One of the most common questions our Sanoviv nutritionists receive is “Is coffee good for me or bad for me?”.  Here is their response.  Thanks, Oscar and Sue!

When we begin to label foods as “good” or “bad” we can get into trouble and miss the big picture. Although coffee MAY have SOME health benefits for SOME people, it is unwise and somewhat irresponsible to begin recommending 4-6 cups per day!

Here are some things to consider when deciding if coffee belongs in your daily diet:

Are you drinking organic coffee? Most people are not but should be aware that coffee is one crops that is heavily sprayed with pesticides.

How is your coffee made? Coffee is a processed food (as most people are not chewing on fresh coffee berries as the sheep were in some studies) so you need to consider how your coffee is processed. Many are unaware that processing creates pollutants in our environment and the decaffeination process often uses solvents to extract the caffeine.

Is your coffee made with pure water? If you are drinking commercial coffee, it is likely that your coffee is made with water that is fluoridated and chlorinated, two chemicals that do not belong in our body. Are you drinking coffee from a styrofoam cup or using a plastic lid? The chemicals in styrofoam and plastic lids (which contain bisphenol A, a known endocrine disruptor) are carcinogenic.

Do you have a chronic degenerative illness? If so, you should be aware that coffee is an acid-forming beverage that can exacerbate a variety of problems from gastrointestinal upset, to osteoporosis, to dehydration, to caffeine addiction and can upset the pH balance of the body’s tissues.

What are you putting in your coffee? If you are putting sugars, artificial sweeteners, non-dairy creamers, regular processed cream, soy milk and other flavorings you are NOT getting benefit from coffee.

Are you dehydrated? Most people we assess at Sanoviv are dehydrated and coffee will further dehydrate the body.

Look at people with radiant health and ask them how many cups of coffee they drink per day. Now find someone who drinks 4-6 cups of coffee per day and what is that person’s health status?

While coffee may have some benefits and therapeutic applications in certain situations (coffee enemas for example), we don’t recommend this as a health beverage. Research studies must be scrutinized and all research can have flaws.

If you choose to drink coffee, we recommend organic coffee in moderation such as a cup a day or less IF you are generally healthy and we encourage you to look at your overall diet. Certainly there much better ways to improve your health through diet such as increasing your intake of vegetables and fruits. For liver health, we’ll choose the artichoke over the cup of coffee every time!