By: Cat Ebeling, BSN,co-author of the best-sellers: The Fat Burning Kitchen,The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging&The Diabetes Fix

Did you know it is considered “too much” or unhealthy actually, for the average woman to drink more than 2 glasses of wine a day, and for a man it’s three. That’s not much. In an effort to drink less, and drink healthier alcoholic choices, I’ve started looking at some healthy drinking alternatives.

Fortunately, there are some awesome new products coming out that are lower in alcohol, lower in calories, and lower in carbs and sugars. I love that! Let’s take a look at the new hard kombucha vs. cider vs beer vs. wine.

Hard Kombucha

Kombucha as we know, has lots of great health benefits. [Link to other kombucha article here].

Kombucha helps to populate your system with healthy bacteria, boost immunity, supply extra B vitamins, detox the liver, increase your energy levels, help fight cancer, and improve your mood. All good things!

In research published in the Journal of Medicinal Food 2014, researchers from the University of Latvia did say the following about the genuine health benefits of kombucha:

“It is shown that [kombucha] can efficiently act in health preservation and recovery due to four main properties: detoxification, anti-oxidation, energizing potencies, and promotion of boosting immunity.”

When regular kombucha is brewed, it contains a tiny bit of alcohol in it from the fermentation process. But now brewers have figured out a way to make kombucha with about 5% alcohol in it as well. A little more than the average beer, but still less than a glass of wine. So now you can get tipsy and still feel healthy? Pretty awesome right?

According to Forbes magazine, kombucha is one of the fastest-growing beverages with sales estimated at $1.8 billion by 2020. So why not expand this success to ‘hard’ kombucha?

When kombucha is brewed for a higher alcohol content, there is a secondary fermentation cycle added along with more sugar and a type of yeast. However, the yeast eats up all the sugar, so the sugar is 100% fermented, making a nice dry, low sugar/low carb drink with a little bit of a buzz. Some of the hard kombucha is actually sweetened with stevia, creating a hard kombucha a delicious, slightly sweet taste with very little sugar, carbohydrates—and decidedly low calorie!

Kombucha also has health benefits other than probiotics, even in the higher-alcohol versions, the beneficial acids like acetic (the same beneficial acid in apple cider vinegar), lactic, glucuronic, butyric acid are all still there, along with B and C vitamins.

Several hard kombucha brews have appeared on the market with alcohol from 3.2 to 8 percent. That puts them at the level of a beer (typically a 4.5 percent alcohol) and below a wine (typically 11.6 percent).

The real question, however is can those probiotics even survive in that amount of alcohol?

Probiotics generally don’t like alcohol, period. Some say there are not enough viable probiotics in even lower-alcohol versions, even though some kombucha companies are claiming that there are.

Other independent lab testing of hard kombucha, ranging from 7 to 8 percent alcohol, has confirmed significantamounts of bacteria and yeast, gluconic acid and acetic acid that were comparable with what you would find in an average kombucha tea purchased at a store.

But the bottom line is that hard kombucha is still booze, so if you overdo it, you are still drinking too much alcohol, although you may have less of a hangover. And if you are trying to cut back on alcohol, it may be difficult if you are a kombucha connoisseur, because these new boozy kombuchas taste delicious and refreshing!

So, as the hard kombucha trend grows, we’ll be seeing it more and more alongside cider and other alternatives to beer.

Hard Cider

What about hard cider? It has often been offered as an alternative to beer, especially because most ciders are considered gluten free. There are huge varieties of ciders available, some with astonishing amounts of sugar or corn syrup and other additives, while others are quite dry, low in sugar and low in carbohydrates, natural and/or organic.

Hard cider is made by fermenting a combination of yeast and apples—a fruit known to contain vitamin C and other antioxidants. Cider often contains some of the phytonutrients that come from the apple skin as well.

Some have confirmed the high levels of health-enhancing antioxidants in cider, similar to some of the benefits of red wine. A half pint of cider can deliver the similar amounts of antioxidants as a glass of red wine. Cider makers often boast that they are making a drink from a superfood, but it’s not all that simple.

While whole apples may contain antioxidants, if they do not come from organic apples, they also contain plenty of toxic chemicals that comes from the spraying of the apples.

Apples also contain up to about 65 percent fructose that is naturally occurring, but is still sugar as far as your body and your waist recognize.

Sugar content of most commercial hard ciders can be staggering– up to 23 grams (7 teaspoons!) per serving in some cases.

That’s a bit like drinking a soda!

We all know that diets high in sugar are connected to obesity, heart disease, depression and cancer, making cider a questionable choice for drinking.

While that may a ‘sobering’ fact, the key to choosing a healthier cider is to pick one that is labeled as “dry”. The sweeter ciders often have added sugars in addition to the sugar in the apple, while the dryer ciders allow the yeast to consume the majority of cider’s natural sugars and result in a less sweet drink with a higher alcohol content. That’s a win-win! Choosing a dry cider will help to keep your sugar consumption low while still enjoying an apple-y taste. Some of my favorite brands only contain a couple grams of sugar and are very low carb/low calorie.

Beer

The craft beer market has totally exploded and new flavors and combinations of ingredients show up daily, so it’s hard to make generalizations about beer. Beer is made from a combination of yeast, hops, barley, and other grains like buckwheat, corn, rice and sorghum. Yeast and water are added to the mix to start the fermentation process. Having a product made from grain can be slightly more inflammatory to your body, especially if you are sensitive to grains.

If you are avoiding gluten, generally most beer is not totally gluten free, despite some of the labeling that says it is. Most gluten free beers contain small amounts of gluten. The purely gluten free beers are made of sorghum or buckwheat and are not usually as hearty or tasty as regular beer.

Beer is generally thought of as a lower alcohol product but some beers can have as much as 8-9% alcohol—similar to a glass of wine.

Beer is high in carbohydrates but generally not that high in sugar content. The IPA style beers have more carbohydrates than the average beer. A pale ale contains about 10-14 grams of carbohydrates, while IPAs can have up to 20 grams or more per 12-ounce bottle! So if you are trying to lose weight, cut carbs or calories, beer is not your best bet.

Beer does not contain fruit juice (usually unless it is to flavor a craft beer and then it’s not much). Beer’s nutritional value looks a bit different from that of cider: Beer’s composition of yeast, hops, barley, and other grains that do contain a variety of different antioxidants and nutrients.

Beer does contain some protein and vitamin B compared to wine or cider. While some beers may contain up to about 10% of the recommended daily intake of folate, drinking in general washes out B vitamins, so you probably are not doing yourself a favor by drinking it for the vitamin content.

Naturally occurring polyphenols (usually found in hops and malt) are often removed since they can make beer cloudy.

Compared to cider, beer contains less polyphenols concentration. However, a study by Oregon State University found that hops often contain flavonoids (a type of polyphenol compound), which provide antioxidant protection to cells . Beer’s health benefits extend to the heart too–Italian researchers found that the moderate consumption of beer reduces the risk of heart disease by 31 percent.

Although beer is low in polyphenols, its nutritional value is bolstered by high levels of vitamin B, potassium and folate.

Both beer and cider are pretty high calorie/high carb drinks, and cider usually contains loads of sugar too.

What About Wine?

Wine can carry an alcoholic punch of about 9-12 percent by volume, higher than most beers, and about twice as much as the new hard ciders and hard kombucha. So needless to say, you don’t need to drink as much. On top of that, studies show that a glass of wine hits your system more quickly, so it’s easier to overdo it. But wine is a delicious, crisp enjoyable alcoholic beverage and a classic!

While alcohol itself contains calories, the sugars and carbs in alcoholic beverages also add to the caloric bottom line. A pint of beer contains more calories than most hard kombuchas, and some hard ciders (depending on sugar content). Most wine, especially the drier wines, have about half as much calories as beer, at about 85-100 calories per 6 ounce glass.

Wine’s big advantage, however comes from the famous polyphenols from the skins of the red grapes. Many of the healthiest, longest living societies around the world—especially the Mediterranean drink wine and enjoy long, vibrant, healthy lives.

Both red and white wines contain health benefits, with red edging slightly ahead in the antioxidants. A study of 25,000 European found that those who drank moderate amounts of wine (1-2 glasses a day), had a 34 percent lower risk of death from all causes—especially heart disease and cancer. It’s thought that the rich blend of polyphenols in the wine, combined with the healthy bacteria and yeasts contribute to the health benefits.

Since most of the polyphenols in wine come from the grape skins, red wine contains higher amounts of antioxidants, including resveratrol, than white wines, which does not include the grape skin.

And natural wines—whether red or white—especially if they are unfiltered contains a beneficial blend of bacteria and yeasts that support a healthy gut microbiome and help your body absorb more zinc, magnesium, calcium and iron.

One other thing to consider in hard kombucha, hard cider, beer and wine is how it is grown. Is it organic? We know that apples for cider are often heavily sprayed with pesticides, and the grains and hops in beer most likely encountered toxic glyphosate spray, if not organic. Grapes grown for wine can also be hit with toxic pesticides, so your best bet is to go with an organic wine.

The new lower alcohol drink choices out there can be a healthier choice with lower alcohol content. The key is to buy organic, natural and low sugar, and shop wisely.

And, with any alcoholic drink, moderation is the name of the game. One bottle of a low carb beer, a low-sugar cider, or a small glass of wine can provide a good dose of antioxidants and less alcohol, so learn to in moderation.

References
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2018/12/13/is-boozy-kombucha-good-for-you-its-getting-so-popular-it-might-not-matter/?utm_term=.fd0e8e7134ff
https://www.care2.com/greenliving/is-hard-cider-healthier-than-beer.html
https://greatist.com/health/beer-or-cider-healthier

The post Hard Kombucha vs Hard Cider vs Beer appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

Nearly everyone talks about doing a ‘detox’ diet, especially as a New Year’s resolution. But almost anytime is a good time to detoxify your body. A detox can help you make a starting point for a clean diet that results in better health, weight loss or fighting cancer. A detox diet can be a healthy way to get back on track both mentally and physically, and to clear out toxins so your body knows exactly what it needs to do to optimize your health. Think of it as a way of cleaning house.

Our bodies have the ability to be constantly detoxifying. Our skin, our kidneys, our digestive system, our livers, lungs and lymph system are all working hard to continually detox our systems from toxins that come from our environment, the air we breathe, pesticides and chemicals in our food, and toxins in products we use on our bodies.

The problem comes when things like stress, a buildup of chemicals from ultra-processed foods, air pollution, or other toxic substances overload our system and clog up the body’s natural ability to clean. A toxic system means increased inflammation, a lowered immune response, mutated DNA and unhealthy cells, and an open door to serious, chronic disease like heart disease, obesity, diabetes, dementia and cancer.

Removing the ‘toxic sludge’ so to speak will help get your body back in balance and allow it to detoxify and remove unhealthy substances, absorb and assimilate nutrients better, and rebuild. It is a great way to ‘reset’ your system. You will feel more energy, feel clearer headed and be in a better mood, sleep better, recover from exercise better and enjoy life more with a clean, healthy, functioning system.

If you have ever been diagnosed with cancer, or maybe you fear you may get it at some point—or even if you have just gotten way off-track with your diet, now is the time to detox.

Even if you are perfectly healthy, your body is invisibly fighting off cancer cells, infectious pathogens, inflammation and serious disease, so a detox is a good way to ‘clean house’ first as a healthy foundation for optimal health. Serious disease like cancer, is a sign your body has been poisoned, so cleaning out the dirt and muck will allow your own body’s defenses to take over and optimize your health and well being.

YOU are in control of your body and YOU are in control of your health.

There are many different types of detox diets available online. Just do a search of “detox diet” and you will find hundreds. Don’t feel like you have to buy bushel baskets of raw vegetables and juice every day. A good detox diet just needs to supply plenty of super-food antioxidant nutrients that your body needs, while also cleaning out the chemicals, sugar, junk and added ingredients that it doesn’t.

Following a few easy guidelines and incorporating some detox foods into your diet is the best way to optimize your body’s own built-in detox system and supply your liver, kidneys, and digestive system with the tools needed to clear out toxins efficiently.

Basic Detox

1. Remove the sugar

Cancer cells LOVE glucose and feed off of it! While the explanation for how sugar affects cancer cells is somewhat controversial and complex, sugar of all kinds promotes cancer, diabetes, heart disease, inflammation, gut dysbiosis, and obesity. In addition, sugar weakens the body’s immune defenses.

Removing all sugar and refined carbs will help to starve cancer cells, reset the body’s fat burning ability, and lower blood sugar. Cut out ANY foods that contain sugar, refined carbohydrates, grains, and even fruit—for now. Especially be sure to remove any fructose or high fructose corn syrup—this is like cancer ‘fuel’. Avoid all of these types of sugar:

• fructose (natural sugar from fruits)
• lactose (natural sugar from milk)
• sucrose (made from fructose and glucose)
• maltose (sugar made from grain)
• glucose (simple sugar, product of photosynthesis)
• dextrose (form of glucose)

Remove all processed carbohydrates such as breads, pastas, muffins, cookies, crackers, chips, cereals, etc. While these foods are often considered ‘healthy’, they are not. They are full of added sugars, highly refined grains (which turn into sugar in our bodies), additives and pesticide residues including glyphosate, a known carcinogen.

Avoid convenience meals, frozen dinners, and fast foods. Baked or fried carbohydrates are also full of advanced glycated end products, or AGE’s as well. This substance contributes to aging and chronic disease including cancers.

2. Keep it Ketogenic

On a detox, you want to not only help your body remove toxic sludge, but you also want to reset your blood sugar levels and your body’s primary energy source. Too many carbs and sugars in the diet will cause your body to not only store all that excess glucose as fat, but you will also stop burning fat for energy—your body’s best energy source.

While the body can easily burn through sugar and carbohydrates for energy, it is meant purely to be an emergency fuel for the ‘fight or flight’ response. A keto detox diet consisting of vegetables combined with select organic, naturally-raised meats/poultry/fish and healthy fats will turn your body back into a fat burning machine, lower inflammation and starve cancer cells in the process. Burning ketones for fuel (your body fat), helps you think more clearly, reduces hunger, eliminates excess fluids, lowers blood pressure, boosts fat loss, and improves your cholesterol.

Studies now show that a ketogenic diet can help lower risk factors for heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. In addition, a keto diet starves cancer cells, reduces seizures in epileptics, helps the brain recover from brain injuries better, and improve symptoms of Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis.

3. Move more

Start pumping the oxygen naturally by getting in some light to moderate exercise each day for 45 minutes. When you exercise, you get your heart pumping harder, which increases your circulation and circulating oxygen.

Exercise also helps to stimulate your immune system and get your lymph system in gear removing toxins and clearing out dead cells. Exercise and oxygen actually help to starve cancer cells as well. And, exercise helps improve your mood by increasing your endorphins—your ‘feel good’ chemicals. A positive mood actually helps the body heal better and faster.

However, keep in mind your body is working hard to rid itself of toxic waste and you may be tired, so keep exercise moderate, and avoid heavy weights and high intensity workouts for now.

4. Get plenty of sleep

Part of a detox is allowing your body to rest and reset. A good detox will most likely make you feel more fatigued and lethargic, and possibly moody as you being to mobilize toxic substances out of your body. Your body needs to focus on cleaning and healing, so be sure to give it the rest it needs to do its best work. After a couple days of fatigue and rest, you may feel especially energized as your body starts to regain its balance and strength.

5. Distance yourself from electronic devices

Cell phones, WIFI, computers, electronic pads, even televisions all emit electromagnetic waves that can totally disrupt not only our own bio-electric functions, but they have been linked to a variety of cancers, especially brain cancers. To be safe, keep your cell phone as far away from your body and your head as possible, and avoid being bombarded with WIFI if you can. Try to limit your time on electronic devices and if you cannot avoid WIFI, at least get outside and far away from it as much as possible!

6. Remove the chemicals

Commercially-prepared shampoos, soaps, lotions, creams, hair products and deodorants are all loaded with hormone-disrupting, DNA damaging chemicals and carcinogenic ingredients. Revamp your toiletries by tossing out the chemical-laden ones and replacing with organic, natural products or stop using them all together. Also avoid using plastics and aluminum foil and baking dishes for cooking food storing leftovers, drinks, or microwaving.

7. Use only natural cleaning products

Home cleaning products are often extremely toxic. Avoid using window cleaners, antibacterial hand soaps, commercial laundry soaps, toilet cleaners, bathtub/sink scrubs, dish-washing liquids, etc. These products are full of carcinogens that get released into the air, onto surfaces, and absorbed by your body.

Replace all with natural cleaning supplies like vinegar, water, essential oils and natural/organic cleaning products. And if you are using any chemicals on your lawn or weeds like weed killer, bug spray and fertilizers, toss these out immediately! Better to have a weed or two in your lawn and garden than to have cancer!

8. Hydrate

Drinking copious amounts of clean spring water helps to cleanse and detox the kidneys, liver and digestive system and even improve cellular function. You should aim to drink at least half your body weight in ounces of clean, pure water either from a reverse osmosis system or fresh spring water. You can also add in a pinch of sea salt or Himalayan salt to get necessary nutrients, trace minerals, and electrolytes.

Organic herb teas contain powerful nutrients and antioxidants which help to purify and strengthen the body. Herb teas also contain natural detoxifying antioxidants and immune boosting ingredients such as green tea, rooibos, peppermint, dandelion and licorice root.

Include lots of lemons in your water. Fresh lemon juice contains an atomic structure similar to the body’s own digestive juices and the stimulate the liver into producing bile, which moves waste through and out of the body. Lemon water also acts as a mild diuretic, draining your system of excess fluids and furthering the detoxification. And lemons are full of vitamin C, an important antioxidant for your immune system.

9. Eat REAL organic, naturally-raised foods

Eat only one-ingredient/real, mostly plant-based foods, including lots of raw foods, naturally-raised meats/poultry/fish and healthy fats including coconut oil, grass fed butter and avocado, along with lots of nuts and seeds.

• Include lots of bitter greens—like dandelion, chard, kale and mustard greens—which help cleanse the kidneys, liver and gall bladder, as well as the digestive system. Dandelion greens, arugula, mustard greens and watercress contain powerful detox chemicals which cleanse and strengthen the body. Also include other deep green leafy veggies like chard, spinach, and kale. Cilantro and parsley naturally remove toxic metals from the body, and contain massive amounts of chlorophyll, phyto-chemicals, antioxidants and magnesium to boost your health.
• Brightly colored organic vegetables like deep green leafy veggies, cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli and kale, red peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic all contain the highest amounts of antioxidants. These are super-foods and will not only help to detoxify the body but will strengthen and build up the body’s defenses by adding in tons of powerful phyto-chemicals, antioxidants and massive amounts of vitamins and minerals.
• While many detox diets recommend you follow a purely plant-based diet, there are many good reasons to include small amounts of high quality, organic, and naturally-raised/wild caught meat/poultry/seafood.

Grass fed and grass finished beef, bison, and poultry along with wild caught fish are full of healthy, anti-inflammatory omega 3 fats. Omega 3’s not only help to strengthen cells, lower inflammation, power up the immune system, but they also help to fight cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and other chronic conditions. Omega 3’s help supply your brain and nerve cells with the healthy fats they need to work efficiently.

A study at California State University also showed that the conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a type of healthy fat in grass fed/grass finished meat helps fight cancer, discourages weight gain, and helps build healthy lean muscle. CLA is also in butter from grass fed cows.

After a few days to a week or two of a detox diet, you may want to consider Intermittent Fasting. Researchers have also found that intermittent fasting lowers the risk of degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer’s, dementia and even helps with recovery from strokes. It is thought IF protects the neurons against various kinds of damaging stress.

The point of intermittent fasting is that the periods of food deprivation allow your body to rest, further detoxify, renew and regenerate. Plenty of scientific studies on both animals and humans show that periodic fasting not only helps you lose weight but also increases your longevity.

Caloric restriction through fasting also helps to turn on genes that repair DNA and cells. This adaptation of IF may allow certain cells to actually live longer, preserving the body’s energy, according to a study published in the journal, Cell Metabolism. This may also be part of the reason that fasting helps to extend longevity as well.

There you have it. A good detox diet can open the doors to better health and well being and keep you on a healthy eating track. And, the basic principles of a detox diet like this can be utilized long term to help you sustain a healthy diet beyond a few days or a week—or help you get back on track after a period of poor food choices.

Stick to these basic rules of thumb, and include the healthy, detox-boosting foods in your diet regularly to stay on track with your health!

Most people who want to detox are looking to release a few pounds from their body while lifting brain fog, gain more energy, reduce bloat, and just simply feel better.

If that’s you, I urge you to read this.

This is especially important if you’ve tried one (or really ANY kind of diet at all) in the past, and failed. There’s a very specific reason it didn’t work for you, and this page explains everything.

Go here to read it now.

References
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/garlic-fact-sheet
https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/12-ways-to-prepare-detox-cleanse/
https://draxe.com/detox-diet/
https://draxe.com/cancer-fighting-foods/
https://drjockers.com/plant-based-ketogenic-diet/
https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/cancer-fighting-benefits-of-curcumin/
https://www.lifeextension.com/Magazine/2016/11/How-Pomegranate–May-Protect–Against-Cancer/Page-01
https://foodrevolution.org/blog/ginger-cancer-treatment/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321410.php
https://www.cancertherapyadvisor.com/fact-sheets/cancer-reishi-mushroom-fact-sheet/article/647081/2/

The post The Best Detox Diet appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling 
Co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

The Last Word on Coffee—Good or Bad?

Coffee seems to have a bad reputation when it comes to health, and often gets relegated to the list of food and drinks to be avoided. But almost everyone drinks coffee—and what about all those recipes for healthy coffee beverages with yummy additions like butter, coconut oil, coconut milk, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, turmeric, etc. So–Is coffee good or bad for you?

If you ask me, I can’t live without it’s eye-opening pick-me-up in the morning, and according to the rest of the world, it seems to be a pretty popular beverage, given the number of jam-packed coffee shops everywhere, so I know it’s not just me. According to recent statistics, coffee just happens to be THE most popular drink around the world, and it’s estimated at over 400 billion cups are consumed a year. Americans drink about 400 million cups of that dark ‘joe a day—well, make that four hundred million and one, for those days when I am extra tired!

The good news is—coffee CAN be good for you, but like other foods, the type of coffee and the way its prepared make ALL the difference! Even big health organizations like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Surgeon General, the American Medical Association, the American Diabetes Association, the National Cancer Institute, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control are on board with its healthy benefits.

Besides the delightful lift and sense of alertness you get from coffee in the morning, let’s take a look at some of the other things that coffee can do:

Helps Prevent Serious Diseases

Type 2 Diabetes–Coffee has been shown to be very beneficial for those with type 2 diabetes. In several different studies, published by the Journal American Medical Association, it was found that drinking coffee could reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by 33%. It’s possible that the antioxidants and minerals in coffee could contribute to this effect, but it’s not known for sure.  If you want a proven way to reverse type 2 diabetes naturally, read this page:

This simple technique helps to REVERSE type 2 diabetes, naturally (while getting off harmful drugs)

Parkinson’s Disease—At least six studies have shown that people who drink coffee daily are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson’s. And some of the newer Parkinson’s drugs actually contain a caffeine derivative. According to one of the studies’ physicians, Dr. Michael Schwarzschild, MD, PhD of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, “This study is especially interesting since caffeine seems to block a malfunctioning brain signal in Parkinson’s disease, and is so safe and inexpensive. Although the results do not [yet] suggest caffeine should be used as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease, they can be taken into consideration when people with Parkinson’s are discussing their caffeine use with their neurologist.”

Alzheimer’s Disease—Drinking four to five cups of coffee can lower the amount of beta amyloid in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Some research seems to point to the fact that coffee helps to reduce inflammation to the brain, which is one of the factors that leads to Alzheimer’s disease. And yet another protein found in Alzheimer’s patients, is the Tau protein. It is thought that these Tau proteins create tangles that kill brain cells and lead to cognitive decline. Coffee with caffeine has a positive effect on tau protein, and it blocks receptors in the brain that this protein attaches to. A new class of drugs may actually result from this recent research.

Colon Cancer—Drinking 1-2 cups of coffee per day is associated with a lower risk of colon cancer and the more coffee consumed the better. This research was published in the Journal of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. After adjusting for known risk factors, 1-2 cups was associated with 26% reduction in risk of colon cancer, and more coffee decreases risk all the way up to 50%.

Asthma—The caffeine in coffee contains an ingredient, theophyline, which acts as a natural bronchodilator. Three or more cups of coffee a day actually can help to reduce the risk of an asthma attack and relax bronchial tubes.  This review found that even small amounts of caffeine improve lung function for four or more hours. Green tea and black tea also contain this powerful phytochemical.

Migraines—Caffeine contains a natural vasoconstrictor—a compound that causes blood vessels to constrict. While this may not be good for your blood pressure, it works great in the case of headaches and migraines. Caffeine also helps headache medications to work more effectively, and help the body to absorb medication quicker. That is why caffeine is often in over the counter migraine medications.

Reduces Cholesterol and Inflammation in the Body—We all know that inflammation is linked to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer’s, along with numerous other health conditions. Scientists from Germany, Denmark and Finland found that daily coffee intake is associated with improved cholesterol levels and blood levels of inflammatory compounds.

In an article published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the European scientists also stated that coffee consumption has favorable effects on markers for subclinical inflammation and oxidative stress. Because subclinical inflammation is a risk factor in heart disease, diabetes, and many other diseases, coffee has a preventative effect on these diseases.

Liver Disease—Coffee is protective of the liver and can help detox the liver after a night of overdoing the alcoholic beverages. Coffee drinkers have up to an 84% less risk of developing cirrhosis, with the strongest effect coming from 4 or more cups a day. The livers of coffee drinkers are also protected from cancer, as studies show coffee drinkers have a 40% lower risk of liver cancer.

Mood, Energy, Athletic Performance and Fat Burning  

Coffee can increase your heart rate, breathing, blood pressure and metabolism—meaning you actually can burn more calories. It elevates your mood and helps eliminate depression, stimulates the brain and increases energy, but if you overdo it, it can cause nervousness and anxiety.

Because caffeine actually speeds up your metabolism, you not only have more energy, you burn more calories. Caffeine also breaks down fat cells and frees up fatty acids in the body for immediate fat burning. In fact, converting fat to energy is 30% more effective with caffeine. And because fat is being burned for energy, blood glucose levels don’t get low.

Caffeine also has a positive effect on athletic performance as well. Caffeine has been shown time and time again to increase the body’s endurance, speed, power, and increase recovery. Part of this is due to caffeine’s effect, and part may be due to the numerous antioxidants coffee contains. Whatever the reason, a cup of coffee before a workout or competition will put you ahead of the pack!

Coffee is Full of Antioxidants

A recent report by Mario Ferruzzi from Purdue University shows coffee as one of the richest sources of polyphenols (powerful antioxidants) in the Western diet. The most abundant of these are phenolics, chlorogenic acid, and caffeic acid. Additionally, levels of the pro-inflammatory substance, interleukin-18, and 8-isoprostane (a marker of oxidative stress) decreased by approximately 10-20%. Adiponectin, levels went up 6%. Obese people have lower blood levels of adiponectin than normal weight individuals, and losing weight increases adiponectin levels. Coffee was noted to improve cholesterol levels, including total cholesterol, and HDL (good) cholesterol.

Coffee’s Dark Side

Coffee can have a dark side, including nervousness, anxiety, and shakiness. Coffee may not be good for those with an irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, or anyone with any type of anxiety or panic disorder. Too much coffee too late in the day can also cause insomnia late into the night and early morning.  (Note:  if you have insomnia, make sure to read Mike’s article here with 5 tips to sleep better and fall asleep easier)

Coffee can also cause problems with the body’s ability to utilize folate, B12, and B6–vitamins that important to pregnant women, and important to all of us for mood regulation. These B vitamins are also important to keep the inflammatory substance implicated in heart attacks, homocysteine, low.

Coffee is very acidic, and it can pull calcium from the body in its efforts to balance out the acid/base levels of the blood.

Too much coffee can be over stimulating to the adrenal glands that produce cortisol. When adrenals are over stimulated on a regular basis, they can burn out.

If you are pregnant or plan to be, it is best to avoid coffee altogether or limit your consumption to one cup a day. Too much caffeine can increase miscarriages, cause low birth weight in babies and increase the risk of cleft palate in your baby. Caffeine also comes through in breast milk, so if you’d like your baby to sleep well, do not nurse soon after drinking coffee.

So, what’s the verdict: ditch your cuppa Joe, or keep drinking it? Personally, I really cannot get going in the morning without a nice stout cup of coffee. It gets me going both mentally and physically.

Keep these things in mind to make sure you are maximizing the benefits of your coffee:

• Use fresh whole ORGANIC beans which maximizes the antioxidants in the coffee and minimizes any toxins. The type of coffee you buy and drink makes a huge difference, as it does for many other foods. Coffee is often highly sprayed with pesticides and herbicides, so it is best to drink organic coffee if at all possible. And never drink coffee out of those nasty Styrofoam cups! Hot coffee leaches out toxic chemicals from the Styrofoam. Styrofoam is terrible for the environment, too!
• Avoid drinking coffee late in the evening or even the afternoon. Caffeine has a half life of 6 hours, so a couple cups take most of the day to clear from your system. I find I cannot drink coffee any time after 12 noon, or I am up most of the night.
• Drink your coffee black. Avoid adding cheap sugary creamers, refined sugar, artificial sweeteners, or that fake non-dairy ‘cream’. If you’d like to add something sweet, try a little maple syrup, stevia, or even a touch of honey or coconut sugar. A great healthy cream option is organic grass-fed cream, or coconut cream.  Coconut cream is loaded with healthy, fat burning medium chain triglycerides, known to help you burn fat and boost your metabolism. Occasionally I add a small amount of grass-fed butter and coconut oil to my coffee which helps me put off breakfast for a while.
• If you get your coffee from a coffee shop, avoid drinking those specialty drinks like frappuccinos, flavored lattes, etc. Some of those drinks are known to contain over 700 calories in one drink!
• Increase your antioxidants by adding in some cinnamon, which also helps control blood sugar and has many other benefits. Organic cocoa powder is also delicious to add to your coffee to give it that delicious mocha flavor. Cocoa is high in magnesium, antioxidants, and helps you lower your blood pressure.

A little bit of coffee can be very helpful at times. Long boring drives in the car, adjusting your time zone clock when traveling, upping your athletic performance, or just getting up and running in the morning. And sometimes that steaming, hot, fragrant cup of coffee is just the perfect thing on a cold morning!

There was recently a very controversial ruling by a judge in California that wants to force coffee shops to put a cancer warning label on coffee just simply because it contains a small amount of a particular carcinogenic substance called acrylamides.  However, the lunacy of this ruling is that foods such as cereal, potato chips and fries contain as much as 100x MORE acrylamides than coffee, and yet there’s no required cancer warning label for those foods.  Plus, coffee actually contains such high amounts of antioxidants, that it offsets any drawbacks from tiny amounts of carcinogens.  For that full story, you can read here about coffee & acrylamides and the cancer warning ruling in California.

Also, on the topic of coffee, don’t miss my co-author Mike Geary’s article here:

3 Tips to make your coffee super healthy

And here’s a really delicious recipe to try sometime too:

PaleoHacks coconut cowgirl coffee recipe

The Death of Black Coffee:

References

American Academy of Neurology (2012). A cup of Joe may help some Parkinson’s symptoms.

Retrieved from https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/1096

 Greenberg, Boozer, Geliebter, (2006). Coffee, diabetes, and weight control. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Retrieved from http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/84/4/682.full

Hartley Jack, Caffeine and Sports Performance, retrieved from http://www.vanderbilt.edu/ans/psychology/health_psychology/caffeine_sports.htm

Jiang, Zhang, Jiang, 2014. Coffee and caffeine intake and incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis of prospective studies. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24150256

Mercola, (2010).  If you drink coffee make sure it’s organic. Retrieved from American Academy of Neurology (2012). A cup of Joe may help some Parkinson’s symptoms.

Retrieved from https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/1096

Warner Jennifer, New Clues on Caffeine’s Health Benefits

Study Suggests Antioxidants in Caffeine Play a Role in Coffee’s Impact on Health, WebMD Health News.

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