For the Love of Coffee

When it comes to coffee, you can pretty much scour the internet for a study that conforms to how you want to view coffee; healthy or not healthy. I didn't always appreciate a good cup of coffee, but I've finally come to enjoy a cup here and there, especially on the weekends or when we have company. I love the smell of brewing coffee in the morning, wafting through the house, signaling it's time to greet the day. I especially enjoy it on those rare, cold and rainy mornings in New Mexico when the sun hasn't yet burned its way through the clouds and you are invited to stay in your pajamas a little longer than usual, maybe having just one more mugful.

Well as comforting and delicious as coffee can be, I am still an herbalist. Coffee is, indeed, a plant and therefore has many herbal properties that are interesting and even fun to consider when deciding how intensely you want to be addicted to the stuff.

In Chinese herbalism, the coffee bean is considered to have bitter properties. Bitter herbs are often used when there is a symptom of toxicity in the body; for example, if you had a fever, an intestinal bug or a more chronic condition like rheumatoid arthritis. Moreover, bitter herbs create toxicity in the body if taken without being sick. Poisonous plants found in nature are often considered to have a bitter quality. Putting it bluntly, in terms of coffee, we are drinking a bitter (i.e. poisonous herb) first thing every morning! What does that do to our body? It signals to our adrenals that we just ingested something dangerous. When the body reacts to ingesting something dangerous, our adrenals snap on in an effort to pump out as much adrenaline and steroids that it can to help us pass this toxin out of our body asap! One of the steroids that is produced by the adrenals is aldosterone. When we have too much aldosterone (along with adrenaline) in our system, we get symptoms of heart palpitations, excessive urination, muscle cramping and increased breathing rate to name a few. No wonder when people have had too much coffee they may experience these very symptoms. We mistake it as a rush or burst of energy, but really, it's our body telling us we just ingested something poisonous.

It's never an easy conversation when I have to suggest to a patient they are drinking too much coffee. Even if it is clear they would feel better if they stopped, people just aren't willing to give up something so embedded in our culture. Since asking people to give up coffee altogether never really turns out well, I've learned and experimented with some lovely, simple new tips to help curb some of coffee's harsh properties.

Here they are:

1. Cut back. If stopping altogether isn't a realistic option for you, know that cutting back will still make a huge difference. Imagine if you drink coffee all day long, your adrenals are well on their way to exhaustion. Adrenal exhaustion looks like weakness, anxiety, depression, hormonal imbalance, autoimmune disorders and bone density loss among many other symptoms. Decide to cut back and limit yourself to one cup in the morning and that's it. By allowing yourself that one cup, you can bring a sense of consciousness to drinking. You only get the one cup, so better slow down and enjoy it. Who wouldn't benefit from slowing down a little and savoring one of life's morning rituals? Yes, your body will still have the same reaction to the one cup, but it won't be repeating the harm all day long, over and over again.

Understand that cutting back may be hard at first. I suggest cutting back over a weekend. That way when you hit your afternoon slump and are tempted to go for that second or third cup, you can have the time to take a nap instead or eat a nourishing snack. It will be important to nap or rest through your first couple rounds of coffee withdrawal. Give yourself the space and time to crash! In a few days, you won't crash so hard and your body will adjust to the new, smaller amount of coffee intake.

2. This final tip is the most interesting and the one I am most excited to share with you. Add mushrooms to your coffee!

Ok, let me clarify. Specifically, Reishi mushrooms. Reishi mushrooms are gaining more and more popularity. Chinese herbal medicine has revered them for years. We refer to them as Ling Zhi or Ganoderma lucidum. They have so many amazing properties. First of all, reishi mushrooms are known as adaptogens. Adaptogens work over time to help regulate and stabilize virtually all the systems in our body; blood sugar, stress hormone, inflammatory processes, energy levels and so much more! They help manage such a breadth of functions that they are used by athletes to chronically ill patients alike. Pretty much everyone can benefit from incorporating an adaptogen into their health regimen. There are many out there; my favorites include reishi mushrooms, ashwaganda and Siberian ginseng. Talk to your practitioner to see which one might be a good fit for you.

So why should we add reishi mushrooms to our coffee? In addition to the above mentioned benefits, reishi mushrooms actually neutralize the acid in coffee! This is huge! The acid in coffee is not kind to your digestive system. The sensitive tissues that line your esophagus, stomach and intestines are easily irritated by the acidity in coffee, causing things like GERD, acid reflux or irritable bowel. Additionally, acid is eroding to the enamel on your teeth, which is irreversible.

My favorite way to add reishi mushrooms to coffee is to add a powdered form of the mushroom to your coffee grounds before each brew. Experiment with the ratio of coffee to mushroom until you find an amount of reishi that works for you; depending on how much coffee you are making and how much you can detect the flavor. I find that 1/2 tsp to 1 tbsp of reishi powder will provide a small pot of coffee with all the benefits of reishi and little to zero of the reishi flavor. I think the coffee tastes smoother sans acidity, which I enjoy. Find your local Doctor of Oriental medicine, acupuncturist or herbalist and see if they carry pharmaceutical grade reishi/ Ling Zhi. I keep a bottle of it in my own kitchen and throw in a spoonful with each fresh pot of coffee. Try it! You will see that it sounds way worse than it is. In fact, you will probably have some fun trying it out.

Reishi mushroom powder

Remember to always consult your wholistic practitioner or MD before adding anything new. If you suffer from certain conditions (like gout) or take certain medications (like medications for high blood pressure), you may not be able to have mushrooms.