WELLNESS--Is coffee good for us? There are so many reductive studies out there today that it’s hard to know what to believe. One second the news tells us it’s healthy, and the next we hear of coffee’s dangers.
For the most part the mainstream media won’t come right out and say that coffee is bad for our adrenals, but we do know that after a strong cup of coffee or 2, the adrenal glands are stimulated by producing norepinephrine and epinephrine which are also known as the fight or flight hormones. Besides when we are in real danger, the effects of these hormones are well documented and mostly negative. In addition, the stress hormone cortisol is released which has been linked to all things bad in the brain and body especially the ever-feared effects of inflammation.
My patients are always asking me what’s the best diet and whether or not coffee is good bad for them? The answer as to whether coffee is healthy or unhealthy lies in the individual. Every body is different. Different body types respond differently to coffee. If someone already has adrenal fatigue for example and they are running on empty and drinking coffee to function, this is probably not healthy. “Needing” coffee to function is usually a sign that you have become dependent on it.
People with a calm disposition that tend to be slower moving and thicker bodied will feel the effects of coffee in a completely different way than a thin person that has a hard time gaining weight and is already nervous. Can you see how these two body types would respond differently to coffee? The latter person will simply get more nervous and jumpy and will possibly have more severe surges of the previously mentioned hormones.
As far as what to take in your coffee, most people think of their morning cup coming with cream and sugar. With the well known damaging effects of sugar and so much of the milk laced with hormones, many people are steering away from cream and sugar. For a while there soy was all the rage until people got wise to the potential unhealthy effects of consuming too much soy. In place of the milk or soy people have gotten wise to the benefits of butter to spruce up their morning coffee.
Adding a healthy organic grass fed butter to your coffee means adding healthy fat. Included in this is CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), which has been linked to reducing body fat mass. The other healthy chemical in butter is called butyrate and this has been linked with taking down inflammation. Getting rid of the sugar and soy and adding grass fed butter just may help you get rid of that gut and take down unhealthy hormonal effects in the body.
You probably already know if coffee is good or bad for your body type, and regardless, moderation is always the name of the game when it comes to coffee.
(Christian Cristiano is an acupuncturist in LA, TV host of Wellness for Realists and writes on wellness regularly for CityWatch. Christian can be reached at 323.935.3420. twitter: @CristianoWFR)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 83
Pub: Oct 13, 2015
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