Let’s talk coffee

Let’s talk coffee.

“You’re not going to take away my coffee are you?” is one of the most common nutrition questions I get because people LOVE their coffee. My answer is usually, “It’s not necessarily the coffee, but what we do to the coffee.”

”I never drank coffee until I was in my 40’s but now I love it too (acquired taste I guess) However, I have become a bit of a coffee snob because I use organic coffee beans, grind them fresh, French press them with filtered water and add a splash of coconut milk and a drop of stevia. When sourced and prepared this way, coffee can be a nutritious part of your diet (see note below). However, many people are drinking coffee in a way that it can be harmful instead of nutritious.

Let’s start with the bad news and finish off with the good.

Coffee beans are often sprayed heavily with toxic pesticides.

Coffee is often prepared with unfiltered water that can be full of contaminants.

Coffee is often run through things like Keurig machines which use plastic containers that are loaded with toxic, endocrine disrupting BPA.

Coffee is often brewed in or through plastic containers and machinery.

Coffee is addictive and can cause unhealthy dependency.

And what about what we put in the coffee?

Conventional dairy – this comes from cows that are raised in cramped quarters, sometimes not ever able to walk, constantly injected with hormones and antibiotics, and then put under high heat to pasteurize it. Dairy cows are often the sickest of the sick.

Creamers – these are typically full of sugar or artificial sweeteners, damaged fats and toxic chemicals. It is imperative to read your labels when it comes to creamers.

Sugar – to make coffee taste less bitter and sweet enough, many people add in additional sugar. A typical coffee shop drink will have more sugar than a soda. The custom, flavored coffee drinks often have even more.

Artificial sweeteners – these are even more dangerous than the sugar. They are man-made and chemically processed and your body has no idea what to do with them. They are completely unnatural!

Now some good news and solutions…What are the benefits of coffee?

The caffeine content can indeed give you extra energy and increase your metabolic rate.

Coffee contains very high levels of antioxidants.

Coffee contains riboflavin, Vitamin B5, manganese, potassium, magnesium ad Vitamin B3.

Coffee (when used in an enema has tremendous detoxification benefits by reducing the toxic load on the liver.

Coffee tastes great

What to do…

Source sustainably grown, organic coffee

Grind it fresh to get the most flavor and most nutrition

Use filtered water for brewing

Avoid plastic containers and brewing machines

Use grass-fed whole milk or half and half or use milk alternatives like coconut milk or almond milk (be sure to check ingredients for added sugars and chemicals)

Use plant based sweeteners like stevia or monk fruit in moderation

Keep your intake in check (see note below)

NOTE: Don’t become a slave to anything

“Everything is lawful for me,”* but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is lawful for me,” but I will not let myself be dominated by anything. Corinthians 6:12

If you find yourself saying things like, “I have to have my coffee.” “I can’t function without my coffee.” Or if you find yourself drinking more than a cup or two a day, you may need to keep yourself in check. Any time you become dependent on or addicted to something, it indicates a problem.

If you need coffee to “wake up”, it is likely your adrenals are burnt out. This type of dependency perpetuates a viscous cycle and you become a slave to that habit.

I will typically have a cup of coffee every morning but will periodically “check” myself by avoiding it. Last week, I ha 0 cups of coffee all week and I felt fine and not deprived. This week, I am doing every other day. The liberating this is the realization that I don’t NEED it but I can have it if I want. That is part of a health nutrition plan – having a reasonable relationship with food.

Be blessed and enjoy your next cup of coffee, the right way