Last Updated on April 4, 2024
We drink a lot of coffee. In fact in the United States it is estimated that we drink around 400 Million cups of coffee per day!
There is a lot of conflicting information about whether or not drinking coffee is good or bad for us. Researchers are striving to understand the effects of coffee on our bodies.
There are several established positive effects of coffee. These include lower risk of some types of cancer, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, and heart disease. Of course if we drink a coffee with lots of natural or artificial sweeteners these benefits may be completely eliminated.
There are also several established negative effects of coffee. These include, insomnia, stress, panic attacks, and intolerance to proteins in the coffee beans.
Understanding how we are individually affected by coffee is somewhat complicated. There is a gene known as CYP1A2. This gene codes for an enzyme that metabolizes caffeine in the liver. Half of us carry a variant of this gene that will slow the metabolism of caffeine. It’s impossible to know which version of the CYP1A2 gene we have without doing genetic testing.
If we are the ones with the slow metabolizing variant then coffee is associated with a higher risk of heart disease and hypertension!
Basically coffee may be good for us and it may be bad for us.
If we have these types of symptoms it may be important to avoid coffee and other sources of caffeine:
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Adrenal Fatigue: Fatigue, Difficulty Waking, Weak Immunity, Salt Cravings
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Stomach Fire: Bad Breath, Acid Reflux, GERD, Ulcers, Abdominal Pain
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Heart Fire: Insomnia, Panic Attacks, Anxiety