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I get asked about coffee by patients so often that I thought it was about time to write an article thoroughly examining it from all angles. Unlike stronger recreational drugs, I think the potential drawbacks of coffee are usually fairly mild. But if you endeavor to achieve great health – and especially if you’re struggling with a health problem – it’s worth being honest with yourself about whether coffee is contributing to or detracting from this goal.
What’s Good About Coffee
So many people worldwide depend on coffee to wake them up, get them motivated, make them feel sharp, promote digestion, and even lift them out of mild depression. Is that so bad? Well, depending on your constitution, maybe not.
Scientific research has shown that coffee consumption appears to reduce one’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and colorectal cancer. One constituent that’s especially interesting and abundant in coffee is called chlorogenic acid. Chlorogenic acid is an antioxidant, it seems to slow glucose release after eating (so it may help maintain stable blood sugar), it promotes bile secretion, reduces gallstone formation, maybe reduces the incidence of liver disease, and probably promotes weight loss. Chlorogenic acid is much more abundant in green (unroasted) coffee beans than the roasted ones, which has led to the fad of “green coffee extract” for weight loss.
A drawback of chlorogenic acid is that it may interfere with the absorption of certain minerals – namely zinc and iron – from the intestines. For this reason, it may be best to consume coffee or take green coffee extracts a few hours apart from food. Or consider taking extra zinc (or a multimineral supplement). I don’t generally recommend consuming iron supplements, though, unless you have a known iron deficiency. Incidentally, coffee isn’t the only thing that has the potential to interfere with iron absorption. Many compounds (knows as polyphenols or monomeric flavonoids) can do this, and they’re found in black tea, peppermint, chamomile, chocolate, and other natural foods and drinks.
Due to its flavor, coffee acts as a digestive bitter. Like other bitters, it tends to “activate” the digestive system, stimulating intestinal movement and the production of gastric juices. However, if you add cream and sugar to it – diminishing its bitterness – you probably diminish its value as a digestive stimulant, too.
What’s Bad About Coffee
The energy-boosting, mind-sharpening effects of coffee result from the fact that it’s chock full of vitamins, minerals, and everything else our bodies need for good nutrition. Every cup is like consuming a complete, balanced meal.
Of course, the truth is almost the opposite. Coffee is a stimulant. And we’re stimulant addicts. Let’s just be real about that. The first thing I want to know when a patient tells me about their coffee habit is, “How would you feel without coffee?” If the answer is “tired” or “withdrawn” or “constipated” or anything else unpleasant, then I think it’s worth considering whether or not coffee is the best remedy. There are dozens of possible causes of fatigue, and most of them are not coffee deficiency. These issues are best addressed in a more direct, non-coffee way. If coffee consumption masks them, it means putting off a real solution.
Fatigue: If someone is fatigued because of depletion – and often I think of adrenal depletion (the endocrine glands most directly involved in our stress response) – then coffee is specifically a bad idea. Stimulants just drain these glands of what little energy they have left, and make recovery impossible. Adrenal deficiency can lead to reduced immune function, lightheadedness, sleep problems, anxiety and depression, inflammation, hypoglycemia, and other symptoms. If this sounds like you, see a naturally oriented healthcare provider, and meanwhile, try quitting coffee.
Hypertension: Coffee can raise blood pressure, especially in people who consume a lot of it. Regular coffee drinkers tend to develop some tolerance to this effect.
Digestive Upset: The combination of coffee’s acids, its bitterness, and its strong stimulating effects can cause digestive discomfort, nausea, acid reflux, diarrhea, and exacerbation of ulcers in certain individuals. Those with irritable or inflammatory bowel disorders, ulcers, or GERD should be especially cautious with coffee.
Sleep Problems: Despite our visceral understanding of what coffee does to us, many folks with bad sleep don’t consider that their coffee might be part of the problem. If sleep doesn’t come easily and deeply for you, you should at least avoid coffee after noon. Sometimes even just a morning cuppa is enough to disturb our slumber.
Anxiety: As with insomnia, it shouldn’t be surprising that stimulation can contribute to anxiety. Yet most of my anxious patients consume it and nearly all of them improve when they quit.
If you have insomnia, anxiety, or digestive upset, come up with a scale to evaluate how bad it is, then quit coffee and re-rate it after a couple weeks. When coffee contributes to these problems, it’s due to overstimulation. Frequently, as with adrenal fatigue, there’s a background of “diminished buffer.” It’s like running high voltage electricity through thin wires with not much insulation on them. It’s worthwhile to consider what kind of wiring you have, meaning, how sensitive your nervous system is to stimulation. Thin, stressed, and underslept people tend to be less able than others to handle caffeine and other stimulants well.
Dyslipidemia: Coffee can raise LDL and total cholesterol when consumed in large amounts. However, this may be meaningless in terms of the actual health risk it represents. Also, this effect is thought to be mainly due to chemicals that are very effectively removed with a paper filter.
Inflammation: A 2004 study examined numerous markers of inflammation in the blood of over 3000 Greek men and women. It found that in people who consumed over 200 milliliters of coffee a day (that’s about 6.75 ounces), all indicators of inflammation increased. The funny part is that in their conclusion, they wrote, “A relation exists between moderate-to-high coffee consumption and increased inflammation process.” Moderate-to-high coffee consumption?! Clearly they’ve never been to the United States.
Bone Weakness: High doses seem to be associated with increased osteoporosis and hip fracture in older women.
Dehydration: Coffee is a diuretic – it promotes urination. Medically speaking, sometimes there’s a need for a diuretic, but for most people, this property of coffee just means an increased risk of dehydration. Drink extra water to make up for this effect of coffee.
Pregnancy and Nursing: Coffee, especially in larger amounts, probably slightly impairs fertility in women (perhaps in part by interfering with iron absorption), increases risk of miscarriage, and may contribute to low birth weight. Lots of coffee consumption by nursing mothers may degrade babies’ quality of sleep and make them irritable. Pre-term babies seem to be more affected.
Acrylamides: Roasting coffee produces chemicals called acrylamides which are considered a “probable human carcinogen” by several public health agencies. It may be worthwhile to choose a light or medium roast, which, in my opinion, also produces a better flavor, and is also likely to retain more chlorogenic acid. (Incidentally baking or frying starchy things, such as flour and potatoes, also produces acrylamides, with French fries having the highest content.)
Other Factors to Consider
Dosage: Many of the studies revealing health problems from coffee consumption looked at people who consumed large amounts – like five cups a day. But before you dismiss them because you only have two cups a day, consider that a regular cup of coffee is just 6 ounces. That means your Venti from Starbucks is more than 3 cups. showing negative effects of coffee consumption
Additives: What are you adding to your coffee? It might be worse for you than the coffee. A 16 ounce latte contains about 14 ounces of milk or milk substitute. That’s a lot of milk, especially for an adult. If you use soy milk, keep in mind that it’s bean juice and many people have problems digesting it. If you get your latte from a café, it’s unlikely that they use organic milk or soy, so the soy milk is almost guaranteed to have come from genetically modified beans (and probably also highly sweetened). Dave Asprey, a self-styled “biohacker” advocates the use of “upgraded” mold-free coffee beans to brew your coffee and then, instead of cream and sugar, pureeing this with a combination of butter from grass-fed cows and medium chain triglycerides or coconut oil. Stevia, xylitol, or erythritol can be used as a non-caloric sweetener. He calls it “bulletproof coffee.”
Pesticides: Many coffee producing countries happen to be rather indiscriminate users of agrichemicals, and often the kinds and application of these chemicals are unregulated. Luckily, there are still farmers who grow coffee in the same way they have for generations – all natural. Look for coffee from Yemen, Ethiopia, and Sumatra, or anything that’s certified organic.
Traditional Thinking: Although coffee is widely and indiscriminately consumed by everyone who likes the taste or wants a boost, it may be worth applying the wisdom of traditional medical systems, which tend to view it as more of a medicine than a food. That is, it has specific properties – stimulating, drying, and heating, for example – that make it appropriate only for certain people. Just as one wouldn’t assume that everyone could benefit from an antibiotic, it might be shortsighted to assume that everyone’s body and mind should benefit from coffee.
In conclusion, if you choose to drink coffee, here’s my advice: Consume it in moderation, meaning one or two cups (six to eight ounces each) per day. Remember to rehydrate – drink as much extra water as the volume of coffee you consume. Consider using a paper filter to remove some of the unhealthy constituents. Skip the sugar and minimize the milk/cream. Avoid artificial powdered creamers. Choose clean, good quality, light to medium roast beans. If you use a coffee maker, clean the water reservoir (which harbors bacteria) with vinegar at least once a month. Know how your body and mind respond to it (the big picture, please), and if they don’t like it, respect their wishes.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
[post_title] => Coffee: The Highs and Lows
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Countless medical studies have shown just how dramatically our beliefs influence our health. People who believe they’re getting a new drug or treatment can experience improvements in mood or profound relief from pain – even when they’re in the placebo group. Our beliefs can alter how toxins affect us. And on the “nocebo” side of the equation (a negative placebo effect) we can even generate signs and symptoms of diseases we don’t have.
In one Japanese study, subjects known to have a strong reaction to poison ivy were told that one of their arms was being rubbed with poison ivy. Yikes! But researchers actually touched them with the leaf of a harmless plant. Every participant broke out in a poison-ivy-like rash.
The subjects were told that their other arm would be rubbed with a harmless plant. Instead, the researchers rubbed real poison ivy on them! But only two out of thirteen people had a reaction to it.
We can make ourselves sick and we can make ourselves well. The key is the incredible power of belief. It’s been thoroughly and indisputably proven, yet few people consciously exploit this magic on a regular basis. I’d like to change that.
As a start, I suggest we practice observing positive belief every time we put something into our bodies.
When you eat, try getting yourself mentally and emotionally enrolled in a positive expectation about how you’ll be affected by it. Admire the food. Tell yourself it’s going to be deeply nourishing. Your body is going to efficiently extract the nutrients and deliver them to all your tissues. It’s totally reasonable to expect that it will support clear thinking, high energy and mental calm, glowing skin, efficient digestion, optimal organ function, strong immunity, etc.
For best results I recommend building your expectations for a minute at the beginning of the meal, remembering this from time to time during the meal, and then happily anticipating the benefits after the meal.
You might even try bringing your attention inward, visualizing the nutrients being absorbed through your intestines and flowing into all of your cells, and telling yourself, “I allow myself to receive the fullest, most complete health benefit from this food” – or whatever words feel natural to you.
What happens when you say to yourself or a dining partner, “I feel really good from this food. My body thrives on good food. I can already tell that this meal is exactly what I needed”?
This should be even easier to do with supplements, herbs, and drugs, since you’re consuming them with a specific healing purpose and outcome in mind. Don’t forget it. Tell yourself as you swallow them (or apply them, if topical) that they’re going to do what they’re intended to do, that they’re perfectly compatible with your body, that the benefits are already starting (whether you can feel it or not).
If you make a practice of priming yourself to expect good things you’re significantly more likely to experience good things, to notice the good things, and to be grateful for them.
Be well,
Peter
[post_title] => Expect Good Things: A Practice for Getting the Most Out of Food, Medicines, and Supplements
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[post_content] => Many traditional systems of medicine consider our digestion and nutrition to be central to the maintenance of health and (when imbalanced) the development of disease. If you look up almost any health problem in a textbook of Chinese Medicine, one of the possible causes will nearly always be “improper intake of food and drink.” This covers a lot of things - eating too fast, consuming very cold drinks, overeating, eating the wrong kinds of foods for one’s constitution, skipping meals, eating while upset, and more.
I appreciate that Chinese Medicine explains the origin of health problems in this way, because it highlights the most fundamental issue - and shows us the way to get the maximum results by changing our behavior. Whereas someone suffering from acid reflux (heartburn) might simply take an acid-blocking drug and think that’s the end of it, such an approach would not get to the real cause – which might be a food sensitivity, overeating, eating too fast, a structural imbalance, stress, or something else. Addressing the cause is better medicine; anything else is just a band-aid.
While “improper intake of food and drink” is a very common root cause of health problems, I think we can actually go one step deeper. If we’re eating and drinking in a way that is damaging to our health, much of the time
we know this, but there’s a mental disconnection occurring. The disconnection takes one of two forms – a split within the mind, or a split between the mind and body.
When the mind is split, we allow ourselves to ignore what we know to be true. We might do this consciously, such as in telling ourselves, “I know I shouldn’t eat this whole container of ice cream, but I had a really bad day.” Eating the whole container of ice cream is harmful to us and we know it, but we justify it with a belief that having done something good or endured something bad entitles us to this indulgence. We may also do it unconsciously, by simply avoiding thinking about how our eating choices are likely to affect us. In either case, there’s a part of us that knows how to care for our body properly, and another part that pretends not to know. Playing this game never feels good.
When the mind and body are disconnected, we tune out the feedback we get from our body during and after eating. It is this split that allows us to overeat, to eat too fast. All bodies give clear negative signals when we do this. When we don’t pay attention to how our body responds to different foods and ways of eating, we miss out on valuable physical information. Not only does our body tell us when we’ve eaten in a manner that it dislikes, it also tells us when we’re treating it well. Unfortunately, the concept of “listening to your body” strikes many as some kind of kooky New Age practice. I would guess that the great majority of modern humans ignore all but the most dramatic messages from their bodies.
A good way to start healing these disconnections is through a practice of doing nothing but eating for one meal each day. Engaging in other activities while eating makes it easy for our consciousness to stray from the vital and enjoyable act at hand. It’s hard enough for many of us to eat consciously even when it’s the only thing we are doing. Why complicate it by trying to multitask while eating?
Relax your mind: let go of worries before you start a meal. If this is hard to do, try making a deal with yourself – tell yourself you can worry all you want at a later time in the day and put it in your calendar. Turn off the TV, put away reading material, keep conversation minimal and light, and turn off any music (or keep it soft and light). Relax your body: no driving, standing, or walking while eating, and no exercise for at least half an hour after eating.
Try to keep a portion of your attention (like ten percent) on how your body feels before, during, and after the meal. With practice, we can learn to perceive which foods our body likes and dislikes - often from the moment they touch our tongue. As we stay connected to our body, it becomes harder to eat more than our body wants. Think like an Okinawan. They are some of the longest lived people on the planet and they embrace a practice called Hara Hachi Bu, which means, "eat only until you're 80 percent full." You'll feel lighter and more energized as you leave the table.
Emotions can strongly affect our digestion and the ability to stay focused on the act of eating. The nervous system is densely “wired” into the digestive tract. It’s why so many people experience nausea, appetite changes, diarrhea, constipation, or other forms of digestive upset when they’re stressed. The
sympathetic division of the nervous system excites us, it raises our level of arousal, and it’s responsible for the “fight or flight” survival mechanism. When the sympathetic nervous system is activated – whether or not we’re in actual danger – blood is diverted away from the digestive tract (because digestion is less important to our immediate survival) and is sent instead to our lungs, heart, and sense organs. For this reason, thinking about the bills we need to pay, a recent conflict, or politics is best saved for a time other than during or just after a meal.
Another reason to avoid being unsettled or engaged in other activities while eating is that it degrades something that should be a thoroughly enjoyable event. The frequency with which we do it doesn’t make eating any less special an act. When we eat, we are doing for ourselves what our mother did for us in the womb, and then while cradled in her arms. Later, she or another family member cooked meals for us and offered them with love. Eating reconnects us to these deep memories of being nourished and engaged with family. We put life-giving sustenance into our bodies and it keeps us alive; it makes us feel good; it gives us energy; it physically connects us with the earth, sun, plants and animals. So, when we eat while talking on the phone, while driving, or while working, we
miss out on something important – a level of sustenance that goes beyond the food itself.
Why not try this week to have one meal of
just eating each day?
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
Want to know more?
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I get asked about coffee by patients so often that I thought it was about time to write an article thoroughly examining it from all angles. Unlike stronger recreational drugs, I think the potential drawbacks of coffee are usually fairly mild. But if you endeavor to achieve great health – and especially if you’re struggling with a health problem – it’s worth being honest with yourself about whether coffee is contributing to or detracting from this goal.
What’s Good About Coffee
So many people worldwide depend on coffee to wake them up, get them motivated, make them feel sharp, promote digestion, and even lift them out of mild depression. Is that so bad? Well, depending on your constitution, maybe not.
Scientific research has shown that coffee consumption appears to reduce one’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and colorectal cancer. One constituent that’s especially interesting and abundant in coffee is called chlorogenic acid. Chlorogenic acid is an antioxidant, it seems to slow glucose release after eating (so it may help maintain stable blood sugar), it promotes bile secretion, reduces gallstone formation, maybe reduces the incidence of liver disease, and probably promotes weight loss. Chlorogenic acid is much more abundant in green (unroasted) coffee beans than the roasted ones, which has led to the fad of “green coffee extract” for weight loss.
A drawback of chlorogenic acid is that it may interfere with the absorption of certain minerals – namely zinc and iron – from the intestines. For this reason, it may be best to consume coffee or take green coffee extracts a few hours apart from food. Or consider taking extra zinc (or a multimineral supplement). I don’t generally recommend consuming iron supplements, though, unless you have a known iron deficiency. Incidentally, coffee isn’t the only thing that has the potential to interfere with iron absorption. Many compounds (knows as polyphenols or monomeric flavonoids) can do this, and they’re found in black tea, peppermint, chamomile, chocolate, and other natural foods and drinks.
Due to its flavor, coffee acts as a digestive bitter. Like other bitters, it tends to “activate” the digestive system, stimulating intestinal movement and the production of gastric juices. However, if you add cream and sugar to it – diminishing its bitterness – you probably diminish its value as a digestive stimulant, too.
What’s Bad About Coffee
The energy-boosting, mind-sharpening effects of coffee result from the fact that it’s chock full of vitamins, minerals, and everything else our bodies need for good nutrition. Every cup is like consuming a complete, balanced meal.
Of course, the truth is almost the opposite. Coffee is a stimulant. And we’re stimulant addicts. Let’s just be real about that. The first thing I want to know when a patient tells me about their coffee habit is, “How would you feel without coffee?” If the answer is “tired” or “withdrawn” or “constipated” or anything else unpleasant, then I think it’s worth considering whether or not coffee is the best remedy. There are dozens of possible causes of fatigue, and most of them are not coffee deficiency. These issues are best addressed in a more direct, non-coffee way. If coffee consumption masks them, it means putting off a real solution.
Fatigue: If someone is fatigued because of depletion – and often I think of adrenal depletion (the endocrine glands most directly involved in our stress response) – then coffee is specifically a bad idea. Stimulants just drain these glands of what little energy they have left, and make recovery impossible. Adrenal deficiency can lead to reduced immune function, lightheadedness, sleep problems, anxiety and depression, inflammation, hypoglycemia, and other symptoms. If this sounds like you, see a naturally oriented healthcare provider, and meanwhile, try quitting coffee.
Hypertension: Coffee can raise blood pressure, especially in people who consume a lot of it. Regular coffee drinkers tend to develop some tolerance to this effect.
Digestive Upset: The combination of coffee’s acids, its bitterness, and its strong stimulating effects can cause digestive discomfort, nausea, acid reflux, diarrhea, and exacerbation of ulcers in certain individuals. Those with irritable or inflammatory bowel disorders, ulcers, or GERD should be especially cautious with coffee.
Sleep Problems: Despite our visceral understanding of what coffee does to us, many folks with bad sleep don’t consider that their coffee might be part of the problem. If sleep doesn’t come easily and deeply for you, you should at least avoid coffee after noon. Sometimes even just a morning cuppa is enough to disturb our slumber.
Anxiety: As with insomnia, it shouldn’t be surprising that stimulation can contribute to anxiety. Yet most of my anxious patients consume it and nearly all of them improve when they quit.
If you have insomnia, anxiety, or digestive upset, come up with a scale to evaluate how bad it is, then quit coffee and re-rate it after a couple weeks. When coffee contributes to these problems, it’s due to overstimulation. Frequently, as with adrenal fatigue, there’s a background of “diminished buffer.” It’s like running high voltage electricity through thin wires with not much insulation on them. It’s worthwhile to consider what kind of wiring you have, meaning, how sensitive your nervous system is to stimulation. Thin, stressed, and underslept people tend to be less able than others to handle caffeine and other stimulants well.
Dyslipidemia: Coffee can raise LDL and total cholesterol when consumed in large amounts. However, this may be meaningless in terms of the actual health risk it represents. Also, this effect is thought to be mainly due to chemicals that are very effectively removed with a paper filter.
Inflammation: A 2004 study examined numerous markers of inflammation in the blood of over 3000 Greek men and women. It found that in people who consumed over 200 milliliters of coffee a day (that’s about 6.75 ounces), all indicators of inflammation increased. The funny part is that in their conclusion, they wrote, “A relation exists between moderate-to-high coffee consumption and increased inflammation process.” Moderate-to-high coffee consumption?! Clearly they’ve never been to the United States.
Bone Weakness: High doses seem to be associated with increased osteoporosis and hip fracture in older women.
Dehydration: Coffee is a diuretic – it promotes urination. Medically speaking, sometimes there’s a need for a diuretic, but for most people, this property of coffee just means an increased risk of dehydration. Drink extra water to make up for this effect of coffee.
Pregnancy and Nursing: Coffee, especially in larger amounts, probably slightly impairs fertility in women (perhaps in part by interfering with iron absorption), increases risk of miscarriage, and may contribute to low birth weight. Lots of coffee consumption by nursing mothers may degrade babies’ quality of sleep and make them irritable. Pre-term babies seem to be more affected.
Acrylamides: Roasting coffee produces chemicals called acrylamides which are considered a “probable human carcinogen” by several public health agencies. It may be worthwhile to choose a light or medium roast, which, in my opinion, also produces a better flavor, and is also likely to retain more chlorogenic acid. (Incidentally baking or frying starchy things, such as flour and potatoes, also produces acrylamides, with French fries having the highest content.)
Other Factors to Consider
Dosage: Many of the studies revealing health problems from coffee consumption looked at people who consumed large amounts – like five cups a day. But before you dismiss them because you only have two cups a day, consider that a regular cup of coffee is just 6 ounces. That means your Venti from Starbucks is more than 3 cups. showing negative effects of coffee consumption
Additives: What are you adding to your coffee? It might be worse for you than the coffee. A 16 ounce latte contains about 14 ounces of milk or milk substitute. That’s a lot of milk, especially for an adult. If you use soy milk, keep in mind that it’s bean juice and many people have problems digesting it. If you get your latte from a café, it’s unlikely that they use organic milk or soy, so the soy milk is almost guaranteed to have come from genetically modified beans (and probably also highly sweetened). Dave Asprey, a self-styled “biohacker” advocates the use of “upgraded” mold-free coffee beans to brew your coffee and then, instead of cream and sugar, pureeing this with a combination of butter from grass-fed cows and medium chain triglycerides or coconut oil. Stevia, xylitol, or erythritol can be used as a non-caloric sweetener. He calls it “bulletproof coffee.”
Pesticides: Many coffee producing countries happen to be rather indiscriminate users of agrichemicals, and often the kinds and application of these chemicals are unregulated. Luckily, there are still farmers who grow coffee in the same way they have for generations – all natural. Look for coffee from Yemen, Ethiopia, and Sumatra, or anything that’s certified organic.
Traditional Thinking: Although coffee is widely and indiscriminately consumed by everyone who likes the taste or wants a boost, it may be worth applying the wisdom of traditional medical systems, which tend to view it as more of a medicine than a food. That is, it has specific properties – stimulating, drying, and heating, for example – that make it appropriate only for certain people. Just as one wouldn’t assume that everyone could benefit from an antibiotic, it might be shortsighted to assume that everyone’s body and mind should benefit from coffee.
In conclusion, if you choose to drink coffee, here’s my advice: Consume it in moderation, meaning one or two cups (six to eight ounces each) per day. Remember to rehydrate – drink as much extra water as the volume of coffee you consume. Consider using a paper filter to remove some of the unhealthy constituents. Skip the sugar and minimize the milk/cream. Avoid artificial powdered creamers. Choose clean, good quality, light to medium roast beans. If you use a coffee maker, clean the water reservoir (which harbors bacteria) with vinegar at least once a month. Know how your body and mind respond to it (the big picture, please), and if they don’t like it, respect their wishes.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
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Seems the moral of the story is balance. As you stated “One of those impacts is that meat production – in the prevailing manner and scale – is devastating to the planet.” When did extremism become the health fad? All veggies, all meat, all fat? You speak often of balance in emotion and physicality. It appears to me this too should be practiced in our food consumption.
Wow this is an amazing article! This sums up so much of my own inquires and journey around eating meat. In my ideal world (and in my heart) I would love to be a vegetarian and not eat animals. I look into the eyes of my dog, Honey every day and think how could I feel so much love for this animal but turn my head to the killing and suffering of other animals happening so people like me can eat meat? But I’m allergic to eggs and dairy, so vegetarian automatically means vegan for me. And I’ve found myself to be someone who’s health suffers when I go this route. I’ve also wondered if I’m just not “doing vegan right” and if there’s more that I can experiment with along those lines….Looking forward to the next article.
Thank you for this. I have followed a similar trajectory. Last spring I began eating meat after many years. I noticed an immediate increase in energy and focus. I believe my body NEEDS animal protien. I make a point to only eat locally sourced, humanely raised meats. In addition to being more humane they really do pack more of an energy boost for me. I am now needing to “come out” to my vegetarian and vegan friends.
My mother was put on a strict vegan diet by her doctor, in her fifties for her cholesterol and heart health. Cardiovascular disease runs in my family with my grandfather, her father, dying at age 40 from a massive heart attack. He was otherwise fit and slim- it was a shock to everyone. I feel that I have no choice but to give up meat. I wish I was one of the lucky ones with great genes but meat has been linked to increased cholesterol, blood pressure, and clogged arteries. So that needs to be addressed, too. Especially for the many with family history. There is a book, I can’t remember what it’s called, that actually argues cardiovascular disease is a food borne illness due to aninal consumption. I’d like an article that looks at that side of subject if possible.
I don’t think it is acceptable to treat large herbivores who know pain and fear like we do. In fact, I cringe inwardly every time I see a cattle truck in the highway. It is also a tragedy to the environment. I personally will not go back to meat eating.
I, too, do not like meat; taste, texture or especially the ground meat and the chance of chewing on something that doesn’t feel like meat – yuck. Because of that, I became a vegetarian over 20 years ago. Not being educated enough and having support from family at home – I gained weight, found if difficult to plan meals besides pasta “something” – I failed to continue vegetarian.
Now, five years ago I really researched, was educated on the animal cruelty in the agriculture industry. I went vegetarian which still included egg and dairy. I still did not feel good about eating egg and dairy, I became vegan. I never really liked eggs or cheese anyway. When I stopped dairy my bloating went away and my stomach flattened. I assumed to be lactose intolerant. I felt so good, lost 30 lbs, looked younger and healthy, and also took the right supplements. I ate foods I enjoyed. I thought I would never change my lifestyle.
Well things changed again. A new relationship, where they consume A LOT of dairy, sweets, and some meat. I now again eat some cheese and some dairy. Each time I feel physically terrible; bloated, heavy and I also feel bad just knowing I renigged on my own morals about cruelty. Now, I at least got them to compromise to pescatarian meals.
In the end, I am going back to vegan regardless. I enjoy that the best. By body responds the best. Some folks just do better on certain diets.
Thank you for your article. I am looking forward to your pros and cons opinion next week.
I was a vegetarian for years in the late 80’s and early 90’s because of the ethical ramifications. When I became pregnant with my first child, I craved meat to the point of distraction. After a month of these cravings, I caved. I look at it this way, my body knows what it needs in order to function. Does me craving that cream filled donut constitute a need? No because it is fleeting. I was craving meat so intensely that I could not concentrate. I felt guilty for doing it but knew it was a necessary evil at that time, or at least I thought so. After birth, I returned to vegetarianism and breastfeed successfully. My oldest two daughters are vegetarians now with their two younger sisters starting on the path now and I follow basically a Mediterranean lifestyle. I do eat some meats on the rare occasion but rarely. It’s what works for me and my family. Maybe we all need to just do what works for us, our families and our lifestyles in order to be happy and healthy.
If you do choose to eat meat, there are local, sustainable options. When eating out, you may not have these options. Ask where your ingredients come from. Choose vegetarian if that feels like the best option.
Once, I asked a server where the fish was from. The reply: Sysco.
Thanks for this article. My journey as a vegetarian started at 19, shunning meat simply because our butcher, at the time, convinced my roommate and it was far more cost effective for us on college budgets to buy a whole side of an animal and have him dole it out to us when we wanted it. After consuming All that meat over a period of a couple of months, we simply turned our back on meat, having essentially overdosed on it. Next it became a bit of a crusade for me, then a “religious” and health decision that resulted in raising four children, now adults, all vegetarians. Of the four, two now eat meat, one remains a vegetarian, and one is a vigilanté vegan. I have remained a lacto-ovo vegetarian at 70, have enjoyed good health ( including fast and sometimes miraculous healing), upon occasion order the chicken special without the chicken ( with less perplexed looks from wait staff than years ago), and, having read about the studies on the longevity and healthy lifestyle of the Japanese and Seventh Day Adventist who are/were vegetarians, probably will remain one.
It would be disingenuous of me to not share my experience and ever growing thoughts on the subject.
To keep it brief, every choice has an impact. Agricultural based fueling is not without negative impacts on the environment, social justice, and the human body. I was a vegetarian for twenty years, and some of those years I followed a rigorous vegan diet and lifestyle. When pregnant, my body overrode my brain based choices. Meat and animal products were mandated by my body and the creation of another human being. I was horrified to discover what my body and growing child demanded for fuel. I gave in to what my body demonstrated as prefered sources of protein.
In the past two years, I witnessed three relatives perish and pass while on meatless diets. All three were brutal deaths.
And, now, journeying out of my fertility years, returning to consuming meat has saved me from disorganized thinking and physical manifestations of exhaustion and other dysfunctional coping that are fuel related.
I am disturbed by the idea that the conversation offered appears to be without mention of the overall impacts of fueling the population as a whole. I would suggest that population impacts the environment in a more rigorous manner than meat consumption. There is no escape from the impact of food sources and the best we may do is be mindful in our practice of living.
Good point, feeding the masses is a large part of the problem. Furthermore mass agricultural practices are as harmful to the environment as mass meat production.
This is an interesting and confusing conundrum that it seems many people are facing right now. I am looking forward to the next installment. There seems to be conflicting information about whether meat (and animal products in general) are good for you, bad for you, or if it’s more about balance. I do wonder however, if meat raised in a more natural, humane way (pastured, grass-fed, cage-free, etc) is better for us than regular mass-produced meat…it’s certainly better for the livestock animals. This possibility is something I don’t really see much in this sort of discussion.
I always knew that someday I would becomes a vegatarian. During my ministry training, I heard the inner prompt and knew that it was time. I have always “heard” animals so it was a logical next step on my path. As a professional intuitive and practicing shaman, it is essential to my peace that I am in harmony with nature.
After 17 years, I did the Virgin Diet and found that my inflammation was the result of eggs and dairy. It was shocking to discover how deeply my soul, spirit and intuition were impacted by the change to veganism. I could “smell” how animal products were affecting people. Thankfully, I learned to turn that awareness down! However, I can still “feel” how someone’s diet impacts their vibration.
I have decided that my life cannot be dependent upon the death or suffering of animals.
We still have a long way to go before our food production positively impacts the earth. I am dedicated to organic plant sources. If the animals are honored, a vegatarian diet is an honorable path. However, I cannot comprehend how humans can justify eating animals at this point in our evolution.
If we are to heal this plant and actualize our true potential, we will need to increase our vibrational awareness and harmonize our individual frequencies.
I understand that there are many sides to every story♡
Very interesting topic. Can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it. Pardon me whilst I ramble a bit. 🙂
I didn’t like meat very much as a kid and became vegetarian around the mid-90’s after I couldn’t keep meat down during my pregnancies. But I often cooked meat for my ex-husband and kids, I just didn’t put it on my plate or ate a very small serving. Getting my family to let go of the meat after “declaring” I was vegetarian caused a lot of stress, and the pediatrician fussed at me, even though I was providing other proteins for my kids. Then we moved to Japan. You’re very right about the Asian attitude toward meat being a wealth thing, rather than a health or animal-compassion thing. While living there, I chose to return to eating meat for a few reasons.
1) I wanted to fully enjoy my experience living in Japan, so I wanted to try things like sushi, sashimi, takoyaki, nikuyaki, donkatsu, etc. A big chunk of cultural texture is lost if you’re unwilling to eat local foods when you travel, attend festivals, or visit friends.
2) I wanted to respect my Japanese hosts and be a grateful guest, rather than a picky eater. One of the reasons people started to look sideways at vegetarians in the 90’s in America is because it turned into a religion … because everything in American culture comes down to politics and religion, which is why we are SO divided. Vegans preached at carnivores about being disgusting, and carnivores mocked vegetarians for being “crunchy” tree-huggers, etc. I didn’t want to be “that American” if I was offered sushi. Because I saw plenty of scrunched-up “ick” faces on other Americans while living in Japan, and once a group of tourists even loudly complained about Japanese food while on a Japanese tour bus. I know the bus driver and tour guide understood them. More Japanese people understand English than can speak it well, so there was no way they didn’t hear that. It’s just RUDE.
3) I was in a place where availability was different. Seaweed was abundant, but things like nutritional yeast … not so much. Soy milk is a very different thing in Japan, too. And while my Nihongo reading skills were okay, examining labels to make sure there was no animal product in something became a tedious, difficult labor. Either I had to order and pay more for shipping American foods overseas, or I learned to cook something without the American “health food” ingredients.
4) Going back to family issues … I gave up. It was too much stress. I decided that, like with my Japanese friends and contacts, putting food preferences before relationships was wrong.
Returning to meat didn’t mean I ate it every night. I still wasn’t crazy about it. I served meat dishes only once a week or had it only when we ate out. My sensei and friend and I discussed this once because she was surprised to hear I was a vegetarian in the States, and she didn’t understand American meat consumption in the first place. She said she was shocked to see how much meat some of her other American friends consumed. She held out her hand, palm open, and pointed to it, saying something like, “A chicken breast this big can feed a Japanese family of four. Yet Americans eat one chicken breast each … at every meal!” She was genuinely astonished and confused. And after being vegetarian and going back to meat, I realized I consumed meat probably a lot like how she would have cooked it. One or two chicken breasts is more than enough to add to a stir-fry or soup or curry because the rest of the meal is loaded with veggies and rice.
I now cook meat maybe once every few weeks, and it may last me for a few meals because I live alone these days. But it almost always is a small part of a variety dish (soups, stews, etc.). Otherwise, I love nuts and beans and drink almond and soy milks. I eat eggs. I even bought some takoyaki from Uwajimaya on my last trip to Seattle. 🙂 But it’s very difficult for me to eat a slab of meat as such all by itself because I just don’t like it that much.
Also, my Japanese friend said that Buddhist monks don’t eat meat because of their high regard for life, and, historically, butchers used to be considered very low-class in Japanese society when Buddhism had a lot of influence over the government for that same reason. (Mixing religion and politics tends to influence a civilization’s social status hierarchy. So if the religion has dietary restrictions, which then become law, people outside of that religion become viewed as lower class, and might risk breaking the law by choosing to eat differently.) … But that’s definitely not the case nowadays. In modern Japan, meat is both viewed as a luxury treat and more commonly consumed. Eggs and seafood are consumed more regularly for protein, then chicken and pork, with beef being on top of the list. But they eat more western foods now, too. So fast food, spaghetti dinners, and French pastries are loved, but are often adjusted to Japanese tastes, like McDonald’s offering a tsuki-mi burger during Moon Viewing season in late summer (this is a chicken patty with a moon-like fried egg, teriyaki sauce, and lettuce), or pizza being served with sea urchins. 🙂 All countries alter foreign foods to suit their local palettes, but western foods (fast food in particular) are closely tied to increased meat consumption in Japan. (And, sadly, rising rates of obesity.)
Okay, done with long ramble. 🙂 I usually don’t have much to say, and you probably don’t need any more feedback on Asian nutrition habits; I enrolled with your on-line nutrition course a couple of years ago, and loved it. I just suspect my experiences with going from a vegetarian American food culture to a meat-eating Asian food culture will confirm much of what you say for this discussion. If not, I’m curious about where it differs. Either way, I look forward to hearing more. ^_^
I don’t think that it is possible to humanely raise animals who are killed for their meat. I think that people are kidding themselves by saying that the manner in which a sentient being is raised makes the difference. The being is eventually murdered for his or her body. End of story. That’s why I don’t eat meat. I will take a b-12 and any other vitamin necessary to protect my health, but I consider it a moral responsibility to be a vegetarian/vegan.
Dr. Peter,
I too am confused on this, a proclaimed vegetarian at 10, scant meat eater again at 15. Whole 30 survivor and was a straight carnivor. I am matriculated in acupuncture school, which brings up a whole new set of “rules”. But I think the problem is with the system- the over production, the disconnect from how our food gets to our plate. Also the extensive noise around what and when and how we should eat with the excessive new diet, widget, or trend is exhausting. I appreciate your forum to discuss this.
I have to agree with you that a part of the problem is the disconnect from how our food gets to our plate. I may be shunned by many people posting on this blog, but I have chosen to live a lifestyle that brings me up close and personal to the food I am eating. I have a large garden and preserve as much food as I can in addition to hunting animals. It has been a life changing experience for me to get into hunting and I believe that being able to kill the animal I plan to eat brings a whole new meaning to fueling my body. My boyfriend and I have a goal to only eat hunted meat and participate as little as possible in purchasing meat from factory farms. My body suffers without meat and in the act of spending months in search of an animal I become in tune with what it means to harvest one and use it to fuel my body.
On another note, I believe that vegan and vegetarian diets may be just as bad for the environment as a meat based one. Typically these diets include or require unique foods/supplements that are from far away places and cannot be produced locally. The amount of energy it takes to produce and transport these products can be astronomical. Possibly eating whatever foods can be locally grown might be the best option if the environment is the focus for your food choices. I look forward to further discussion on this topic, thank you Peter Borten
Next month (early Feb.) I will be 78 years old, and I have been a vegetarian / sometimes pescetarian since the early ’70’s (1972, I believe). The reason I stopped eating meat was when I lived in Malibu, CA, and rode through Topanga Canyon to go to work in “the valley) as a sales rep. for Amtrak. Every morning when I drove across the mountain, I passed this little “hippie” farm, with lots of animals running around, and they had a big, huge sign up that said, “Love animals; don’t eat them”. For a while, it would make me angry every time I saw that sign. Then one morning I asked myself, “Why do I get so angry every time I read that sign?!” It then became clear to me that it was because I had a guilty conscience for eating meat. I knew I loved all animals, not just dogs and cats, so when I took a look at what happens to these animals when they are killed, that did it for me. I became a vegetarian and haven’t had meat since, except for some seafood, and ya know what? I haven’t missed it at all! Back then, it was harder because the restaurants didn’t offer many vegetarian options, but now it is so easy, as there are many other choices on menus other than meat entrees. I try not to eat too many diary products, but cheese is just one of those things I can’t give up. Now though, I look at the cheeses in the markets, and many are marked as having vegetarian rennet (Tillamook in the NW, for one example, and most cheeses are labeled now if they are non-meat rennet). Also, when I buy eggs, Zupan’s, Whole Foods and probably some other markets offer eggs that are not just “cage free”, but are free range (at a higher price of course, but worth it). I have never had any health problems in all those years because of being a vegetarian. I think it is up to each individual for the choices they make, but I am at a comfort level being vegetarian/part pechetarian. I have very high respect for people who are totally vegan; I’m just not there, yet. I will say to all vegetarians and vegans, there was a GREAT cookbook out years ago, called “The Cookbook For People Who Love Animals”. I have had that book for DECADES, and it is still one of my favorite books. I look at it more as a book of poetry rather than a cookbook. It is a statement of love, peace, and higher consciousness” to quote the Vancouver Island Vegetarian Assoc.). It is still out there under used books (Powell’s City of Books, for example). All through the book there are poem, quotes and essays from famous vegetarians such Henry David Thoreau, Saint Francis, Leonardo sa Vinci, Mahatma Gandhi, Henry W. Longfellow, Tagore, Count Leo Tolstoy, George Bernard Shaw, and many more. It is so inspiring; a really lovely book, and I think all vegetarians and vegans would love it. Thank you, Dr. Peter Borten, for you interesting and inspiring articles. Wishing everyone the best!
P.S.: Ooops! Please excuse the typo errors; also a mistake on age (I’ll be 76, not 78). Thanks!
Tricia