I have often found that my friends and clients have a real connection with coffee, not only do they love its natural rich flavour, but the pick-me-up culture surrounding it. So they will often ask me about whether they should be drinking it, and what the risks are. Though coffee is a real fixture in a lot of people’s daily routines there is a great deal of confusion surrounding whether the drink is healthy or not. I’d like to give all you coffee lovers out there a few tips on how to get the most out of your coffee and the risks of drinking too much.
Quality Not Quantity
As I would recommend for anything you are consuming, go quality not quantity! If you really want to get the most out of your morning and afternoon coffee make sure you are going organic. Organic coffees are great as they aren’t covered with pesticides and a packed of the natural goodness that coffee can offer. Another important aspect of the quality of your coffee experience is how you consume it. Don’t simply rush making one in the morning because you feel you need the boost, take your time, use a cafetiere and enjoy the full process.
When to Drink
I wouldn’t recommend drinking more than two cups of coffee a day, even if it is organic and delicious! If you’re consuming more than two cups then you are taking in more caffeine than is recommended and this can have a negative impact, such as an the tightening of blood vessels, headaches and digestive issues. For these reasons, I personally don’t drink coffee anymore. However, in moderation, caffeine can be great as a boost for sporting activity.
Optimise your coffee experience by not only thinking about how many times a day you should have one, but also at what time of the day. A good starting point is don’t have one in the first hour of your day, let your body wake itself up naturally before consuming anything with caffeine in it. Another easy tip is not to consume any caffeine after four o’clock. The last thing you need after a hard day’s work is to be tossing and turning unable to get to sleep.
Put Flavour in Your Coffee, Not Sugar
One of the most damaging aspects of drinking coffee is how much sugar some people put in theirs. Instead of adding even more sugar to the average human diet, try one of my tasty tips on how to get the most out of your coffee. Cinnamon makes a great addition to a cup of coffee, with its’ famously sweet and earthy flavour balancing coffee’s natural bitterness. Try stirring your coffee with a cinnamon stick to not only get the great flavour, but the health benefits of the cinnamon itself, such as its abilities to lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
Another great addition to coffee is a teaspoon of cacao (raw chocolate) powder. Everyone knows that chocolate and coffee is a fantastic combination and this way you are getting those two amazing flavours in one drink, without the sugar. Or try adding a piece of 70% good quality dark chocolate such as Green and Blacks, watching it slowly melt into the cup, gorgeous! Furthermore, alternatives to adding cow’s milk are worth considering. Try dairy-free alternatives such as almond, flax seed, coconut and soy milks.
The Good Stuff in the Good Stuff
So coffee does have some great natural body-boosting benefits. Coffee is great for the liver, the phytonutrients in coffee like chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid can aid the liver processing sugar and regulating blood sugar levels. Furthermore, moderate consumption of up to 3 cups per day has been shown to be associated with lowering you chance of Type 2 Diabetes. Coffee is full of antioxidants; in fact, coffee contains more than can be found in most fruit and vegetables. These are only a couple of the many fantastic benefits that coffee can offer when consumed organically and in moderation.
Concluding Coffee
So what to make of Coffee? Well, it’s actually rather straightforward. Coffee gives so many of my friends and clients satisfaction, but you need to remember that too much can be really damaging and have some nasty side effects. That said, coffee has some great natural qualities and certainly need not be avoided all together. Get the most out of your daily coffee by adding a bit of natural flavour and goodness, or enjoying an organically brewed cup with a friend, make it an experience and not a fix!