Coffee Can Be Great
in the last week, the subject of coffee has come up over and over and over again.
coffee can be great.
the richness. the warmth. the depth.
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the ritual.
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and before you continue on, know that this post is NOT here to tell you to quit your morning joe--but rather to invite for an evolution of ritual surrounding it.
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for those who have been following along with concepts put forth by dave asprey and bulletproof and intermittent fasting, you are probably familiar with the amazing benefits brought forth by these practices.
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increased autophagy, decreased brain fog, fat loss, increase in will power, decreased insulin sensitivity, and beyond.
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but did you know that most studies done on these healthful practices were actually done on men?
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not on women.
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why?
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because the cyles that women's bodies go through, hormonally and otherwise, are far too variable to get repeatable and controllable information.
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so for men, the intermittent fasting, the coffee as an appetite suppressant first thing in the morning, the massively decreased feeding window--wonderful, amazing, productive, supportive.
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for women, the effects can actually be quite the opposite.
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while not all, but many of our mamas, probably drank coffee on an empty stomach. to suppress appetite, to get that morning boost, and more.
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but that morning joe on the empty stomach of a woman can actual have quite deleterious effects on our already variable and sensitive hormones.
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it increases our cortisol, increasing insulin sensitivity, altering the ability of our gut to absorb anything that comes down stream, and shifts our nervous system into a state of alert and defense.
so while we do want to focus on the resilience of our female bodies, it is also wildly important that we set them up for success in healing and shifting out of "alert and defense".
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sometimes this involves shifting habits that we previously thought were beneficial to our healing and vitality as we accumulate new knowledge, information, and wisdom, no matter how challenging or slowly progressing that alteration may be.
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it can definitely be a challenge, but we promise it will be worth it.
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so now that there has been a heavy supply of potentially new information, let's talk solutions:
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hot water with lemon first thing in the morning
—the heat can be oh so nourishing for our bodies in the morning. the hot water can "stoke our digestive fire" as they say in ayurveda, working with the lemon juice to lubricate our digestive tract and really get things moving, if you know what we mean
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matcha or tea
—while these may still contain caffeine, the caffeine harbored in tea and matcha is actually released much more slowly into the system as opposed to all at one like the caffeine in coffee. it can make for a much more sustainable dose of caffenation without the heavy crashes later
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eat something with your coffee
—this solution may be so obvious that it is often overlooked. for those absolutely no willing to give up your morning goods, instead of torturing yourself, why not just supply a little nutrients alongside your brew in the morning? the mere act of eating with your coffee can help your body process the caffeine more gently and effectively.
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again, we are not here to say coffee is BAD. we are simply inviting the thought that the cortisol spikes, the energy crashes later, and the hormonal fluctuation created in this scenario does not serve us the best that it can.
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who's up for an experiment?
