Is Drinking Coffee Good For You?

TLDR: Yes, but there are some things you need to be aware of to get the most out of your coffee and to also ensure it doesn’t begin to negatively affect your health.

Coffee is more than just a morning routine or a quick energy boost. It's an art, a science, and sometimes, even a lifestyle. But is coffee good for you? It depends. Here are some top tips to help you maximise the benefits of your beloved brew, while also keeping your energy levels internally conjured up rather than patched up by caffeine.

Coffee is loaded with polyphenols, antioxidants that have been linked with various health benefits, including longevity. So, rather than viewing coffee solely as an ergogenic aid… see it as a dietary supplement and health-span aid!

Establish a Cut-off Time and Amount of Coffee

Caffeine's half-life is about 5 hours, which means it takes about 5 hours for your body to eliminate half of the caffeine in your system. Having a cut-off time for coffee can help you avoid sleep disturbances. Similarly, keep an eye on the amount of coffee you consume, the more you have, the more half lives it needs to go through to be gone from your system. Everyone metabolises caffeine differently, so you’ll need to play with this to find out your tolerance. Remember, nothing is worth interfering with your sleep!

Don't Use Caffeine Two Days in a Row

Overconsumption of caffeine can lead to tolerance, meaning you might need more coffee for the same effect - or as James Hoffman puts it on his his interview on Diary of a CEO… coffee ends up helping you from -1 back to 0 rather than getting you from 0 to +1. By avoiding caffeine two days in a row, you can help keep your body more sensitive to its effects, making your coffee more effective. If this sound too much, take a break every two to three days to help hit reset.

Our favourite coffee shop ever, in the Mangroves of Taipei City, Taiwan

Drink the Coffee, Skip the Cake

I know, I know. You already got rid of all the cake and only eat foods that make you super human. But just to be sure… keep the fat and carb combo away from your caffeine. Caffeine will liberate fat stored and use it to produce glucose and free fatty acids… you add the cake (fats and glucose) and you’ve got a blood sugar and blood fat cocktail to leave you with a super high and then… a super crash and also some fat deposits around your liver and internal organs… nice! Coffee is best served by itself - get the full hit of flavour and leave that complimentary biscuit alone!

Enjoy the Process

Brewing coffee is an art. Embrace the process and make it a mindful experience. From grinding the beans to sipping the final product, take your time to enjoy every step (including the post grind olfactory gusts). This mindfulness can enhance your enjoyment and even reduce stress. There are few better mindfulness practices that grinding coffee with a pestle and mortar!

Strategic Use of Coffee During Fasting

If you're practicing intermittent fasting, a cup of black coffee can aid your efforts. The caffeine can suppress your appetite and the lack of calories keeps you in your fasting state. Caffeine also stimulates fat liberation and because you don’t have calories coming in from other sources, your body is more likely to oxidise this liberated fat, especially if you are active.

Consider Decaf Coffee

Decaf coffee still contains polyphenols, so you can enjoy the antioxidant health benefits without the caffeine at all, if you wish. Or alternate back and forth, as above, or use caffeinated only on the days you’re fasting or doing your more intense workouts. Most decaf is now processed by the Swiss water method, meaning it is free from chemical process!

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Using Coffee as your Pre-workout

There is no doubt that caffeine is rocket fuel when it comes to a workout! Unless you're intentionally going stimulant-free, you’d be crazy not to include coffee before a morning workout (you really do want to be stimulant free for post-midday workouts). This is a much better way of getting caffeine, from a natural source, than the pre-packaged pre-workouts filled with all sorts of nonsense.

Delay Your first Cup of Coffee

Consider delaying your first cup of coffee. Sounds counterintuitive, doesn't it? But waiting 90 minutes after waking up to have your first cup can actually enhance the effects of caffeine. This is because, in the first hour or so after waking, your body is already producing cortisol, a natural wake-up hormone. Once this begins to subside, you then introduce the coffee to give you a more sustained post-cortisol surge. There is some thought reckoning that by waiting, you also don’t short circuit your cortisol response. The theory goes that if cortisol isn’t needed, due to regular caffeine, it will down regulate and prevent your natural circadian rhythm from being able to perform optimally. The research has gone back and forth a little here - my advice is to give it a go and see if you feel it’s beneficial or not!

Everyone is Different

Remember, everyone's response to coffee is unique, so these tips may need to be adjusted to suit your personal needs and tolerance. Oh and, I’m not a doctor, so take the above with a pinch of salt… a pinch of salt is a great addition to coffee to help keep you hydrated! BUT caffeine downgrades magnesium absorption… so… add sodium and potassium salts but supplement with magnesium at another time of day! If you’re a creatine user (which you should be), take this at a different time of day as there is some evidence that creatine and caffeine may interfere with each other’s effects by occupying the same receptor site.

Coffee = 'You are welcome here'

Frequently Asked Questions

Should my kids drink coffee?

No, unless it's decaf - you get nearly all the benefits of coffee from decaf without the negative effects that kids, in particular, can experience. They are more prone to becoming dependent and experiencing anxiety, related to caffeine use. There is some research suggesting that caffeine can also stunt growth. As kids develop most guidelines suggest gentle introduction to caffeine. You 100% want to keep your kids away from energy drinks! You should stay away from them too! If you feel you need them, we should talk!

Babies and toddlers are at particular risk from caffeine, please don't allow them to consume it.

Is organic coffee worth it?

Yes, 100%, coffee is one of the most sprayed crops in the world. The use of fertiliser and pesticides means you get doses of these in your coffee. We don't know the full effects of these on human health yet, but what we do know is that the effect is BAD! Studies show increases in oxidative stress, links to type 2 diabetes, cancers, dementia and more.

Can I drink coffee when I'm pregnant?

This is an under-researched area, as are many pregnancy related topics. In general caffeine has been considered safe in moderation however there is a documented correlation between caffeine intake and health issues for babies, including low birth weight, childhood obesity, miscarriage, stillbirth and childhood acute leukaemia. These findings suggest a dose-response relationship. That said, further research has been unable to replicate findings by reducing caffeine to show favourable effect. It should also be noted that the negative effects could be due to secondary effects such as disturbed sleep or amplified stress levels. Other research also links caffeine to reduced incidence of gestational diabetes and better cardio-metabolic health markers (though these shouldn't be attempted to be managed with caffeine but a holistic health approach).

What the heck do you do with this information? If I were a pregnant mum (which I am not) I would opt for organic decaf during my pregnancy and stay the heck away from energy drinks!

Should I drink coffee while breastfeeding?

This is another under-researched area but negative potential effects of coffee consumption have been with high levels caffeine. Stick to a moderate amount and apply the principles above and there shouldn't be any issues. If you are worried, opt for decaf or having coffee after a feed. If you are a compulsive coffee drinker, this is where you may want to consider switching to decaf or down-regulating your caffeine use, as you may run the risk of decreased calcium absorption. Do not consume energy drinks... they are a poor nutritional choice all round!

What do I do if I can't function without coffee?

If you lack the ability to function optimally without coffee it is a tell tale sign that you're well on your way toward metabolic syndrome - the root cause of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimers, Strokes and a number of the other big killers of today. Book a FREE call and we can discuss how Whole Life Health can set you up with the tools to fire all all cylinders all day, every day so that you can be the best version of yourself for your family!

N.B. - None of the above information is medical advice, please consult with your doctor before making changes to anything you consider related to any health conditions.