Hello, my name is Tara + I am a coffee drinker. Ready for my Tuesday Tips confession? I spent the first 45 years of my life never ever ever drinking a cup of coffee. Yep, you read that correctly. 45 years, not a single cup.
Then came 2020 in with a bang. 2020 brought ‘rona + along with it a whole host of shortages, shutdowns, and changes to our everyday routines. I know I’m not the only one that changed a few things in 2020. For me, one of those changes meant waking up + not running (literally) out the front door! Some people made banana bread, others tried their hand at sourdough, + remember when Baby Yoda became wildly popular? That’s when Mr. MVF + I finally accepted the new way of the world, busted out our espresso maker + experimented with some varieties of coffee concoctions until we finally found a coffee I actually liked. We happily continued to quarantine ourselves (like the rest of the world), drank our new coffee creation out of our Baby Yoda mugs + ate the 18 loaves of banana bread I made.
Here comes Tuesday Tips confession #2: somewhere along the way I began to really enjoy my morning coffee! What is it that keeps us all filling our morning mugs? It can’t be just the caffeine, can it? Coffee: friend or foe? Let’s find out!
Tara’s Tuesday Tips:
Coffee: Friend or Foe?
Once I began loving coffee, I did a little research (of course) to figure out if this is a covid lockdown habit worth keeping or ditching. Turns out, there are some health benefits associated with coffee that makes the coffee routine worth keeping. There are definitely a few things that make coffee our friend. Besides it tasting good, the health benefits of drinking your morning cup of brew can sure add up. Through the years, coffee has found itself with some bad headlines in the news for everything from being a carcinogen to causing long term cardiac complications. However, those myths have been debunked + the research has currently landed itself more on the side of friend rather than foe. Let’s get to the bottom of this cup!
Friend: The Health Benefits of Coffee
- Increased Energy Levels
- Improved Concentration
- Antioxidants + Phytochemicals (fight diseases + decreases inflammation!)
- Liver Health (slows the progression of liver disease + reduce liver scarring)
- Longevity (5+ cups per day = live longer)
- Microbiome improvement
- Less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease
- Bowel regularity
- Decreases chance of developing Type 2 diabetes
- Anti-inflammatory
- Good mood food = less depression found in coffee drinkers!
Foe: Negative Effects of Coffee
- Interruption in sleep/reduced sleep quality
- Feeling of anxiety, jitters, or increased/irregular heartrate
- Addiction to coffee/withdrawal symptoms when coffee is stopped
- High level of pesticides used in non-organic beans
- Add-ins! Syrups, sugars, oils, milks, creamers
Foe: Who Shouldn’t Drink Coffee
Proceed with caution with coffee drinking if you are:
- pregnant
- breastfeeding
- teens, infants + children
- experiencing insomnia or anxiety
- diagnosed with adrenal or thyroid conditions
- prior issues with acid reflux
- feeling signs of addiction
Friend: How To Keep Coffee Your Friend
That pumpkin spice latte you love every fall could easily go from friend to foe if you aren’t careful! Choose friend over foe by wisely choosing what goes into your mug with your coffee.
- Look out for sweeteners. A small amount of pure cane sugar is your best option. Use caution with artificial sweeteners or syrups with lots of additives.
- Buy organic whole beans whenever possible.
- Make your last drink at lunchtime to prevent the effects of the caffeine preventing you from getting a good night’s sleep.
- Caution with creamers. Creamers contain lots of added oils + chemicals, be wary!
- Cinnamon is your friend. Sprinkle on a little cinnamon, nutmeg, or pumpkin spice for some added flavor without the added fat + calories.
- Need to come to terms with your good old friend, pumpkin spice? Read this: Dear Pumpkin Spice Season (A Letter From A Food Blogger)
- Still stuck in some old pandemic habits that might be more foe than friend? Read this: Time To Rethink Your Pandemic Habits
Food For Thought
As with any food I write about … there are no “bad” foods! All foods fit if you make proper space for them. That pumpkin cold brew you look forward to each October does not need to be labeled “bad” or “good”. If it makes you happy in the moment, drink the coffee + move on! The stress over worrying about it + linking your self-worth to your food choices is far worse than anything in a cup! That being said, coffee is a wonderful addition to your healthy regimen if you like it! For me, I like the little boost the caffeine gives me. I find coffee to be a social link between people, a gathering tool, something I share with the people I love the most in my life.
If you love coffee too, rest assured, you ARE getting health benefits alongside your caffeine boost. Coffee can be a beloved beverage with lots of health perks! For me + MVF, this is one healthy habit we will continue to call friend over foe ☕️🤎
Missed Some Tips?
Click here + check out what you missed: Tara’s Tuesday Tips 🤎
⭐Did you learn if coffee is your friend or foe? Leave a comment below!
📸I love to see your creations! Follow me on Instagram @myvegetarianfamily and hashtag it #myvegetarianfamily
📩Be sure to subscribe here to my weekly emails for tips + recipes so that you never miss a veggie thing!
