Wellness Tree

Its difficult to justify not drinking coffee. Surely everyone loves their morning brew? I love my coffee that’s for sure.

Harvard has been conducting extensive studies on the positive effects of Coffee. I enjoyed reading through their research and I’ve done a comparative study on the modern approach to coffee drinking and the Ayurvedic approach to coffee.

Let me begin with the Ayurveda approach:

Coffee as a Poison

Fundamentally, Ayurveda treats all food as a poison, and all poison as food. This stems from the belief that things in moderation are generally good (there are exceptions of course). Coffee is no different – if had in excess it can cause acidity, acne, dryness of skin/eyes, dehydration, palpitations and other funny stuff.

However if had in the right quantity and in the right way, coffee is a life-prolonging nectar! As they say – you’ve got to choose your poison 🙂

Coffee that matches your mind & body

There’s 3 primary subtle energies in the human mind + body combination: Vata (the element of air), Pitta (the element of fire) and Kapha (the element of water). Each element reacts differently to different kinds of food, and thus reacts differently with Coffee too! [1]

Vata

You’re the idealy victim of dry skin, dry hair, constipation and dehydration. Your coffee needs to fight these qualities; thus you should have your coffee with cream and organic sweetener (avoid white sugar like plague!)

Pitta

Fire is your middle name. Your stomach acid is strong and can give you frequent heartburn, acid reflux, skin rashes and other annoyances. Have coffee BLACK. Avoid cream/milk in your coffee – but do use an organic sweetener like maple syrup, honey or organic sugarcane extract.

Kapha

You were born to drink coffee. Your constitution is sluggish and generally things move slowly for you – if you’re seeing water retention, sinus congestion or similar symptoms it would likely help have a cup of coffee every day. Don’t over do it though; limit yourself to 2 cups maximum per day. And take a break from coffee on weekends so as to allow your body to remain in its natural element.

Ayurveda conclusion

Coffee is great to have. Match your element from the list above and enjoy your coffee in moderation! It’s known to reduce a vast array of health problems and result in phenomenal physical and mental health.

And now, let’s see the

Modern approach

Harvard sure don’t mince their words [2]. They clearly state

People who drink about three to five cups of coffee a day may be less likely to die prematurely from some illnesses than those who don’t drink or drink less coffee, according to a new study by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers and colleagues.

I guess that summarizes it in a simple, easy to understand way. But let’s look at some more statistical proof from them:

“Bioactive compounds in coffee reduce insulin resistance and systematic inflammation,” said first author Ming Ding, a doctoral student in the Department of Nutrition.

And here’s the research proof that shows how good it is exactly!

Researchers analyzed health data gathered from participants in three large ongoing studies: 74,890 women in the Nurses’ Health Study; 93,054 women in the Nurses’ Health Study 2; and 40,557 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Coffee drinking was assessed using validated food questionnaires every four years over about 30 years. During the study period, 19,524 women and 12,432 men died from a range of causes.

In the whole study population, moderate coffee consumption was associated with reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, and suicide. Coffee consumption was not associated with cancer deaths. The analyses took into consideration potential confounding factors such as smoking, body mass index, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and other dietary factors.

“This study provides further evidence that moderate consumption of coffee may confer health benefits in terms of reducing premature death due to several diseases,” said senior author Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology. “These data support the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Report that concluded that ‘moderate coffee consumption can be incorporated into a healthy dietary pattern.’” 

Now I can’t argue with that either!

So we’ve compared the Ayurvedic approach to coffee and the modern proof-oriented approach. Both of these say that coffee is good for you in moderation – and I totally agree!

Let’s enjoy a fantastic fresh hot brew every morning and I’m sure we’ll live forever!