The Truth About Coffee
by the naysayer, Jacob and the procoffee superwoman, Juliann
Jacob AND Juliann here, team. Coffee has been a topic of debate in our household for the last few months. Not sure if anyone is aware, but for several months I was struggling with dizzy spells and exhaustion. I know how important it is to always follow up with your doctor when you are feeling off, so of course I followed up with my primary care doctor and endocrinologist. I had a series of bloodwork done, an EKG and I wore a heart monitor for two weeks. Thank God, everything came back totally normal. I have always taken an investment in my wellness and I was determined to figure out the root cause of my dizzy spells.
Tapping into my trainer mindset, I decided it would be a good idea to take note of my daily habits and make changes. Here comes in, coffee. I was never someone who looked forward to coffee every day. I started indulging when I was waking up before 4:00am to drive over an hour away to the gyms I was working at. I started to go for coffee even around 5:00pm right before my 5:30pm classes just to give me that extra boost. I found it extremely hard to fall asleep and the dizzy spells were out of control. I decided to take a break from coffee to see if it would help. I have to admit, it helped tremendously. No more dizzy spells, and while I still feel tired sometimes (two small kids will do that to you), I don’t completely crash like I was doing before. Juliann noticed that when she was pregnant with Jake and cut coffee out completely, that her anxiety levels lightened and her overall energy throughout the day was better.
Breakdown of what we noticed during our time without coffee:
no more dizzy spells
no more crashing midday
lessened anxiety
better mood level
no more sleeplessness
According to nutritionist, Kelly Leveque, "being too caffeinated has a negative impact on mood, food choices and impulsive behavior." Strange that I feel more overall energy throughout the day WITHOUT something that will give you a strong spike of energy, then leave you feeling just as tired as when that alarm goes off.
I am not saying coffee is terrible all together, team. There is research that points to great benefits of coffee:
contains B vitamins, potassium, magnesium, manganese
studies actually show it reduces risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia
increases fat burning
makes you less likely to die of a stroke, heart disease and diabetes
What I am saying here is that if you notice you are relying on your coffee to get you through your day, you may want to take a deeper look into it. Is it really helping you or are you crashing and feeling more impulsive? Do you feel like you’re constantly fighting off hunger and sugar cravings? Do you struggle to fall asleep at night, or suffer from headaches? If you answered yes to any of those questions, I urge you to try the 30 day no coffee challenge. I think you would be shocked to see how you feel at the end of it. You want to fuel your body with nutrient-dense meals so that your body is getting energy from the foods you eat, your sleep and your daily activity, NOT a cup of java.
If you are a die-hard coffee drinker but are open to trying out some different options, I would suggest Four Sigmatic - their organic coffee is combined with Chaga mushrooms to optimize brain function and keep you from those dreaded caffeine crashes or jitters. Also, be mindful of the brands you are purchasing. A lot of brands contain an insane amount of chemicals. The quality of coffee can vary greatly depending on the processing method and how the coffee beans were grown. Coffee beans tend to be sprayed with synthetic pesticides and other chemicals that were never intended for human consumption. Consider buying organic coffee beans - they should contain much lower amounts of synthetic pesticides. I provided some suggestions below - with that said, I still urge you to give coffee a 30 day break and see how you do. I bet you would be pretty surprised at the outcome.
Organic coffee, combined with Chaga mushrooms to optimize brain function and keep you from those dreaded caffeine crashes or jitters.
Each bean is grown under the UTZ certification and Rainforest alliance protocols for sustainability and natural growing practices. They are hand picked, only when ripe, and wet-processed for drying. This process produces the highest quality, dried beans for roasting. It preserves the natural flavors and nutrients while cleaning the beans from the fruit and preventing molding and bitterness.
Organic coffee from Ramirez Coffee in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic. Roasted weekly and packed to order.
