Ahhhhh coffee. When the dark, rich aroma spirals from my cup to my nostrils, flaring them slightly, I am instantly reminded of people, places and conversations in which I’ve shared this java ritual, and a smile curls upon my lips. I feel blessed.
I take my first sip and am instantly anchored to the present moment, the full, pungent flavour filling my mouth and warming my belly. My hands hug my pottery cup, interlacing each other in a perfect balance, finger around finger. I feel embraced, secure, and am reminded of all that is GOOD.
Draining the cup, I welcome the wakefulness in my body, the alertness of my mind. I feel conscious. Ready for what comes next.
When coffee is GOOD for you, it can be really GOOD for you.
As a naturopathic doctor, I am often met with surprise (and in some cases, shock!) by my patients when they learn that not only will I not take their coffee away, I drink it myself.
Coffee is not the villain. As with so many things, it is not the substance that is the problem. It is how we use it that is the problem.
In fact, coffee has numerous potential health benefits – from supporting cognitive and neurological function to improving weight loss and athletic performance. It may even be beneficial in mental health disorders and diabetes. This 2017 meta analysis published in The BMJ details many of coffee’s known health benefits and for those feeling guilty about their coffee habit, liberation is in the literature!
But this particular anecdote is less about the health qualities of coffee, and more about creating a healthful relationship with it. In my practice I often hear patients refer to their food relationship in negative ways: “guilty pleasure”, “restrictions”, “avoidances”, “vices”, “bad habits”… What if we re-framed the language of our food relationship from one of negative story to one of soul-sacred and food-freedom? What would that feel like physically? emotionally? spiritually?
I have come to recognize that our relationship with food is truly sacred. From an early age, it is perhaps the one thing we can control. A mother can bring a babe to the breast but she doesn’t control whether they latch, drink or swallow. Similarly, she doesn’t control whether that same toddler will eat the vegetables on their plate. If they do eat their veg, what context was it in? Was it after a battle or only with the promise of dessert?
What I’m getting at, is that for many of us, our negative food associations begin at a really young age. And it’s not necessarily the fault of the parent. In most cases, parents are simply doing the best they can to get healthful food into a young one who is exercising a super strong sense of food autonomy.
(Anyone who has had kids will tell you that food is often a huge challenge. Having been through this twice with my own Littles, please let me know if you need help or support in this arena. I’ve got a few good tricks that may make your life easier in this regard!)
We are what we eat.
Our food becomes who we are. And our relationship to our food is integral to our relationship with ourselves. How good does it feel to BE who you truly are? What if we gave our food relationship the freedom to be what it is too? How would that impact our wellness on a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual plane? When we let things be, we can breathe more easily. There is less stress, less pressure. And stress, is one of the fundamental and most powerful drivers of imbalanced health in our world today.
Stress is one of the reasons coffee gets such a bad rap. In many cases, coffee perpetuates stress. By stimulating cortisol and adrenaline release, coffee contributes to the fight or flight response. Add in sugar, dairy (if one is sensitive), sweeteners or chemicals and compound this with the stress of rushing to work or the self-criticism that often accompanies poor sleep or fatigue, and you have the potential for a seriously toxic brew!
Remember, coffee itself is not the problem. It is what we do to it and how we drink it that is.
Here are a few simple re-frames that can help make coffee GOOD:
Be present with your coffee
Make your coffee an exercise in mindfulness. Smell it. Savour the warmth, the flavour. Take a coffee break and do nothing else but drink your coffee. This includes no social media! Our bodies do not know the difference between a perceived stress, such as a negative thought, and a true threat to our survival, so with the stress response coffee can create, keep it strictly physical. Eliminate the stress of emotional pressure, work, social comparison, etcetera. Simply drink your coffee and BE with the pleasure that creates.
Drink GOOD coffee
Coffee, when it is good quality coffee, has ample health attributes. Buy coffee that is organic and fair trade (helps with our social conscience), and roasted to perfection to get the best out of your beans. At the clinic we are huge fans of small batch roasting, such as that done by our local roasters, Bean Around the World Roastery.
Drink it simple
What we add to our coffee often adds extra stress to the body. If you can, drink it black. Sugar, sweeteners and many creamers trigger the immune system and stress response system in negative ways. Whenever possible, keep it simple! Consider adding spices like cinnamon, cardamom or ginger to your cup to bring an interesting flavour and an added health boost. Coconut oil can be a great addition also!
Be conscious of what you pair your coffee with
Oftentimes, we pair our coffee with a nosh loaded in sugar or inflammatory ingredients. Consider making your coffee a solo mission and avoid the baked goods. This will help in keeping the sugar rush and resulting stress and inflammation in check as well as supporting your mission of coffee mindfulness. Perhaps instead of coffee with a nosh, pair it with a call to good friend or a reflection of gratitude.
With so much in life, it is what we add to an experience that shapes it in a negative or positive way. Allow your coffee relationship to be one of simpleness, mindfulness, ease and pleasure and see what benefits that may bring. Share your coffee tales with us, as we’d love to hear how this luscious elixir elevates your life!
