Thoughtful Thursday…Is coffee healthy...? Well, it depends...
Welcome to Thoughtful Thursday. This GreenNote Fitness newsletter mindfully gathers and distills useful information that is supportive to our journey. It is my mission to educate, inspire, and propel you into action that moves you towards your goals and life of purpose. Take control of your journey today.
As lightening flashes and rain falls, my coffee is brewing. The wonderful aroma is filling the house. My morning cup of coffee is so enjoyable. I can enjoy it even more knowing that there are health benefits.
Not all coffee is created equal, however. You see, there are many factors that can not only inhibit the benefits of coffee but could actually be harmful to you.
Let’s take a look at benefits of coffee, what you should know about coffee, and the pure, clean and tasty coffee that I personally drink.
Benefits of coffee
A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that drinking coffee is associated with a longer lifespan and lower risk of death from all causes - but especially from cardiovascular disease and cancer, two of the top five causes of death.
Coffee contains polyphenols, compounds that act as antioxidants, and we know that components in coffee can trigger antioxidant gene expression. Coffee also appears to be anti-inflammatory. Important as a great number of modern diseases are triggered by inflammation and oxidative damage.
Coffee consumption has been linked with higher HDL and lower LDL cholesterol and a reduced risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
Higher coffee and caffeine intake has been associated with significantly reduced incidence of Parkinson’s.
What you should know about coffee
Quality of the beans - should be free of mold and mycotoxins, many leading brands are not.
How coffee is produced - most roasters prioritize profit over purity and cut corners during production to save money. These poor production practices mean that most of the coffees you'll find on store shelves contain toxic substances like mold and pesticides, are over-roasted to mask the flavor of inferior beans, and are rancid and stale by the time they get to your kitchen.
Freshness - coffee that's been sitting for too long will lose both its nutrient profile and all of its flavor.
What good coffee is not:
Filled with packets of sugar or harmful artificial sweeteners like Splenda, NutraSweet, Sweet “N Low. For more information on why artificial sweeteners are harmful, check out Dr. Axe’s article. As a preview, the first sentence in this article reads, “If you haven’t stopped using artificial sweeteners, please do so immediately!”. Yup, not good for ya…
It does not have whipped cream, caramel, chocolate syrup, nor called ‘Frappuccino’ or `Mocha’.
The color of a Cumulus cloud.
Bottom line is if you do have a high-quality coffee, it’s benefits could be offset by adding things to it as those items listed above.
What good coffee is:
Fresh - it is not ground up sitting in a bag.
Free of pesticides, yeast, mold, and other microtoxins
Has antioxidants - Antioxidants are a natural defense mechanism against free radicals that can cause damage to genes, accelerating the aging process and actually leading to cancer and other diseases.
Is the richest source of antioxidants in the American diet
Tastes great
The high-quality coffee I personally drink
I personally enjoy the quality coffee from Kion. It has a wonderful aroma, tastes great, and has higher standards than many of the leading brands.
No other coffee company in the world roasts deliberately for health benefits.
Less than 1% of the world’s coffee producers source beans that are up to the Kion standard.
Kion coffee hits the mark on what a healthy coffee is; free of pesticides, yeast and mold.
This brand contains more antioxidants than other leading brands and has the most antioxidants of any organic coffee. You can see their study here.
You will notice that I have Kion Coffee listed as one of the products that I use. I drink it most every day. There are times, when traveling for example, that I will drink another brand. That’s alright, as I know the majority of the time I’m getting a high-quality coffee with many health benefits including a reduced risk of disease.
How about you? What type of coffee are you drinking?
Would you be against drinking high-quality coffee?
Enjoy your journey,
Lisa Schaffer
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