Coffee
How do you take your coffee?
Whether it’s a double-double, black, iced, bulletproof, or a fancy iced-ristretto-10 shot-venti-with breve-5 pump vanilla-7 pump caramel-4 Splenda-[and] poured-not shaken; there are some things you should know about your favorite coffee.
If you’re trying to cut back on how many venti’s you’re drinking, or aren’t a coffee drinker, stick around for some great coffee alternatives at the end.
Caffeine
No matter how complicated your coffee order is, you are likely drinking it for the stimulating caffeine boost. Caffeine is the world’s most widely used nervous system stimulant. Specifically speaking, caffeine releases substances in the brain that slow down other substances that make us feel drowsy and tired.
One average size cup of coffee contains anywhere from 60-90mg of caffeine, while teas have around 30-50mg, pop and energy drinks have 20-30mg of caffeine, and cacao has about 5mg per tsp.
Caffeine has a half-life of about 6 hours in the body, however, this can vary from person to person. This means that after six hours, we will have half the amount of caffeine that we started with, this can be repeated every six hours until it has all been processed.
Our liver plays an important role in how well our morning coffee wakes us up, and how long that half-life is. The speed that we process caffeine is different for everyone, and is mostly controlled by our genes! We can still help our liver process caffeine, even if we are naturally more sensitive to it. Nutrients like b-vitamins, healthy fats, glutathione, and proteins are all needed for the liver to actually do the work.
What to look for in your coffee
Now that we have our coffee order and we know what our body needs to process it, let’s talk about quality. Have you ever had a cup of coffee and had the feeling of heart palpitations, jitters, or anxiety? It may not be you, or your liver, it may be your coffee; after all, not all coffee is created equally.
Bulk, instant, and commercially sold coffee will have defects like unripe beans, molds, and twigs that can get mixed up in the grind. Coffee from small roasters, specialty coffee houses, or specialty commercial roasters like Bulletproof or Four Sigmatic all have higher standards for their beans, and often ensure that their coffee is defect and mold free.
Coffee Alternatives
There are plenty of delicious coffee alternatives for those of us that are trying to kick the habit, or are just too sensitive to the high amounts of caffeine in coffee. One of our favorite hot bitter drink alternatives is dandelion root. Taken as tea, or in the malted Dandy Blend, dandelion root not only can mimic coffee in flavor, but it actually helps clean your liver, and activate digestion!
Cordyceps, a fantastic medicinal mushroom, can give a boost of energy without caffeine, and it can be mixed with cacao to make an energy enhancing hot chocolate or with dandelion to make super-healthy simulating “coffee”, without caffeine!
Cheers to your next cup of delicious, high-quality coffee, or herbal alternative!
In Good Health,
Better Living Wellness Clinic
Wellness Clinic & Health Store
Natural Health Store Etobicoke
416-249-1895
