Today’s blog is republished from my friends at PaleoHacks, a leading publisher of daily health tips that I personally read every day.

By Casey Thaler, PaleoHacks.com

Coffee: since 54% of Americans over the age of 18 (1) drink this delicious beverage on a daily basis, some education on making coffee healthier is in order.

Unfortunately, a large majority of coffee drinkers are continually adding to their waistlines by drinking popular coffee store versions – which are typically loaded with tons of extra calories and sugar.

If consumed properly, coffee can actually aid in weight loss, so it makes sense to avoid the artificial creations made in stores. Or, if you still really need to get your coffee from a retail store, you can learn just how to make that cup work for you – instead of against you.

With 70% of the United States now overweight, and 30% obese (2), these simple coffee tricks could be the key factor in helping you shed those unwanted pounds. So read on to discover nine great (and easy) ways to make your coffee healthier!

1. Avoid Artificial Sweeteners And Refined Sugar

This trick may seem obvious, but you would be shocked to learn just how many popular versions of coffee are loaded with artificial sweeteners and refined sugar. For example, a chai tea latte (found at a popular coffee store that shall not be named) has 15 more grams of sugar than a Snickers bar does! Even less obvious versions of sweetened coffee may be packed with artificial sweeteners or extra sugar. A salted caramel mocha (again, found at an unnamed coffee chain) hits your bloodstream with a whopping 56 grams (!) of sugar. One daily unhealthy choice when it comes to coffee, and you can say hello to 5 or 10 extra pounds in a month or two.

To put this in perspective, the World Health Organization recommends that adults consume 25 grams (or less) of sugar per day. One daily unhealthy choice when it comes to coffee, and you can say hello to 5 or 10 extra pounds in a month or two. To give you another example, a typical Frappuccino can weigh in at 66 grams of sugar – yikes. Drinking coffee black is a simple way to avoid all of these issues, but I will also give you some extra delicious tips to help spice things up.

If you can’t go completely black with your coffee, try adding a small amount of stevia. While not 100% perfect, this choice is certainly better than consuming the artificial sweeteners and refined sugar which are usually found in most cups. Coconut sugar or organic maple syrup can also be used, but the real key here is adding a very small amount. Don’t go overboard!

2. Avoid Artificial Creamers

Almost as bad as artificial sweeteners, artificial creamers are packed with a wide array of things you don’t want to put in your body on a daily basis. What exactly do you want to avoid here? Well, a large assortment of artificial creamers are made with corn syrup solids and hydrogenated oils (trans fats). Major yikes.

You can improve your coffee by adding real cream. This means organic and grass-fed. Cream like this can be purchased at all major health food stores, and will give you the health benefits of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid). There is also usually a nice amount of vitamin K2 present in full-fat cream. This is important because adequate intake of vitamin K2 has been linked with lower rates of cancer and heart disease. Full-fat cream has even been linked to more successful weight loss.

3. Use Filtered Water and Organic Beans

Coffee is 99% water. While this may seem obvious, we often don’t take into account the quality of that water when brewing a morning cup. Start with the highest quality ingredients, and you will ensure that best coffee possible. This goes for the beans, too. Always opt for organic, and spend the extra dollars if you have to. Coffee is the most heavily sprayed crop in the world, pesticide-wise, so you really don’t want to go with beans of dubious quality.

4. Add Cinnamon to Coffee

Want to add even more antioxidants to your coffee and control your blood sugar? I thought so. How exactly does one do that? It’s simple: just add a pinch of cinnamon to your cup! Interestingly, cinnamon has a fairly long history of use as both a spice and a medicine. While it can be used at any time of year, it no doubt tastes best during the cold, winter months.

And cinnamon itself has been linked with numerous health benefits. One of the most important is lower blood glucose levels after a meal. And in those with type 2 diabetes, cinnamon has been linked to lower serum glucose levels and an improved lipid profile.

5. Eat Before You Drink Coffee

While many of us start the day with a big cup of coffee, you actually may be lowering your energy levels by doing this. How is this possible? Well, quite simply, your body releases insulin in response to the caffeine found within coffee. This, in turn, causes a major drop in blood sugar, which leaves you feeling depleted and tired. Not a great way to start your day. Munch on a small snack during your morning cup, or even eat right before you drink. Your body will thank you for it.

6. Add Collagen to Coffee

Collagen is prevalent in a well-crafted bone broth, but it also makes a fine addition to coffee. Rich in the amino acid glycine, collagen has also been scientifically studied to help reduce joint pain.  Collagen also helps inflammation stay within an appropriate range, and aids in healthy tissue repair.

7. Add Grass-fed Butter to Coffee

The popularity of the Bulletproof Diet is undeniable. But what started the craze was the world-famous Bulletproof Coffee. By simply adding grass-fed butter to black coffee, you will get a nice brain-boosting buzz — as well as all the health benefits of grass-fed butter. Try blending the coffee with a handheld blender or latte frother if you are stuck with globs of butter on top of your coffee.

8. Add Coconut Oil to Coffee

Similar to adding grass-fed butter, coconut oil is loaded with healthy fats, specifically medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). These MCTs have been linked to improved weight loss in multiple scientific studies. When it comes to brain health, coconut oil may also be largely beneficial. Some studies have examined the potential links between reduction in Alzheimer’s disease rates and daily ingestion of coconut oil.

One UCLA study even famously reversed some symptoms of Alzheimer’s. What was the methodology used? A Paleo diet and lifestyle! Since a typical Paleo diet includes coconut oil, it is wise to add a little bit of this fat to your morning coffee. I personally love the taste of coconut oil in coffee, even though I am typically not a coffee drinker. Yum!

9. Add Cocoa to Coffee

Love hot chocolate? Most of us have delightful memories of consuming this sugary delight in the cold months of winter. But worry not, because you can add some organic, unsweetened cocoa to your coffee, and bring back those warm memories! Cocoa has numerous health benefits, including a lower risk of heart disease and a lower risk of cancer. Remember, don’t go overboard here. A small teaspoon is more than enough!

Bonus Coffee Tip: Try Brewed Chocolate Or Herbal Coffee

If you are looking for a true alternative to coffee, Choffy is a great one. With a taste richer than hot chocolate, and a brewing experience similar to coffee, this is a great way to lower your caffeine intake. I actually drink Choffy on a fairly regular basis, and don’t worry — Choffy is even Whole30 approved! 

Teeccino is another great alternative to regular coffee, as it is herbal and caffeine-free. I often recommend that clients lower their caffeine intake by slowing blending their coffee with increasingly large amounts of Teeccino. They hardly notice the difference by the time they are completely off of caffeine! Truly incredible stuff.

The Bottom Line

Remember, coffee from popular chains can be loaded with hidden sugars and many other artificial ingredients. Going with black coffee, or making your own, is a much healthier choice. Be sure to use filtered water and organic beans for homemade coffee. If you need a little more spice, try adding grass-fed butter, coconut oil, cinnamon, cocoa or collagen. Remember, healthier coffee doesn’t have to be boring. You can still get your morning caffeine fix – just do it in a more Paleo-friendly way!

— Casey Thaler
(The original article source is here)

The Death of Black Coffee:

Latest studies have found that 1 tiny tweak to your morning coffee puts your body into fat-burn ing mode for the rest of the day.

This coffee trick takes less than 10 seconds…

Yet, it instantly ignites your metabolism and boosts your health, energy and well-being at the same time!

Here’s to an amazing start to your day 🙂

====> Try This 10 Sec Fat-Burning Coffee Trick!

The post 9 Easy Ways To Make Your Coffee Healthier appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

She had two kids, a house in the suburbs and a great job.

But at one point in her late 30s, she began to have a serious problem.

Everyday at work, she was getting hot flashes. She’d be in a meeting with her boss (she was aiming for a promotion so these meetings mattered) and all she’d be able to think about, was getting to the bathroom so she could cool down.

But that wasn’t the only problem.

She was beginning to suffer from a lot of fatigue. Amanda would get home from work, and hardly have the energy to play with her children.

And to make things worse, red bumps were breaking out all over her skin.

In short, she was miserable. But what was the cause?

Can Your Coffee Maker Really Make You Sick?

After a few weeks of this, Amanda went to see her doctor.

Initially, her doctor thought it might be an early menopause – which was a scary thought because Amanda was much too young for that.

Amanda had a great doctor who tested for a lot of different issues including common food sensitivities, potentially low vitamin D level, uterine fibroids, even a potential autoimmune disease!

The doctor even had to request Amanda to start on an immediate elimination diet (in which you avoid wheat, dairy, soy, citrus, and eggs) before things got worse.

Amanda committed fully to the doctors orders, but still nothing was working.

Until she remembered something.

The red bumps on her skin had started right after a new employee at her office brought in an old, plastic coffee maker.

Amanda started thinking to herself, “Could the coffee maker be making me sick”?

Amanda stopped drinking the company coffee, and instead brought her own from home.

After three days, she was like a different person.

After five days, her symptoms were all gone.

In other words, Amanda’s mysterious illness, which had been puzzling doctors for WEEKS…

Completely disappeared, simply from changing her coffee maker.

My name is Mike Geary, aka The Nutrition Watchdog…

… And today, I’m answering the question: “Is your coffee maker toxic”.

It’s a question I get a lot, and unfortunately, for most of you using old-school coffee maker’s, the answer is “Yes, your coffee maker is toxic”.

While that may sound depressing, it’s actually good news. Because there are plenty of options.

I’ll show you a few of those in a second. First, I want to take a closer look and show you exactly what’s wrong with your current coffee maker, and how you can fix it.

And we start with…

Coffee Maker Toxin #1: Plastics (such as BPA)

The biggest toxin, and the most likely cause of Amanda’s illness is plastics seeping out of your coffee maker and into your drink.

The biggest culprit is a plastic called “BPA”.

To give you an idea of how dangerous BPA is,

● It’s BANNED in Canada and Denmark
● The FDA banned it from being used in baby bottles and sippy cups
● And there are strict laws about how much BPA can be used in consumer products.

But this is just the beginning. You see…

BPA Plastic Isn’t Just Toxic, It Also Makes You Fat!

There is significant research showing that even small amounts of BPA in your system can lead to weight gain and obesity (Here are the links to the studies if you’re curious 7, 8, 9, 10).

And even worse than that, there is significant research that BPA leads to:
○ insulin resistance,
○ heart disease,
○ diabetes,
○ neurological disorders,
○ thyroid dysfunction,
○ cancer,
○ genital malformations
○ and much more… (11, 12, 13, 14).

You have to ask yourself, is this really something you want in your coffee?

Here is how BPA Makes You Fat, Sick and Depressed:

When BPA enters your system, your body reacts to it like you’ve had an estrogen injection.

As soon as it enters your bloodstream, your estrogen receptors are activated.

This triggers an intense hormonal reaction which sends your hormones into overdrive all of these horrible symptoms and disease…

So the question you may be asking is,

How Does BPA Get Into My Coffee?

Chemisist first started working with putting BPA into plastics back in the 1950s.

They did this to make plastic stronger and more resilient..

For big business, this meant that their products would last longer…

But back then, they hadn’t cared to find out how this would affect us..

..and they still don’t

During the whole water cycle in your coffee machine, all the water is pumping through BPA filled plastic…

This wears away the plastic and the The BPA chemical gets dissolved.

This is how it is going straight into every one of your fresh cups of coffee.

As mentioned earlier, BPA is so dangerous that Canada and Denmark have banned it from consumer products.

So what’s the solution. Well, it’s very simple.

Get a coffee maker without BPA, and ideally without any plastic whatsoever.

I’ll show you the coffee makers I recommend in just a moment (don’t worry, they’re less than $50).

But before I do, I want to show you the other big toxic found in coffee makers. And that is…

Coffee Maker Toxin #2: Bacteria, Fungus & Mold

In 2011, a groundbreaking study called the “NSF International Household Germ Study” was conducted by the Public Health & Safety Organization.

They went into volunteer’s homes, swabbed the entire house looking for bacteria, fungus and mold, and the results were astonishing.

While you would assume that your bathroom is the most bacteria ridden part of your home.

When the truth is, your kitchen is the biggest breeding ground for bacteria.

You have heard about this before. Here’s what new:

The researchers took an in-depth look at coffee makers, and the results were revolting. They found:

● About half of all coffee machines tested had mold and germs growing in their water tanks.
● About one in ten coffee machines were home to coliform bacteria which is usually found in sewage and feces!
● And, on average, your coffee maker has a significantly higher germ count than your toilet seat.

Remarkable, right?

But this is just the beginning of the research.

Another study, this time a 2015 study from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, took a look at the water tank, coffee pod compartment, spouts and trays of 28 coffee machines.

Then sent the swabs to a microbiological laboratory for testing.

Unbelievably, they found over 4.6 MILLION colonies of bacteria on these coffee maker machines.

And half of the machines included harmful bacteria and mold such as:

● E.coli (which can cause severe abdominal cramps, diarrhea and vomiting),
● Staphylococcus (which causes staph infections)
● Streptococcus (also known as strep throat and is highly contagious)
● Pseudomonas Aeruginosa (which can escalate to pneumonia, UTI’s and bacteremia)

Now, you may be wondering…

“Why Is There So Much Bacteria In My Coffee Maker?”

The answer is really simple.

Your coffee maker is wet, dark, warm, made of plastic and never cleaned.

In other words, the perfect breeding ground for bacteria, fungus and mold.

Here’s the good news:

It’s really easy to solve this problem. You simply need a coffee maker that can go in your dishwasher.

Unfortunately, this can be harder than it sounds. Most coffee maker’s are designed for aesthetic and aren’t dishwasher-friendly.

You need a machine which you can disassemble in seconds, quickly scrub and set out to dry in the light.

In other words, a coffee maker which is super easy to keep clean.

Well, right now, I’d like to show you two of my favorite coffee makers which do exactly this AND are BPA and plastic free.

Bialetti Kitty Coffee Maker

For The Person Who Loves Espresso Or Strong Coffee

If you love espresso shots or strong coffee, this classic Italian roaster is for you.

This machine has a very unique process.

First, you put the coffee grinds inside of a chamber in the center chamber and put water in the bottom chamber.

Then, put it on top of your stove and crank up the heat.

As it begins to heat up the water becomes pressurized. The water then is pushed through a tube and passes through the coffee grinds. Then your delicious coffee is pumped through into the top chamber. Then, your coffee is ready to pour and all that’s left is to enjoy your coffee!

This classic design was first created in Italy in 1933 and has been modified in order to work on electric, gas and even ceramic stoves.

But be careful even though there are many of these now made they are not are created equal.

Warning: Many stove top moka coffee makers are made with cheap aluminum which have been linked to causing several forms of cancer.

The good news is there is a quality machine that retails for less than $40 on amazon.

They make a few different sizes, so you can make a single espresso shot, a full 1-2 (American sized) cups of coffee. Or if you like to drink more than 8 ounces of coffee you can grab the larger unit for a few bucks more.

Click here to buy the Bialetti Kitty Coffee Maker

Osaka Pour-Over Coffee Station

Japanese Manual Pour Over brew

With this sleek and simple design we’re getting right down to the basics.

As you see: No tubes. No filter. Nonsense.

Just put the coffee on top, and pour hot water over it. And Done!

Yes, you sacrifice a little bit of convenience. Buy a cheap electric kettle will solve that problem in an instant.

And since you won’t have all that harmful plastic, it’s a very worthwhile tradeoff.

This coffee maker also has a stainless steel mesh filter.

It’s much more effective than standard bleached paper filters found in automatic drip machines, which do nothing but rob you of the natural and healthy antioxidant oils found in coffee.

To order the Osaka Pour-Over Coffee Station, click here.

If you are interested in natural ways to transform your kitchen so that your body will easily and effortlessly burn more fat, you should check out our world famous manual The Fat Burning Kitchen. In this manual we uncover the many hidden toxins lurking in your kitchen that have been preventing you from getting healthy. Plus we will show you our 24 hour diet trick that will allow you to transform your body into a fat burning machine.

The Death of Black Coffee:

The post Is Your Coffee Maker Toxic? appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

Earlier this year, a judge in California ruled that coffee should carry a cancer warning label. The ruling says that Starbucks, 7-11, and other coffee retailers must carry a warning label on every cup of coffee sold, due to the acrylamide content in the coffee.

This seems like an ODD ruling since we know of dozens of studies that show decreased cancer risks among coffee drinkers.

So, what exactly is acrylamide? Acrylamide is a compound that results from the roasting process of coffee and many other foods that are baked or roasted.  Acrylamides are present in many of our foods including: french fries, potato chips, corn chips, cereal, breads, cookies, crackers, beer and more.

Starchy carbohydrates cooked at high temperatures, especially those that are cooked to a golden brown or dark brown color usually contain the highest amounts of acrylamides. Potato chips and french fries are, by far, some of the worst offenders. Take a look at some of these levels (amounts are approximate, and depend on cooking time and heat):

• Potato chips – 546 micrograms/kg
• French fries – 698 micrograms/kg
• Breakfast cereal – 131 micrograms/kg
• Coffee – 8 micrograms/kg

Check out this FDA website for a more complete listing of tested foods and acrylamide levels. You will see that coffee contains very low levels of acrylamide compared to many other foods.

If you look at those listings above, you can see that cereal has on average 16x more acrylamides than coffee, and potato chips and french fries have almost 100x more acrylamides than coffee!  So why is California picking on coffee, when it appears that french fries are 100x more dangerous than coffee in terms of acrylamide content?  In addition, french fries and potato chips contain inflammatory refined vegetable oils, which would actually ADD to the cancer risk of those foods, whereas coffee is loaded with antioxidants that actually protect us against carcinogens.

Acrylamides were discovered in 2002 and have been found in many foods that are heated above 120 degrees or cooked to a golden brown. Starbucks and many other (dark roast) coffees are often roasted to a deep brown color, thereby increasing their acrylamide content.

The acrylamide controversy has been a part of an eight-year struggle between the Council for Education and Research on Toxics and the big coffee companies like Starbucks. California’s proposition 65, which was passed in 1986, puts cancer warnings on many substances; some of them worthy, some ridiculous.

The World Health Organization, (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stated that levels of acrylamides in certain foods pose a “major concern” and more research is needed to determine the dangers. Since french fries, potato chips and cereals contain much higher amounts of acrylamides (up to 100x more), it seems a bit silly to have this warning on coffee but no other foods.

A few studies concluded there was an increased cancer risk in mice and rats fed acrylamide, but those studies used levels of acrylamide that was between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than levels people get from food. Thus far, there have not been very convincing studies in humans to demonstrate that acrylamide is indeed a carcinogen. In fact, a review of more than 1,000 studies failed to find a consistent link between drinking coffee and at least 20 different types of cancer, according to scientists from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a WHO group.

Len Lichtenfeld, the deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society in Atlanta says, “Most experts are going to look at the risk of acrylamide in coffee and conclude that this is not something that’s going to have a meaningful impact on human health.”

The fact of the matter is, coffee drinking, especially organic coffee, grown at high altitudes, has numerous scientifically supported major health benefits. Cancer prevention is very high on coffee’s list of attributes.

Coffee has been shown to protect the liver against cancer because of its caffeine content, chlorogenic acid and substances called diterpenes. Coffee also protects post-menopausal women against breast cancer. Those women who drank the equivalent of four cups a day actually had a 10% lower risk of breast cancer. Women drinking coffee also had a significantly less risk of endometrial cancer, and uterine cancer, according to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention journal.

You can also add oral, gastric, and colon cancer protection to that growing list as well—especially the lighter roasts. While the darker roasts had similar anti-cancer properties, the lighter roasts won out for the highest protective factors.

Coffee contains a variety of powerful antioxidants, as I have written about earlier, that contain a variety of massive health benefits—far greater than any perceived risk of cancer from the acrylamides it contains. Several studies from around the world including France, Japan, Poland and Spain, have concluded that coffee is one of the biggest single sources of antioxidants in our diets. According to the October 2015 issue of Science News, and other important nutrition and scientific journals, coffee protects a wide variety of major health issues. Some of those include:

• Type 2 Diabetes—Studies suggest that drinking 3-4 cups of coffee per day is associated with a 25% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared to consuming none or less than 2 cups per day. Research suggests a dose responsive relationship with coffee.
• Parkinson’s–In a prospective study, people who drank about four cups of caffeinated coffee daily were one-fourth less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those who drank very little, researchers reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2012.
• Dementia–In a 2012 study, researchers monitored 32 older people with mild cognitive impairment. The individuals who had the highest levels of caffeine were less likely to progress to dementia, than those who did not ingest caffeine, scientists reported in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. It is thought that the poly­phenols, in addition to the caffeine in the coffee helped with brain function.
• Depression–In a 10-year study of 50,000 U.S. women, those drinking four cups of caffeinated coffee a day were 20 percent less likely to have depression than those consuming very little, according to a report in Archives of Internal Medicine in 2011.
• Heart disease and stroke–Demographic studies suggest coffee offers protection against heart disease by helping to prevent blood clots.
• Kidney function–A group of young people drank three cups of coffee a day, and showed significant improved kidney function, according to Japanese researchers reported in 2011 in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism.

Coffee helps to activate the NRF2 pathway in the body, a system that fights oxidative stress, neutralizes toxins, and targets cancer cells. The NRF2 pathway has been identified as being one of the most important anti-aging and disease-fighting components in the human body.

In the intestines, coffee helps to encourage the growth of beneficial Bifidobacteria, part of a healthy microbiome. These little critters help to regulate and protect the digestive system, immune function, and mental health.

Coffee is a fat-burning beverage, increasing heart rate, breathing and metabolism—meaning you actually burn more calories. Caffeine is also excellent for keto dieters–breaking down fat cells more efficiently and freeing up fats in the body to burn for energy. In fact, converting fat to energy is 30% more effective with caffeine.

Coffee also elevates your mood, banishes depression, and helps you feel more energetic, but be careful—too much can cause jitteriness and anxiety in some people.

Coffee is known to improve athletic performance as well. Caffeine has been shown repeatedly to increase endurance, speed, power, and shorten recovery time. While part of this is due to the effect of caffeine, another part may be due to the high levels of antioxidants in coffee. So, a cup of ‘joe’ before your workout or competition will help you go harder and longer!

This recent report from Purdue University shows coffee as being one of the richest sources of polyphenols (antioxidants) in the Western diet. Coffee contains abundant levels of phenolics, chlorogenic acid, and caffeic acid. Coffee also helps to decrease inflammatory markers, including interleukin-18 and 8-isoprostane.

Coffee protects your health by reducing adiponectin levels by 6 or more percent. Low levels of adiponectin are associated with obesity, diabetes, inflammation, lipid abnormalities, insulin resistance and NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), heart disease, and cancer.

How to Maximize the Health Benefits of Your Coffee

• Use fresh, whole, ORGANIC beans which maximizes the antioxidants in the coffee and minimizes toxins. Light roast contains slightly higher levels of antioxidants and caffeine than dark roast, but both types still have health benefits. 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.
• Drink your coffee black, or with organic REAL cream. Avoid adding refined sugar, artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners, or fake non-dairy ‘creamer’.  For natural sweetness, try a small drizzle of maple syrup, stevia, monk fruit, or coconut sugar. Organic, REAL grass-fed cream is divine and is available in most grocery stores in the US under the Organic Valley brand. Coconut cream from a can is also delicious in coffee and loaded with healthy, fat burning medium chain triglycerides, to help you burn fat and boost metabolism.  If you like the idea of “bulletproof coffee”, try adding a dollop of grass-fed butter and coconut oil to your coffee and blend into a froth for a delicious frothy healthy fat coffee that goes perfect if you’re on a keto diet or any low-carb diet.
• Avoid coffee from big chain coffee shops if possible. These coffees are generally NOT organic, and full of pesticides and herbicides. Purchasing organic coffee grown at high altitudes means that it contains the highest levels of antioxidants.  Many smaller coffee shops contain organic coffee more frequently.  Or just buy your own organic beans and make it at home so you know it’s organic and free of pesticides and fungicides.
• Boost the antioxidant power by adding cinnamon, which also helps control blood sugar and has many other benefits. Organic cocoa powder is another delicious and healthy addition to your morning coffee. Cocoa is high in magnesium, antioxidants, and helps lower blood pressure.

The bottom line is that coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of death, overall. Given all the above scientific studies on coffee and health, don’t you find the California ruling for a warning label on coffee a bit ridiculous? I do.

I can only conclude that this particular judge just does not like coffee. If you are concerned about the (dubious) connection between acrylamides and cancer, avoid french fries, potato and corn chips, cereals, bread, cookies and crackers. They contain much higher levels of acrylamides. Those processed grain-based foods have already been shown to be detrimental to your health, and arylamide is just one more reason to avoid those foods.

Enjoy sipping your organic coffee and worry not! Here’s to your health and wellbeing!

The Death of Black Coffee:

References
Sisson, Mark, 2016. Retrieved from https://www.marksdailyapple.com/10-interesting-predictors-of-longevity/

Authority Nutrition, 2018. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/coffee-worlds-biggest-source-of-antioxidants#section5

Ebeling, Catherine, 2016. Retrieved from https://thenutritionwatchdog.com/coffee-cancer-diabetes-and-more/

Seppa, Nathan, 2015. Science News. Retrieved from https://www.sciencenews.org/article/coffee-reveals-itself-unlikely-elixir

Englehaupt, Erika, 2018. Science News. Retrieved from https://www.sciencenews.org/article/science-behind-cancer-warnings-coffee-murky-best?tgt=nr

CBS, 2018. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/starbucks-cancer-warning-judge-rules-on-coffee-carcinogen-acrylamide/

The post The TRUTH about Coffee & Cancer (California ruling: Coffee needs a cancer warning label) 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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