Coffee: the pros and cons

Some of you feel like you can’t live without it, your addicted, you must have your coffee when you wake up in the morning.

So, I’m going to share some pros and cons of coffee.

First off just like anything you consume, to get the greatest benefits you must make sure it’s the best quality you can get and afford. Think of your coffee as a fine wine, or a really good quality organic raw chocolate. Quality is what reigns here. And you should also understand that there is great differences between different types of coffee such as instant coffee, an espresso or filter coffee. They each have pros/cons.

Here are just a few cons:

1. it can affect your sleep and sleep patterns
2. can raise blood pressure
3. acts as a diuretic causing dehydration and a loss of vitamins B & C as well as calcium, zinc and iron
4. the acids can aggravate heartburn, and is associated with digestive discomfort & indigestion
5. can stain your teeth
6. it can affect certain medications being absorbed
7. it’s addictive
8. it can imbalance your electrolytes
9. it can affect your adrenals causing fatigue, low energy, sugar cravings and heightened stress.

Ok, so that’s not depressing at all!!

Here’s the good news, the pros. But understand this is for a good quality organic coffee that is consumed black. Avoid the sugar, milks, creams, flavourings.

1. coffee may cut stroke risk by as much as 25%. Data shown at the European Meeting on Hypertension 2012 found that 1 to 3 cups a day may protect against ischemic stroke in the general population.
2. cancer – moderate to heavy coffee consumption (4-6 cups per day) may help reduce the risk of various cancers. The benefits are partly due to coffee’s antioxidant and anti-mutagenic properties.
3. Weight loss and diabetes – studies have linked coffee consumption with improved blood sugar metabolism, reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and promotion of weight loss in overweight people, this of course is without all the sugar.
4. Liver disease – coffee has been reported to slow disease progression in alcoholic cirrhosis, hepatitis C and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The liver helps to break down coffee, but coffee might also protect the liver (in some cases).

With all of that of course I’m going to give you a couple of recommendations. Got to give you some action steps, right! LOL

For every cup of coffee you drink you are going to match it with water. It’s so important to stay hydrated. The body is a flowing river, remember.

If you drink more than 2 cups of coffee a day, swap only one of those cups for a tea, try a green tea, rooibos, herbal, chai. Switch it up, add a little more excitement to your day!