Caf-fiend? How to make coffee your friend

There’s lots of talk in the nutrition space about coffee - ‘it’s good for you’ vs ‘its bad for you’. So what’s the verdict? I’m not one for deeming food ‘good’ or ‘bad’ without full context - we can get far too dogmatic when it comes to nutrition! In my view, it’s all about the quality of the coffee, where it is sourced from, how it is stored and processed, and just as importantly - the body it is going into! This includes - how well adapted it is to caffeine, any health imbalances and consequently how the body then responds to caffeine. Other considerations are the appropriate quantity and frequency of coffee consumption.

….so here are some general tips for coffee-drinkers:

• Before reaching for coffee in the morning, hydrate with a glass of warm filtered water, with a pinch of sea salt and squeeze of lemon

• Drink your coffee after breakfast or with a healthy fat in it (i.e. full fat organic milk or coconut oil). This will slow the release of caffeine into the system and reduce the cortisol (stress hormone) spike it can trigger when consumed on its own / on an empty stomach

• Best time to drink your first cup is mid-morning and aim to have your last coffee before 2pm

• Choose your coffee wisely

  • Quality coffee will be rich in polyphenols and antioxidants, so will offer health benefits

  • Always go for organic beans or ground beans (not instant coffee!)

  • Some of my recommendations:

    • Exhale coffee is the best one to buy in my opinion if you want assurance of no nasties (i.e. pesticides and mycotoxins) and consistent quality. They do a decaf option too.

    • For decaf always go for a Swiss Water Processed coffee (which doesn’t use chemicals in the decaf process). Grumpy Mule (Ocado) is a good one to try.

  If you don’t tolerate caffeine well there can be many factors which contribute to this, including vitamin deficiencies, compromised liver detoxification pathways or a sub-optimal digestive system. So, if you love coffee and would like to befriend it again, contact me here to set up a 15 minute call to discuss what may be causing this and how I can work with you.