Is Coffee Compatible With My 2023 Health Goals?

Happy New Year!

I’d like to say that the simple answer is “Yes!”, coffee can be integrated into any healthy lifestyle, but there are some caveats that you will need to understand as you tailor your coffee consumption to fit your individual needs.

First, let’s look at the basic pros and cons in relation to the health benefits of coffee.

Here is a quick list of known benefits and drawbacks of coffee:

Pros:

Known to boost energy

Believed to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes

Believed to protect against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease

Used in weight management

Linked to lower risk for depression

Linked to liver health

Linked to better circulation including heart health

Many claims of enhanced athletic performance

Increased longevity (as a total of combined benefits)

Cons:

Can increase anxiety/irregular heartbeat

Can cause insomnia

Possible addiction and withdrawal symptoms

Can raise blood pressure

May Cause complications in pregnancy

Possible rise in cholesterol

Can cause acid reflux/digestive issues

A known diuretic

Can flush calcium from the body


I encourage you to dig into each one of these as they apply to you and consult with your health professionals to get deeper information and research. However, as I attend regular coffee classes online and am constantly trying to deepen my understanding of coffee, I recently had a “revelation” in one of my classes and I share it with you here.

“No two people react exactly the same to coffee.”

That simple phrase really means that when you hear general advice about how to take coffee, process it better, the good and bad effects, you really need to understand it in terms of your health and experience. It will be slightly different for everyone.

I give you a link here to a synopsis of a Scientific Daily article showing the health benefits of coffee. But please note in the last paragraph: “Caffeine is the most well-known constituent in coffee, but the beverage contains more than 100 biologically active components.”

Further research shows that the human liver is quite individualistic, based on genetics, heritage, health, diet, and lifestyle, and that of the 100 biologically active components different people may react differently to them. Some react to caffeine, some to the oils and lipids, and some to the acids in coffee but no two people exactly the same way.

If you’d like to deep dive into the science, here is a pretty technical description of some of those components. 

Two additional notes:

Drinking specialty coffee from a known source ensures higher quality standards that have overall positive health benefits in lower acidity, fewer defective beans, little to no mold issues, and non-toxic farming methods.  

Drinking large quantities (more than 32 ounces of coffee) in short periods of time (3-4 hours) has been shown to have near-universal negative effects.

Conclusions

The conclusion I draw for you today is simple. Based on your life, your needs, and your particular physical body, you will have to do your own due diligence when it comes to drinking coffee. Some of the questions you may ask along that journey are:

What is my coffee limit?

Do I have a cut-off time in the day to allow me to sleep?

Do I need to have food in my stomach or not?

Do I process coffee better black, with cream, or with sugar?

What time of day can I start drinking?

Does coffee influence my bowel rhythms?

Before an important event does coffee calm and focus me or cause anxiety and irregular heart palpitations.

Are there other things in my diet that may react with coffee?

Can I reduce my cup size and still feel coffee satisfied?

It turns out that the answer to these questions will vary by the individual and you will have to fine-tune your consumption to your needs.

The great news is that millions of coffee lovers around the world are able to integrate coffee into their lives without adverse effects and receive some of the coffee health benefits that come with their daily cups. Due consideration, choosing high-quality specialty coffee,  and moderation seems to be the magic formula.

If you’d like to hear a little more about coffee (plus/minus) from Doctor Mike, click here.


About the Author
Matt Carter is a retired teacher (1989-2018), part-time musician, farmer, and currently manages Greenwell Farm’s Tour and Retail Store Operations.