Feb 9, 2024
The downside of coffee for many is the gut devastation. For
others, if we’re talking caffeinated, not decaf, it’s the
jitters. Some women rely on it for pooping. (That’s not good by the way.
We may want to restore your factory settings, because you never
needed this as a child, right?) Your DNA may determine how well you metabolize caffeine but so
can presence of other stressors, whether you have eaten or not, and
medications. Caffeine may temporarily raise metabolism, boost workout
intensity and fat burning. But for those of us most likely to send
up a cheer, it may not be us. The caffeine kick is only really
supportive for those that don’t regularly consume large quantities
of caffeine (>300mg/day). When I was in high school, I rarely drank soda. I just didn’t. I
wasn’t “not drink pop.” It just wasn’t a staple at my house unless
someone had the stomach flu. I’m not sure at this point how
effective 7-Up was but that’s when we most often drank pop. Or with
a popcorn at the movies. So when I first went out with a guy I’d been serious about for 5
years and we hung out with others at a pizza joint, and I had a
Diet Pepsi without a second thought, I was up all night. The 9pm
soda was not a wise move. When I told the guy, he was
like, “I was hoping that was because of
me.” Maybe I should have played my cards differently, because
although the guy was great, that sleepless night was most
definitely the caffeine. The next year at college I was introduced to soda regularly for
the stay-up-all-night and don’t drink your calories benefit. The
summer after that I was introduced to coffee by my brother and
sister-in-law and diet cokes in the afternoon. I thought I’d
discovered the secret to thin Southern women: they weren’t fit,
they were dehydrated since they seemed to drink Diet Coke like it
was water. Throughout college and grad school, getting up to teach 6am
classes or getting energy up again to teach 4:30 classes, I relied
on Diet Coke way too much. To study before my 6am start and to
teach another class at 4:30 or 5:30pm, I was relying on
it. It’s about then that the caffeine stopped helping me. I didn’t
just reach for a can before a class. I reached for two. You might guess what happened next. My gut was a hot mess. And
though I didn’t know at the time, artificial sweeteners in diet
sodas are 400x as sweet as sugar and still can trigger blood sugar
spikes. I was unintentionally a hypocrite teaching health and fitness
and living kind of a junk food life with 24-packs of soda a part of
my weekly grocery list. Then, when it wasn’t my Diet Coke, it was coffee I was
introduced to during my first summer of college. That substitute
was unfortunately a concoction of chemicals, bad oils and
artificial sweeteners or sugar or both. But from that point on I
don’t think I’ve had many mornings in my life without
caffeine. Fast forward decades. I began offering DNA testing for clients
who really wanted to deep dive into their genetic predisposition
for disease, identify how they can exercise and eat most optimally
and have the optimal expression of their genetics by changing daily
habits. I never share something I haven’t used first. So, in addition to
information like I do better to include a higher percent of
endurance training than others, I do well with a slightly higher
carb count, and I’m predisposed for obesity, I also learned I
metabolize caffeine quickly. A coffee-drinking girl likes that! But, it doesn’t mean it
doesn’t or can’t spike a mid-life woman’s blood sugar or wreak
havoc with her gut. If you regularly have more than 300 mg caffeine a day more isn’t
going to give you an ergogenic aid nor will what you’re having
already. Your body has adapted. Is it better to have that prior to
exercise? Possibly, so you can metabolize it. For some though it
makes you jittery or negatively impact your blood sugar during
exercise. If you tolerate caffeine, don’t have much regularly or have it
infrequently within 30 minutes of exercise, it can boost fat
burning. It enhances fatty acid release. 58% of coffee contains mycotoxins. These nasty compounds grow
from mold on beans in various stages of production. Mycotoxins can lead to, among other things, common symptoms of
menopause (so be hard to sort): So, it’s one reason I made the switch to Danger
Coffee. This is another. Minerals. When a habit you already have can get an upgrade and first, no
longer give you gut issues and make you feel guilty about it, and
also ADDS minerals to your body, then its double good. Most of us – 70% – are deficient in minerals – actually
70-80% deficient in some. Important things in small amounts make
the body run well. Dave Asprey has taken the opportunity to make a
habit we already enjoy and load it with minerals good for us (while
also removing risk of mold – bad for us). So when the age-old question, is coffee good or bad for
you comes up, the answer is, it depends. What kind are
you drinking? Consider this. If you’re using coffee as an ergogenic aid, or
one to help you get through a few more hours of fasting, you’re
doing both for health right? You want better exercise results. You
want longevity benefits of fasting. So why would you add a coffee
that may have mold or isn’t tested and openly talking about these
issues? So many things we do daily – like exercise, stress,
over-the-counter medications, Rx, conditions or conditions/disease
– deplete our minerals. Soil is depleted and so then the plants and
animals that feed off plants are lower in mineral content. So even
with a healthy diet, we likely can’t consume all the minerals we
need in food alone. Making the most of what you do consume is
important. Two of the compounds in Danger Coffee actually benefit
the gut. This has been a game changer for me. If you’ve
listened for a while you know most mornings for 3 years now, I’ve
started with matcha. Like almost entirely kicked coffee to the
curb. Til now. The reason was twofold: gut health and cortisol. My
gut feels good on Danger. I still am a matcha fan and yet, I’ll
decide what to drink now based on how I feel and what I’m doing in
the morning. I’ve got options. If you’ve got adrenal fatigue and you’re relying on it, giving
it up can be one of the ways to accelerate healing. Your cortisol
levels rise, so too does blood sugar. Now, we’re all doing that to
some extent. You may be in a position to tolerate it. Cortisol is used as energy for exercise. Thus, if you’re using
it strategically, and not abusing it, this can work. If you’re coasting til noon on coffee (through a period of time
I find most women in our community do well to break a fast and get
a high dose of protein in)… You could also be inhibiting your thyroid, the master metabolism
gland. Some women can absolutely tolerate it. During phases of your
life you potentially could. What we each have to assess is whether
it’s working right now or now. One thing is for sure, if you drink it, do so consciously
deciding on the type and timing. Resources: Danger Coffee: https://www.flippingfifty.com/givedanger
Code: Flipping50 Matcha: https://www.flippingfifty.com/piquetea 5 Day Flip: https://www.flippingfifty.com/5dayflip Other Episodes You Might Like: Is My Coffee Habit Making Me Fat? | Women in
Menopause https://www.flippingfifty.com/coffee-habit/ What Is BioHacking? | Women’s
Health https://www.flippingfifty.com/what-is-biohacking/
My Coffee Drinking Start
But… this is the downside of coffee
Is Coffee Good or Bad For You?
The Last Downside of Coffee