I don’t like coffee.

I know I’m not alone in this, but when I mention my dislike to people who like coffee, they often look at me as though I have taken their teddy bear, especially if I say it before they have had their first cup!

I don’t know exactly if there was an incident that turned me off coffee, but it might be because years ago, I read a study that noted that if teens drank coffee, they were more likely to smoke marijuana and take other recreational drugs. The authors concluded that coffee could be considered a gateway drug. I guess somewhere deep down, that stuck with me, and I developed a dislike for it.

However, recently I’ve spent a lot of time in Central America, where coffee is one of the major exports, and I thought it was time to rehabilitate myself…in reverse…and get addicted to the stuff. To do that, I decided the best way would be to go to the source, stay on a coffee farm for a few days, and get to know the whole cycle from seed to cup. 

However, even though the producers assured me it was the best coffee in the region, I still have yet to get it. No matter how hard I tried, I was not too fond of the taste, the jitters, the increased digestional speed, or the sleep interruption. Also, I was a little disappointed to think about the massive exploitation and shear use of energy that goes into growing, harvesting, cleaning, cooking, and grinding the black stuff before it ends up in someone’s paper cup in a country that can’t grow it in the first place.

All this serves as a prologue to some papers I recently came across that add some backing to my dislike of drinking the stuff.

Firstly a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1) noted that ;

“Daily consumption of caffeine in amounts equal to or greater than that obtained from about two to three servings of brewed coffee may accelerate bone loss from the spine and total body in women with calcium intakes below the recommended dietary allowance of 800mg”. Interestingly this effect was countered if they added milk, but…some like it black…and that could be a problem if you aren’t a fan of diary.”.

Another study in the same journal (2) found a similar result in elderly women and went further by identifying a particular genotype at play. Still, unless you have had your DNA tested, you wouldn’t know if you had it…. (tt genetic variant of VDR for those who are interested). 

This got me thinking, what else does coffee do to us?

We all know in addition to its addictive properties, it causes bad breath, mood swings, high blood pressure, and sleep disruption. Still, I didn’t realize that its acidity can also break down the enamel of your teeth, leading to an increased risk of cavities (3).

Lastly, because I don’t want to labor the point, as per the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, caffeine is a known acid reflux trigger, which is especially important to keep in mind if you deal with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), this can have some terrible consequences.

I’m fully aware that some people will counter my dislike with their own opinion and back it up by stating things like; caffeine has been shown to increase endurance and alertness and maybe even help heart health. They might even look at those studies above and point out that if you are a healthy male or premenopausal female, there is probably no risk of bone loss or any detrimental effects…While those things might be true, I can 100% say that whatever benefit other people perceive doesn’t help me overcome my dislike…I’m a glass of water in the morning, guy, and always will be. 

Sources:

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8092093/
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11684540/
3. https://www.belchertown-dentist.com/blog/coffee-dental-health/

 

Recently I’ve written a couple of articles about obesity and metabolic syndrome and their adverse health consequences.  With just 12% of Americans being metabolically healthy, the statistics don’t paint a pretty picture (1). I see a future with many people developing ‘diseases of modern living which, sadly,  are largely preventable.  I’m also apprehensive about our children in the US, one out of six children is obese, and one out of three children is overweight or obese.  In 2012 the WHO called childhood obesity “one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century,” mainly because when young people are overweight, they have an increased chance of being overweight or obese into adulthood, increasing their risk of disease and disability later in life.

As anyone who has looked at this topic for longer than an Instagram Reel knows, many factors go into people becoming overweight. But on the individual scale, how well do we understand weight gain, and how well do we know ourselves?

Recently someone told me that people who are overweight know they are overweight and don’t need to be reminded about it. That’s true, but I’ve also noticed that many people don’t understand why they are overweight and don’t know what to do about it.

I will share with you some interesting angles to the problem that not many people are talking about. To put them in context, let’s talk about food and evolution. Our brains are wired to seek out salt and sugar. That’s because we need salt for many metabolic processes and calories for all our bodily functions. In nature, foods that are sweeter tend to have more calories.  This drive for salt, sugar, and to some extent, fat is a hard-wired biological fact, and it’s how we are built. 

Modern food companies know this.

They make things taste good by adding large amounts of sugar and salt.  Check the back of a can of Coca-Cola; you’ll be surprised to see salt in there!  This abundance of high calories and high-salt food messes with our brains (and bodies) because we have never been exposed to so much food in our evolutionary history. We have evolved to live with limited food supplies to survive times of hardship by storing extra calories as fat and when times are good.  According to our physiology, we are now in a constant time of plenty, and if we eat more calories than we need, we keep putting down ‘reserves’. So that when the party finishes, we’ll have a little extra around the belly to keep us going…but the party never ends. 

Governments and tabloids tell us to make better food choices, but we don’t…why changing what we eat is difficult to do?

In my last piece, I talked about that a little; besides cultural, social, and familial pressure, one possible explanation could be inflammation. In 2019, researchers presented this idea when they analyzed how inflammation could affect decision-making (4). We know that modern diets, which contain a lot of ultra-processed foods, raise inflammation, which, the researchers showed, can affect our decision-making. 

However, the relationship goes both ways, meaning that many unhealthy decisions (smoking, drinking too much, poor food choices, decisions that cause stress and hardship) also cause inflammation, making it harder to make healthy decisions. The good news is that if we set ourselves up for success (finding an accountability partner, getting the whole family on board, switching things at work, or hiring a coach/trainer), it is possible to reverse inflammation. Or vice versa, changing the food, which then changes your impulses.

Following that study, this recent article explores the connection between eating a highly processed diet and adverse mental health symptoms like depression and anxiety, which many say is part of why they eat…comfort eating (5). The researchers noticed a dose-response relationship, meaning the more junk food a person ate, the more their mental health was affected. Conversely, the same happens in the opposite direction, with the more whole food a person eats is better for their mental health.

Although the study doesn’t discuss children, I feel this is a massive problem for them.
About 2.5% of children are on Ritalin for ADHD when really they might just be disconnected from a whole-food diet. The same is true for the 10% of schoolchildren diagnosed with anxiety. I see it in my own family, and I see it in my children’s friends. Years ago, my osteopathic clinic back in Canada used to run summer camps. I always found it interesting to see what the kids brought to eat for lunch and then their subsequent behavior in the afternoon. Sure, it’s only my observation, but the kids who appeared to have the most compassion for other kids and engaged in the activities weren’t eating white bread, peanut butter, and jam sandwiches!  Instead, they had whole food, carrots, broccoli, eggs, and small portions of fish or meat.  I remember one kid used to bring sushi to camp every day; amazing!

Highly processed foods leading to poor impulse control and depression are only a small component of why we overeat, but they are ones that many people aren’t aware of.  The apparent factors of sleep, stress management, exercise, food quantity, and timing are more noticeable. Still, when coaching someone for weight loss, I take a lifestyle approach that considers all of the above…remember Your Lifestyle Is Your Medicine. 

1. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/met.2018.0105
2. Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Kit BK, Flegal KM. Prevalence of obesity and trends in body mass index among US children and adolescents, 1999-2010. JAMA. 2012;307:483-90.
3. World Health Organization. Global strategy on diet, physical activity, and health: childhood overweight and obesity. Accessed March 9, 2012.
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6426921/?_kx=t4If0nOfpNdZ-HC1xYBPDO82IcYl_wFMhDzAApaDTNA%3D.HKMsXE
5. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/crosssectional-examination-of-ultraprocessed-food-consumption-and-adverse-mental-health-symptoms/CD2C496A199CAB4A9056C00DB5F8AFDE