By Naomi Abeshouse, Founder & Co-Director Red Tent, Acupuncturist, Herbalist & Doula
It seems there is a lot of confusion around coffee. Is it good for us? Is it healthy because its strong in antioxidants, a powerful medicine, a migraine preventative … Or is it dragging us into its charisma, and punishing us slowly, like an addictive, destructive relationship. When is it a good thing and when is it bad? and how much is ok?
I decided to ask our experts and together tackle the complicated relationship we have with coffee: Is it our friend or enemy?
Read about what our Nutritionist, Osteopath, Acupuncturist, Shiatsu Therapist and Psychotherapist have to say about coffee.
I asked our Nutritionist, Anna-Maria Boelskov, What are the benefits of coffee?
Anna-Maria: Freshly brewed coffee (not instant) contains antioxidant phytochemicals that may help protect the body from cancer and heart disease. Because coffee stimulates the central nervous system and metabolism it can help to improve concentration, reduce the feeling of fatigue and speed up fat metabolism. Used in moderation coffee can provide antioxidants, improve alertness and assist in weight loss.
Naomi: So how much is healthy?
Anna-Maria: Coffee intake should not exceed 3 cups per day. One or two is what I recommend, if you are a keen coffee drinker and only if you are not pregnant.
Naomi: When is it unhealthy?
Anna-Maria: Coffee is a diuretic and in being so it depletes us of our water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C and the B vitamins, especially vitamin B5 – our anti-stress vitamin. It also affects the mineral status of the body by preventing iron absorption and reduces Zinc, Magnesium, Potassium and Calcium levels in the body. All of these are very important nutrients when trying to conceive.
Coffee can also increase the likelihood of pre-term delivery and reduced birth weight. Caffeine readily crosses the placenta into the foetal circulation, which may be dangerous because the foetus is not developed enough to metabolise coffee yet.
I do not recommend the consumption of coffee in pregnancy as it reduces the function of the lower oesophageal sphincter, which may worsen or cause reflux. It also takes twice as long to metabolise caffeine when pregnant.
What Chinese Medicine has to say:
Naomi Abeshouse says:
“As an acupuncturist, I know that coffee has a direct impact on the liver. It is a ‘hot’ herb, and as such, moves energy and with higher doses can scatter our energy and with long term use, will be depleting for our liver yin. But what does that mean? It means that for those of us feeling stagnant, it can temporarily joggle things about and make us feel like we have more energy but its a cheap trick, because it actually ends up depleting our deeper resources. So, basically for us healthy humans, its okay in moderation. But it should best be avoided for those of us who tend to have poor circulation of energy (or liver qi stagnation, with symptoms including PMT, moodiness, depression, anxiety) or have been diagnosed by our chinese doctor with yin deficiency (yin gets depleted with overwork, lack of sleep and extra stress).”
The other thing to watch out for, is that using coffee can shadow other things that are going on – fatigue, tiredness, lethargy, and even depression. It can be a pretty strong stimulant that we crave and self-medicate with when we feel like we just dont have the energy (or ‘qi’) to get through the day. When we step over our bodies signals of tiredness we tap into our deeper resources and deplete ourselves in a way that impacts greatly on our longevity. The longer we avoid listening to our bodies cues, the further we dig ourselves into un-health.”
What our Osteopath, Morgan Langford-Salisbury, thinks about coffee:
“Coffee is an acid forming food which can cause inflammation in the tissues of the body aggravating inflammatory conditions like arthritis and gout, and can also contribute to inflammation in the gut contributing to IBS. If the bowel is irritated it can refer pain to the low back and vice versa through shared nerve pathways so by cutting back on acidic foods like coffee, you may have a positive effect on inflammatory musculoskeletal conditions.
There is a strong, positive correlation between back pain and the lack of adequate water intake (dehydration). This is particularly true for the intervertebral discs. The disc serves as a hydraulic shock absorber and experiences downward pressure when we stand or sit. In order for the disc to function properly it must have an adequate water supply. The water in the disc is retained by specialized molecules that are capable of holding more than 500 times their weight in water. This unique capacity accounts for the disc’s hydrostatic pressure when properly hydrated. A disc that becomes dehydrated loses hydrostatic pressure and cannot support the load placed upon it. When this happens the disc becomes inflamed (swells), causing soreness and pain.
Coffee is a diuretic meaning that it sucks water out of the body tissues. When the tissues aren’t well-hydrated they become more fibrous, less elastic and stiff, and blood and lymph fluid flow becomes stagnate. This means that the cells of the body are not replenished optimally if people don’t counteract coffee’s diuretic effect by drinking more water, and coffee intake is something to consider if you suffer from back pain. Are you drinking an increased amount of water to counteract the diuretic effects coffee has on the body?
Coffee also reduces calcium absorption in the body which may, with chronic use, be a factor associated with decreased bone density.
Lastly, coffee is a stimulant. A lot of us depend on our morning coffee to get us going and energised for the day. One coffee is fine, although increased caffeine intake from coffee can over-stimulate the sympathetic nervous system which controls our fight/flight response. If this part of the nervous system is constantly stimulated it can contribute to increased tension and tightness in the body. So if you suffer from neck and shoulder tension have you considered how much coffee you are consuming? This may play a part in stress-related tension headaches, neck pain and increase symptoms in people who suffer from anxiety.
Food for thought and my thought is that there are more cons than pros.”
And what is the perspective of our Shiatsu therapist, Sue Kyle?
Sue says: “I take a wholisitc view of coffee use which is informed by a macrobiotic/wholefood approach to diet and lifestyle. Coffee has very few benefits. It is made using chemicals and with dangerous pesticides that are harmful to the environment that it is grown in. Coffee is also grown in third world countries for a western market and much of the land that they could be using for their own food is used to grow coffee for the wealthier countries. From a physical perspective, coffee is a stimulant and regular consumption of coffee even as little as 2 cups a day can initiate symptoms such as nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, heart disease, stomach problems and moodiness. As a shiatsu therapist, I can treat these symptoms but only a change in coffee drinking patterns will alleviate them completely. Coffee is best enjoyed on a weekly basis or every now and then but regular daily drinking is really depleting your system and creating more stress in your body which is already dealing with your busy life at maximum capacity.
Sue recommends: “Experiment for yourself – before you have your morning coffee close your eyes for moment and notice how your body feels, notice your breathing and your heartbeat then do the same after you have your coffee – is your breathing different? How about your heartbeat? Experiment with withdrawing coffee from your daily routine and see if it results in more energy or better sleep, better concentration and less moodiness…..try it for yourself and then decide how you want to feel.”
What does our psychotherapist, Michele Haifer, have to say about it?
I asked Michelle: What may be some of the underlying reasons for excessive caffeine intake? How does one get through it?
Michelle says: “If you’re finding that your intake of coffee is excessive and is affecting the way you feel or behave, it may be time to ask yourself some questions that will require some honest answers. “What else am I needing or not addressing in my life right now?” Maybe you’re stressed, feeling anxious, exhausted, needing time out or have ongoing difficulties that are unresolved. The quick coffee fix momentarily makes us feel good and keeps the underlying feelings at bay for a while. The first step is to talk about your concerns with someone to help alleviate the need to self soothe with caffeine. From there other steps can be taken to help you reduce your intake.”