Coffee! Coffee! Coffee! – we all feel like we need it right?
We once heard a statistic that around 400 billion cups of coffee are consumed on the daily! If these numbers are true, that’s definitely something to recognize! Maybe it’s time to debunk some rumors…
So is coffee good or bad? Healthy or unhealthy?
Let’s find out…
Coffee – our simple stance
For the longest time, doctors and health professionals alike have been talking about the adverse effects of drinking coffee – we’ve all heard em’
“It will raise your blood pressure, screw up your heart, give you nasty ulcers, or jack-up your blood sugar.”
The thing is that these little (or big) health issues can be caused by a lot of things, so maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to point our finger at Mr. Coffee. After all, he’s pretty natural (for the most part).
On top of this, as you already know, we strongly advocate balance, and this goes for almost everything involving food and health in general.
Too much can tweak out the body, as with most foods or substances. Even too much water can kill a person! So yea, if you’re chuggin’ dark roast all day long, you’re probably not going to feel all that great. And that’s where most of the problem lays – too many people are simply addicted to coffee!
With that being said, we actually found more info talking about the benefits of coffee over the opposite. And that was kind of a surprise 
“But hold up a second guys, what’s up with that caffeine? Isn’t that S#!T bad for the body anyways?”
Excellent question! Let’s talk about that for a second…
The caffeine factor
Caffeine can be bad, but not always.
You see, caffeine can actually have some not-so-great effects on the body if taken all by itself – pills and junk like that are a perfect example here. We definitely do not recommend taking caffeine pills – that’s for sure!
But check this out…
The awesomeness (antioxidants, bioflavonoids, and vitamins for example) in coffee can, in a sense, offset these harmful caffeinated effects.
What’s cool is that there’s a lot going on in that cup-o-joe, and science is now suggesting that the nutritional benefits are very real and are for sure worth recognizing. So in reality, caffeine can be bad, but not if it’s teamed up with the major players that are in that cup you’re sippin’ from.
But hold your horses!
This doesn’t mean that you need to start drinking gallons of coffee! Remember, BALANCE is always key!
People really do forget these types of things, as “overdoing it” seems to be a common trend these days. So please, be smart…
Another thing we want to note here is that if you have adrenal issues, you must approach coffee with caution, as it can be somewhat damaging to the adrenal glands.
Look at it like this
Think of how carrots can be good for the eyes, but too many will turn you orange. Or how we all need water to live, but over-hydrating can actually kill a person!
It’s all about finding that middle ground!
Make sense? Ok, cool…
“Ok guys, you bring up some valid points here, so does this mean I can still hit up S-Bucks for my favorite drink?”
Well, that really depends; we need to first see what your “favorite drink” consists of…
The “Grande non-fat hazelnut soy whip macchiato with caramel and chocolate topped with sugar and drizzled with more sugar” craze…
Ok, so if this is your drink, you already know what we’re about to say 
You see, these sugary little fluff drinks are not coffee, and nothing about them is actually legit. They’re so unhealthy (mostly because of the sugar, dairy/soy and added ingredients), that people are taking some major health risks by drinking them. And as many of you know by now, we’re not too sweet on sugar issues…
Our take on all this is simple – really!
In other words, keep it black, or don’t drink it!
If you must use some type of creamer, hit up some unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk – both actually taste bomb in coffee
People have gotten lost in a sweetened world of coffee selections that are so nasty, so bad for one’s health, that they have totally forgotten the dangers that it can bring. Once again, sugar has infiltrated and has taken over! lol
Damn you sugar! Why must you be everywhere!
It’s like our salad example we discussed a few weeks ago. Fresh raw organic veggies are all good until people put junk dressings on them. Once that garbage hits the lettuce, almost all benefits are lost, or at least that’s our take on it…
Sad, but very true.
The notable benefits of coffee are very real
One of the best things to note about coffee is how it can pack a strong antioxidant punch, and you know how we feel about added antioxidants – they’re awesome!
So yea, it has some upsides most definitely. But then again, they can have some undesirable downsides – headaches, jitters, and heartburn being some of the big players in all of that. But hey, everybody deals with all of that in his or her own special way. Again, each person is different, so we can’t group everybody together here.
Or maybe you simply don’t like the taste of coffee, it’s all good either way
But check out the cool stuff we found anyway:
Ok, so that’s some pretty positive stuff, you have to at least admit that. And what’s crazy is that we found way more studies promoting coffee than doggin’ it. Just sayin…
Bring on the haters!
Yea, we get it, there are some major coffee haters out there, and that’s totally fine. There are also meat haters, fruit haters, fat haters, and people haters! But none of that matters – because there’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to health.
If you want to drink a little coffee, go ahead, but do it right if you’re looking to improve your health. That’s the take-home message here…we like to keep things simple, you know?
If you’re anti-coffee, that’s fine too! You’re covered on both sides of the equation here.
So what’s the final word here guys?
Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Drink coffee if you want, and if you don’t want to, that’s obviously ok. Either choice is fine, as no avenue is more correct than the next. If your body can handle it, and your drinking it correctly, you got the green light form us!
- Drink it black – keep it simple and clean.
- If you must use creamer, hit up the almond or coconut milk. Natural/organic as much as possible. No junk BS creamers loaded with crap like hydrogenated oils and sugar!
- Organic coffee beans if you can. Don’t stress on this too hard, but do your absolute best in getting’ the good stuff Two extra bucks can put you a step above the rest with some better quality choices.
- Don’t trip on it too much either way! Coffee or not, you’re all good! Drink some in the morning if you feel the need to, but don’t be drinking like 20 cups/day. Keep it balanced friends!
Ohhh, and also to note, we’re totally promoting a neutral stance here, so just because we may think coffee is fine to drink, doesn’t mean we’re taking a bias position with it all. Some can handle it, and some can’t, and that’s the real truth.
Actually, Chris and I differ on this entirely – I (Joey) can have it, and Chris really can’t (for the most part). You see, his body just can’t handle it. Once again, a perfect example of how we’re all different. Another reason why metabolic typing and/or MRT testing are both great tools to use when looking to improve one’s health.
So that’s it ladies and gents.
How do you feel about all of that? Good? Bad? No different? Have your views changed? Remained the same?
We want to know, so drop a comment, and share this if you’re diggin’ it
Also, if you didn’t already know, we have a great FREE eBook on shopping and staying healthy that you can get here. It’s called Supermarket Domination, and it’s quite the read. Definitely pick up your free copy today!
Peace!
- Joey and Chris
P.S: Sources and good articles to read:
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Love this post guys!
Yo fellas, do you you guys have any info on whether or not drinking coffee dehydrates you? I always notice that whenever Im done drinking coffee I always have to go # 1 not too far after. Is that just because Im drinking something, or is coffee really accelerating the rate my kidneys get stuff out of my body? Also my lips seem to get chapped a lot faster when Im sippin on the Joe, Thanks!
What’s up Francisco! Good question man! It’s kind of a controversial topic for some people. Caffeine is thought to be a diuretic which if true, can increase one’s rate of urination. But then some people say it’s not all that bad, so it’s a little grey.
We believe it is linked in to all of that because of the #1 factor – major peeing not long after! And there are also loads of studies out there verifying this to be true. The lip thing could possibly be tied-in with the dehydration factor if you’re drinking too much coffee. Too much of anything can def tweak the body out, so that could be your own individual reaction.
Try this, if you have coffee every day, try upping your intake of water by like 50% to see if anything changes. Then come back and let us know
Ohhh, and try investing in a good organic chap stick – badger makes a good one!
This study below say’s that dehydration is not a player in all of this, so yea man, kinda hard to say. The best tactic is listening to your body and gauging what works best for your specific body type.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16131696
Thanks for the comment dude!