Coffee is more popular than ever, with hundreds of billions of cups consumed annually worldwide. When made the way I like it (strong & black with nothing added) from coffee beans that produce a soft, rounded flavour and a chocolaty aroma, I myself find this black drink absolutely delicious!!

Bioactive and Psychoactive Effects

Coffee contains not only caffeine, the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance worldwide, but also a range of other physiologically active ingredients. In fact, there are over 1000 compounds in coffee, many of which are being researched for their health benefits. Coffee is an excellent source of polyphenolic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds. The evidence on the health effects of coffee and caffeine has been mounting up in the last few years. The consumption of coffee is associated with increased lifespan and a reduced risk of all-cause mortality and many chronic diseases, including type II diabetes, heart disease, depression, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Coffee has also been shown to increase metabolic rate, suppress fat accumulation and enhance athletic performance.

So for all the above reasons, shouldn’t everyone be drinking coffee?

Biochemical Individuality

Despite the promising effects demonstrated in these studies, huge individual variations exist in the way our bodies deal with coffee and caffeine, and the individual sensitivity to caffeine varies widely. For instance, the way our bodies metabolise caffeine varies from person to person. Some people, myself included, have a genetic variant (also called single nucleotide polymorphism, or SNP, pronounced “snip”) in a gene responsible for the activity of the enzyme that metabolises caffeine. This genetic variant may lead to slower metabolism (or detoxification) of caffeine in the body. Studies show that slow caffeine metabolisers who consume coffee may have a higher risk of hypertension (high blood pressure) and heart attacks.

Coffee, the Central Nervous System and Sleep

Coffee, as we all know, is also a stimulant, stimulating the activity of the central nervous system by blocking the activity of the chemical adenosine. The role of adenosine is to slow down the nervous system activity and make us feel calm and sleepy. But when we drink coffee, the activity of adenosine is inhibited and the rate at which nerve cells fire is sped up.

Furthermore, coffee also increases the release of chemicals adrenaline and noradrenaline. Due to these effects, we may feel ‘wired’, energised and more alert after drinking coffee. This is all great when we need a temporary pick-up or want to increase our alertness in a situation such as an important meeting, an exam or a sports performance. However, if you regularly need a pick-up at certain times, for instance in the morning to get out of bed or in the afternoon to stave off that afternoon slump, and rely on coffee to do that, then it’s worth considering some underlying health issues to be at play. With regular coffee consumption, our bodies build up a tolerance and more and more caffeine is needed to create the same boosting effect as time goes by.

We know that caffeine has a half-life of around 6-7 hours, which means that you will still have half of the amount circulating in your body after that time. So let’s say you drink a cup of coffee say 4pm, and want to be asleep at 10pm, the reason why you may not be able to fall/stay asleep may be because half of the amount of caffeine is still working its way through the system and causing its sleep suppressing and energising effects.

Coffee and Stress

Coffee also increases the secretion of the stress hormone cortisol, and may, in effect, be creating conditions in the body similar to those of acute stress. One of the main functions of cortisol is to release glucose into the bloodstream from the stores in the liver, in order for the body to have energy to deal with the stressful situation in hand, which was crucial for our early ancestors who had to fight a wild animal or be able to run from it. This evolutionary response is called the ‘fight or flight’ response. However, these days, people who are chronically in fight or flight mode, due to their stressful lives, may already have high circulating cortisol levels, which will be exacerbated by drinking coffee. Also, a stressful life doesn’t usually encourage people to exercise, instead stress tends to lead to physical inactivity, meaning that the released glucose is not used up so the body has to store it as fat, particularly in the abdominal area, increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes and other related chronic conditions.

Coffee and Histamine

Furthermore, caffeine may have effects on the levels of histamine produced or degraded in the body. Histamine is an inflammatory compound that is released by certain cells in allergic or inflammatory reactions. Histamine also is naturally found in many foods and therefore can build up in the body if your body is not breaking it down efficiently enough. The science on the effects of coffee on histamine is not conclusive, with some studies showing an inhibitory effect of caffeine on histamine secretion, while others having observed an increase in histamine release. Some people are genetically predisposed to inefficient enzyme activity in pathways that degrade histamine and may thus be more prone to get reactions from histamine accumulation. Caffeine may further slow or block these pathways, contributing to higher levels of histamine and potentially creating a range of symptoms which vary widely from individual to individual.

To Drink or Not to Drink?

So you love your morning brew and would like to enjoy the health benefits… Then by all means enjoy it – no need to deprive yourself of this lovely drink. However, listen to your body next time you drink coffee and make sure you are aware of its effects on YOUR body.

Maybe you get a great energy boost immediately but may feel shaky or irritable soon after. Maybe you know that your body isn’t functioning well without your morning cuppa. Maybe you’re coping with a lot of stress and may not be able to handle caffeine so well. Maybe you get a racing heart, digestive symptoms or itchy eyes (or some other vague symptoms) after drinking coffee.

If any of the above applies to you, try and reduce the amount of coffee you drink (do it gradually to minimise any withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches). And when you drink coffee, do it before 2pm to ensure good sleep, as caffeine can stay in the body for several hours, as I mentioned above, potentially disrupting sleep if consumed in the afternoon. Instead, drink green tea (although green tea contains some caffeine, it’s very high in L-theanine, an amino acid that is associated with relaxation), herbal teas or a coffee substitute such as chicory coffee and occasionally enjoy a cup of high-quality real coffee as a treat in the first part of the day or before an exam, important meeting or a sports performance.

And remember to have your morning cuppa after or with a balanced breakfast/brunch, or with some protein, in order to benefit more from the cortisol response and to reduce any blood glucose spikes when consumed on empty stomach.

My Favourite Brands

I stopped drinking coffee for around 4-5 years ago due to its effects on my body and sleep particularly. However, even though I love my cups of green and herbal teas these days, I sometimes miss a really nice cup of coffee. So more recently I’ve started having occasional cups of the best quality coffee that I know of in the market. I aim to always go for organic decaf for the health benefits without the side effects, and I generally only drink it at home when I can brew some Exhale in my Italian stove-top cafetiere, or I take a few pouches of London Nootropics mushroom coffee with me on short journeys for an instant hit. For me, coffee is an occasional treat. For you, it may be something you enjoy more often. That’s your choice, your body, your health! We are all different.

These are my favourite brands:

Exhale Coffee

The unique process of this small brand is designed to lock in more of coffee’s healthiest plant compounds and involves nine different tests at independent labs across Europe. Exhale coffee is high in antioxidant polyphenols and free of mycotoxins, heavy metals, pesticides and other toxins.

If you want to try Exhale coffee use code MINNAWOOD at checkout to get 50% off your first bag in a fully flexible, no commitment subscription (discount code valid for UK delivery addresses only).

London Nootropics

London Nootropics (as seen on Dragons Den) make adaptogenic coffee blends with coffee, medicinal mushrooms and adaptogenic herbs. Nootoropics means they boost the brain power, by enhancing cognitive performance and improving brain health. Medicinal mushrooms are known to modulate our immune systems and adaptogenic herbs may help calm the stress response. These may produce a wide range of benefits around memory, focus, motivation, verbal fluency and more.

To try London Nootropics coffee blends, use code ‘metawell’ at checkout to get 15% off your order.

To see a list of other health products I recommend, and enjoy discounts on them, check our my Recommended Products page.

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