Growing up, I loved the smell of coffee.
Generally, I grew up under the impression that coffee was bad for you. That it would “stunt your growth” (not exactly true).
Thus, I never really cared to drink it. At least, not until I got to grad school in my early 20’s.
Sitting through 9 hours of lectures in a day became incredibly challenging. The fight to keep my eyelids from dropping and my head from continually nodding was real.
Out of sheer boredom (imagine studying the Krebs Cycle for hours on end) and my refusal to resort to energy drinks like Red Bull, I decided to give coffee a chance.
Game over.
Since that day, roughly 13 years ago, I estimate that I haven’t gone more than 20ish days without coffee.
The euphoria, the pep, the motivation and focus I suddenly had during lecture became too much to pass up.
In my early coffee drinking, grad school days, I was able to keep my consumption to 2-3 cups per day.
Not horrible.
During my “worst” phase of coffee drinking (when I opened my clinic in 2016), I was often consuming 5 or more cups per day.
Aggressive.
As those first days in practice passed, it became clear that I was drinking too much. My sleep began to suffer, anxiety increased, and there just seemed to be an overabundance of tension in my body.
I was overstimulated and in a severely “sympathetic dominant” state.
Long story short, I cut down and today drink a comfortable 1-2 cups per day.
So, to get to the title of this article, is coffee bad for you?
This is a question I often get and is hotly debated. It’s also a question that I found difficult to answer over the years.
My bias and love for coffee always wanted to say “nope”.
The real answer, like many health-related subjects, is nuanced and contextual.
Consider the following recent research:
To summarize, coffee drinkers consuming 3 cups per day or less had lower risk of developing disease, while those drinking more than 5 cups per day had greater disease and death risk.
Every person is unique in how much coffee they can tolerate, and how much would potentially provide health protective effects or potentially negative effects if overdone.
So, is coffee bad for you?
That depends on your nutrient status, your stress levels, how much you move, how well you sleep, and if your body can handle the unique effects of coffee on the body.
Quitting coffee completely is not necessary under these circumstances:
- You’re nutrient SUFFICIENT
- You’re drinking in moderation in the AM (12-16oz)
- You workout and/or move regularly and consistently
- Your sleep isn’t compromised
You must be the (hopefully objective) judge of whether you meet that criteria or not.
For many folks, this is simply not the case, and coffee consumption will only add to their bodily burden.
For me, I’ll continue to enjoy my coffee in moderation (most of the time…).
Complete Chiropractic 