IS COFFEE GOOD OR BAD?
THE REAL QUESTION IS WHETHER IT IS GOOD FOR YOU!
Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages in the World and a beverage we get asked a lot about. Here’s our breakdown on the good and the bad stuff on coffee.
There are people, who absolutely love it and there are people, who hate it. Similarly, you can find very conflicting information on whether coffee is healthy or not.
Grab a coffee (or tea) and let’s dive in!
THE GOOD
Now, there has been a bunch of studies that in fact suggest that drinking coffee will extend your life by decreasing the risk of cardiovascular mortality and blood vessel related diseases. Now, one would think it is all thanks to caffeine, but interestingly enough decaf coffee drinkers showed similar results.
Surprisingly, the same study with control groups of decaf coffee drinkers show the same positive results as regular coffee drinkers. Coffee has a bunch of compounds in it, but the one that everyone knows is caffeine. Is there more to coffee than caffeine?
Besides caffeine, coffee has something pretty cool, called chlorogenic acid in it. Chlorogenic acid is essentially one of the most bioavailable antioxidants for the human body. This just means, that your body is more likely to be able to easily utilize these antioxidants coming from coffee than from any vegetable or fruit. This also makes coffee one of the top antioxidant sources in an American adults’ diet. Chlorogenic acid has anti-inflammatory compounds too, which will help decrease inflammation throughout the body. This is great news, since inflammation is one of the top drivers of chronic diseases.
On top of this there is caffeine as well. Caffeine can have a lot of different outcomes on the body. For the good part it can increase heart contractility, help us mobilize fat source, increase metabolism, increase blood flow through the kidney, wake and shake you up and make you feel invincible.
Of course, association does not apply causation. Coffee might not be the reason behind low risk of mortality in the case of study participants. It might be that all the coffee drinkers participating the experiments simply lead a healthier lifestyle compared to the non-coffee drinker participants.
AND THE BAD
While there are people, who, when given a cup of coffee can save the World, there are definitely people, who are negatively affected by it. The negative side effects are mostly related to caffeine. Caffeine sensitive people might get dizzy, feel jittery, experience nausea, gastrointestinal issues and a bunch of other similar discomfort when drinking coffee or other caffeinated beverages.
Whether you are sensitive to caffeine or not, you can also experience the negative side effects of consuming too much coffee (or again, other caffeinated beverages). Caffeine can overstimulate and eventually overtax your body and cause you something called an adrenal gland burnout.
Caffeine, and therefore coffee is especially risky for those suffering from thyroid problems, fatigue issues, autoimmune disease, PCOS, insulin resistance or even from painful periods.
For someone experiencing such things laying coffee off is probably for the best. If you are not ready to lay off coffee just like that, try staying away from drinking coffee on an empty stomach first thing in the morning and at the same time start reducing your total intake by replacing your regular coffee with decaf.
What’s up with drinking coffee first thing in the morning?
Well, you have been fasting (unless you eat in your sleep) for a longer period of time and as you wake up your body is ready to flush out everything that is left in it and start another day. Then you come in with a big cup of caffeine that will send your insulin through the roof. After this your insulin will enter a roller coaster ride for the rest of the day and nothing will balance it out completely. Worst case your body senses this as a stress situation, defence mechanism will kick in and start producing more and more cortisol. Besides all this, around 50% of the population cannot properly digest caffeine.
Bottom line is, a moderate amount of (2 to 4 cups) coffee with moderate caffeine (up to 400 mg) per day is perfectly safe and can even be beneficial for some. However, if you experience any discomfort, sweating, nervousness, if you are on heavy medication or wanting to improve or heal PCOS, IR, thyroid functions or planning to have a baby soon, we advise you to minimize or even put down regular coffee and other caffeinated drinks (black or green tea, energy drinks) for a while.