown fat, which eats up the white wiggly fat. 

a.      The brown fat is wafer thin.  The coffee turns on thermogenesis and the brown fat will be triggered and burn down the visceral fat. 

b.     Coffee helps that to happen, giving us more energy and helping us lose body fat.

4.     Coffee is anti-inflammatory.  Chloragenetic acid is the key, again.  Inflammation is the root cause of aging.

5.     Coffee improves gut health.  The chemicals in coffee protect your gut microbiome and shift your gut microbiome into a healthier state.

a.      It makes a better neighborhood of good gut bacteria—so you have better health overall.  The good bacteria lowers our inflammation and makes more short chain fatty acids (scfa)

b.     If you have good gut health, you have better health overall.

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Dr. Hyman says coffee has very good properties and is good for you.  But he also cautions that not all people react the same way even to food, so if you have a negative experience with it, drink less or don’t drink it at all. 

He also says that regardless, whatever type coffee you drink, use the very best quality you can— preferably organic and certified mold-free.

Dr. Li gives the following tips:

Use organic coffee.  Fair Trade.  Insects nibble on the coffee plants if they are not sprayed.  The coffee plant then, in its natural environment, makes a response.  It’s a wound-healing response for the plant.

When pesticides are sprayed on the plants, the bugs don’t nibble on the plants as much, and the plants don’t give off the healing response.  So the coffee doesn’t have as much healing power.

Milk/Cream.  Drink your coffee straight.  The chlorogenetic acid floats around in molecules like soap bubbles.  When you add dairy, those soap bubbles trap the chlorogenetic acid and you don’t absorb it as well.  If you use a nut milk, it would be better if you must have milk/cream.

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Some other things I came across were:

Polyphenols in our coffee are micronutrients, which benefit autophagy, helping our blood sugar to be better, and also helps burn fat.

Caffeine stimulates our central nervous system, but can reduce the activity of free radicals so it can act as an anti-oxidant.  (But don’t overwhelm your system with too much caffeine.)

Dr. Jockers recommended a recipe of Coffee which adds 1 Tablespoon of C8 MCT oil to your coffee to enhance the benefits of it.

Dr. Hyman recommends this recipe in a blender (being careful with hot coffee in the blender):  2 cups hot coffee from organic beans, 2 Tablespoons grass-fed butter or ghee, 2 Tablespoons organic coconut oil or MCT oil, and ½ teaspoon organic cinnamon or organic cocoa powder.

Yes, I know organic everything is more expensive.  But think of your body; your energy; your mind.  I think you’re worth every bit that you can afford.  Do the very best that you can.

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Downsides:

Too much coffee can be toxic, leading to headaches, fatigue and other health issues.  It can also affect your mood, your stress levels, anxiety, your sleep and your concentration.

The majority of coffee, especially cheaper brands in the U.S., is not organic.  If you drink non-organic coffee, it means you are drinking some pesticides.  Even though some of it disappears from heat from roasting, it still leaves some residue of it.

Mycotoxins come from fungi and mold.  Up to 91% of green coffee beans are affected by mold (2003 study).  About half of commercially brewed coffee are affected by mold (1995 study).

Stopping drinking coffee can cause withdrawal symptoms of headaches, fatigue, mood issues, concentration difficulties and flu-like symptoms.

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Again, I love to drink coffee.  To me, it’s a “social” drink; it warms me up on the inside, and I enjoy it with friends.

I add MCT oil or grass-fed butter to mine sometimes.  It’s relaxing, and it keeps me from getting hungry.  Sometimes I add some vanilla protein powder (AmyMyersMD.com) that’s sweetened a little bit with monk fruit.  It tastes creamy too; reminds me of hot chocolate, but it’s Vanilla.

I’ve also been enjoying the Reishi Mushroom coffee.  I love it for a special occasion.

Hope this has been interesting or informative, or both.

Enjoy your week!  If you love coffee, enjoy your coffee, however you drink it!

If you are stuck on your health journey, talk to me.  I can help you.

(479) 234-2298; sharon@whereisyourcalm.com.

Thank you for reading.

Sharon

P.S.  If you’d like a list of Functional Medicine Doctors I follow, let me know.

P.S.S.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20:

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.