Aah, coffee. How I
love the smell of you. I know there are
people who scatter satchels of potpourri around their houses. I would love satchels of coffee beans so I
can be surrounded by coffee aroma at all times.
One of my last waking thoughts at night is often of excitement over the
next morning’s freshly brewed cup of coffee.
Seriously, I am jealous as all hell at those who could be
happy with a cup of tea. I think of tea
drinkers as refined, peaceful and earthy.
Nothing at all like us hyped up, overly excited coffee drinkers. I aspire to be like those happy tea drinkers. Alas, I crave coffee and you don’t always get
to choose who you love.
My desire goes way beyond the jittery buzz. I like the taste of coffee that is raw and
unembellished. It is just the gritty
black stuff for me. I used to favor
flavored creamers and even further back in the day I would add packets of
Equal. This was before realizing
artificial sweetener was probably going to bite my health in the butt. These days, I will crave something like a
caramel macchiato every once in a while.
In the end though, sitting outside sipping a black ice coffee on a
summer day tastes perfect to me.
My heart breaks at the next point I’m going to make. Unfortunately, there are health consequences
from drinking too much coffee. Currently
I need to vigilantly avoid the java as even decaf will aggravate my overly
taxed adrenals. We live in a time when almost
everyone is stressed, sleep deprived and exposed to too many toxins. Since caffeine further aggravates this
adrenal stress, I must say sayonara to my beloved.
It is also a pretty well know fact that coffee is super
dehydrating. You basically need to drink
two cups of water to replace the water lost from drinking one cup of
coffee! And who has time to drink all
that water when you are busy sucking down coffee?
Some additional sad trivia about coffee. Coffee is very acidic, meaning it can throw
off the acid/alkaline balance of your body.
If you drink a bunch of coffee, and don’t compensate by, lets say,
eating a bunch of cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts), your body will become acidic. An acidic body leaches nutrients from its
bones and organs so it can return to its natural alkaline stasis. There is much talk of how being acidic
increases your odds for diseases like cancer.
This is due to the imbalances created from being acidic. The ideal ph of the human body is slightly
alkaline at about 7.2. Wondering if your
body is acidic? There are tests you can
buy where you can test your morning pee on litmus paper to see where you fall
on the scale.
Another sad coffee fact.
Coffee will aggravate the gut.
Drink too much coffee and your gut could become permeable (a.k.a. leaky
gut) which will lead to inflammation, weight gain and an increased chance of
disease. Leaky gut could contribute to
you developing a sensitivity to some of your favorite foods. Oh java, why do you have to be that way?
On the bright side, there are some ways to make better choices
with coffee. First of all, purchase
organic. Ack, another thing to buy
organic! Yes, but here is why. Coffee beans come from different countries
with various regulations about pesticides.
There are many pesticides that are banned in the US
as toxic but are liberally used elsewhere.
Coffee beans are a crop that is heavily sprayed. Down cup after cup of this pesticide laden
crop and it is going to be a toxin party in your stomach.
Feeling jittery?
Well, there is always decaf.
Unfortunately, even decaf can be problematic. Decaf gives you additional chemical exposure
from the chemicals used to eliminate the caffeine. You’re trading caffeine for even more
inflammation-causing toxins. Look for
decaf coffee that is labeled decaffeinated via Swiss water process. This is much gentler to your system. There is a decaf coffee by Groundworks (based
in Los Angeles , but can be
purchased online-groundworkscoffee.com)
called Angel City
Ok, and finally, there is a product I tried recently that is
a perfect compromise between coffee and tea.
I’m not saying it will make you want to give up coffee altogether, but
it could be a nice drink for the afternoon when you know you’ve really reached
your caffeine limit. It is a coffee
substitute called Teeccino (www.teeccino.com) and it is made of organic healthy
grains and nuts like barley, chicory and almonds. It can be brewed in a teabag in just a few
minutes and it has a smooth coffee-like flavor without the added caffeine, acid
and toxins! Quite frankly I am in love
with this stuff since I’m living in a no-coffee zone.
So coffee, please don’t be mad that I pointed out your
flaws. I love you despite the fact that
we’ve needed to “see other people”. I
know that sometimes you are bad for me, but I was told I have a penchant for
loving the heartbreakers.
If you are a tea drinker, then you probably don’t have much
use for my ode to coffee. If you are a
bean lover like me, then hopefully you relate.
Coffee may but a lovable but unhealthy crutch. The good news is that there are ways to be a
healthier coffee drinker. Coffee, you
may be the “bad boy” of the beverage world (though certainly not as mischievous
as your step-brother whisky), but I know you have a good heart. We may be star crossed lovers currently but
we will be together (in moderation) soon.
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