Coffee – Is more better?

As I write this, I am drinking a delicious creamy cup of Bulletproof Coffee that I whipped up with XCT coconut oil and a bit of butter from grass fed cows. Before you ask, why is this health coach drinking coffee, and why does she add butter and oil on top of it, let give you some background.
As you may know, coffee has been a source of controversy in the nutrition world for a long time in terms of its impact on our health. I will never forget the book we received in nutrition school entitled, Caffeine Blues; Wake Up to the Hidden Dangers of American’s # 1 Drug. After learning about how caffeine (mostly from coffee) can increase the risk of dozens of disorders ranging from osteoporosis, diabetes, and PMS to hypertension and heartburn, I stopped drinking coffee cold turkey. I wasn’t fun to be around the next week either!

In recent years, the pendulum on coffee consumption recommendations has swung in the other direction and we’re seeing studies showing the benefits of coffee on our health. You may have seen the recent article in the Washington Post called, It’s Official: Americans Should Drink More Coffee.

According to the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Panel, working to update and revise nutrition guidance for Americans, there’s “minimal health risks associated with drinking three to five cups of coffee per day.” Going a little further, they tied some health benefits, such as reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, to drinking up to five cups of coffee per day. Woah!

Don’t celebrate these findings just yet by pouring yourself another cup of joe. Informed by ten years of work as a health coach, I have some significant concerns about these guidelines. So… coffee is more better?

Here are three things you need to consider before you up your coffee consumption:

1. More is not always better! Yes, coffee is proven to be a powerful antioxidant, but just because a little bit of something is healthy, it doesn’t mean that a whole pot of it is healthier, or even safe. This Washington Post article mentions nothing about how coffee affects blood sugar, energy, cravings, sleep, and weight management. Drinking more coffee creates a roller-coaster for your blood sugar that you’ll be chasing all day long. The blood sugar imbalance will cause you to crave sweets, create uneven energy levels and perhaps keep you up at night (or cause fitful sleep). In addition, other studies have shown that high consumption of caffeine stimulates insulin and cortisol production which in turn increase chances of insulin resistance and weight gain.

2. What about the agrochemicals and pesticides. Industrially-grown coffee is likely loaded with agrochemicals, including pesticides that have been shown to be toxic to humans and the environment. Just like all foods, origin and quality matters. Traditionally-grown coffee, think shade-grown in Hawaii, is much less likely to have had these pesticides used because these traditional methods create a setting that naturally controls pests without use of chemicals. If you are drinking more poor-quality, industrially grown coffee, then you are ingesting more and more of these harmful agrochemicals. Seek out shade grown coffee or coffee that is certified organic (and while you’re at it, look for Fair Trade).

3. Consider what role does coffee play in your diet? Is it an innocent little cup of shade grown coffee that you enjoy as a ritual in the morning or is it a sugar and pesticide laden coffee bomb that is a drug in a mug to get you through the day? Are you hooked on it where you need it to avoid a headache or grumpy day? That is a very important distinction. My experience with clients is the more they drink, the more hooked they generally become. This is because they have to ratchet up the caffeine consumption to create that homeostasis. And remember, coffee is a stimulant. You are up one hour and down the next!

During my 10-Day (Clean Eating) Seasonal Detoxes, participants avoid caffeine altogether. Again and again participants in my detox programs notice the effect caffeine has on their overall health – heart palpitations disappear, they have fewer energy dips throughout the day, and their water consumption increases.
Now, back to my coffee drinking. Throughout the years, I have learned a lot from experimenting with coffee. I have been without it for weeks and felt great! My energy is more even throughout the day, my cravings for sugar are reduced and I’m overall so much more calm. Yet, because I so enjoy the aroma and flavor of coffee I’m still on a quest to determine if there is a certain type of coffee drink that could be a better fit for me. Hence the Bulletproof coffee experiment. I had been hearing so much about bulletproof coffee so I had to try it for myself. While I enjoy the quality of their coffee, the smooth flavor and how it feels in my body, I can’t endorse all the benefits they claim. I do like the thinking of adding healthy fats like coconut oil, grass fed butter or ghee to the beverage to help stabilize the effect of the caffeine on your body. However, because this is a calorie dense drink it can easily be a meal replacement. I don’t think it’s wise to drop a highly nutritious meal with something that is low in essential nutrients. As with most other things, I’ll keep it in moderation and alternative with tea and herbal coffee.

My bottom line recommendation: If you don’t drink coffee I don’t think the benefits are strong enough to justify starting. But if you do like your cup of joe, make sure it’s not a drug in a mug. I recommend drinking no more than 1-2 cups of organic or shade grown coffee in the early part of the day and always with food that has some fat and protein to help stabilize the impact on the blood sugar.

Want to better understand the effect coffee has on how you feel? Start experimenting with how much you drink, when, and with what other foods and note whether your energy levels, cravings, weight or sleep patterns change. Be sure to include some periods of no coffee at all. Just wean off and don’t go cold turkey!

Hop on over to my Facebook page and let me know what questions or experiences you want to share. Looking forward to hearing about your findings