5 things you should know about coffee

Okay, I promise this post is not going to be ALL about why you should quit coffee right now and start drinking herbal teas straight away.  This post is going to give you some things to think about next time you reach for that latte or cappuccino.  I still have a coffee once or twice a week because I feel like it, but I ensure I keep it to a minimum and here’s why:-

In Mark Hyman’s (MD) latest book entitled ‘The Blood Sugar Solution’ he explains that insulin resistance and inflammation are at the core of modern-day chronic diseases.  Insulin resistance is where the body no longer responds to insulin being released from the pancreas.  Insulin is very important in stabilising our blood sugar levels.  This in turn ties in nicely with the effect that coffee has on our blood sugar levels.  Drinking a coffee spikes our blood sugar levels which in turn releases insulin into our system to help balance out our blood sugar levels.  If this continues to happen regularly, we become insulin resistant which is at the core of modern-day chronic diseases.  The single most important healthy habit all of us can adopt is to manage our blood sugar by decreasing the triggers that push it out of balance.  Coffee is one of those triggers.

Chances are if you are reading this either you or someone you care about is sick, inflamed, hormonally imbalanced, overworked, stressed out, fatigued, depressed, and toxic.  Coffee is not part of the medicine required for your healing.

Here are 10 reasons you may want to consider quitting coffee or reducing your intake:-

1. The caffeine in coffee increases your stress hormones;
2. Caffeine decreases your insulin sensitivity which in turn makes it difficult for your blood sugar levels to stay constant;
3. Coffee makes the body very acidic.  A healthy disease free body is an alkaline body, disease cannot exist in an alkaline body;
4. Coffee is addictive and if you have lots of it, it can make it really difficult to rely on the body’s natural source of energy;
5. Constituents in coffee can interfere with normal drug metabolism and detoxification in the liver.  You don’t want to put your liver under any undue stress, it already has a big enough job on its hands and if it becomes overloaded and stressed, the effects on the body can be detrimental.

So I’m not saying that you should go and ditch that coffee straight away.  Just be mindful the next time you do reach for a coffee and have a think about the effects it will have on your body.  Think about how you could replace your coffee with a smarter choice like green tea, rooibos tea, miso soup or one that I love which smells and looks like coffee is dandelion & chicory root tea which you can get at your local health food shop.  Start off by replacing one of your coffees per week with a healthy alternative and build up from there.

Have a lovely day everyone!