Is Coffee Good for You? Can the worlds favourite drink live happily with Tai Chi?
Everywhere you look people are walking around with cups of coffee. On every street corner seems to be a coffee shop springing up. It might seem like the latest fad but coffee shops have been around in London for a long time. Remember that Lloyds of London Insurance Underwriters started in a coffee shop in 1760 so we have been addicted to the stuff for a long time.
But is coffee good for you? It would seem in moderation yes.
Traditional Chinese Medicine View
Classifies food and drinks into food qualities. That is from hot, meaning the food/drink energised the body to cold where it chills the body. These are obviously extremes as most food, drink and herbs lie somewhere in between. Chinese medicine is all about balance. It is ok to consume something that has hot energy like Chilli or cold energy like Bean Sprouts so long as it is not too often. So, a good diet in traditional terms would be a balance of food and drink in or around the middle of the scale.
Coffee – Roasted and Unroasted
Coffee Beans in their natural state, Green Coffee is classified in Chinese Medicine as cool, pacifying energy. But once the beans are roasted, they change their composition into warm energy, i.e. energising. If you take too much of either will eventually affect your health. The hot energy of roasted coffee will if drunk too often will dry, and agitate you. You can understand that yourself on the days you have one cup to many
Benefits
For a long time, it was thought that it increased the risk of heart disease but recent studies have found no connection.
Diabetes – coffee drinkers much lower risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
Alzheimer’s - Coffee drinkers 65% lower risk of Alzheimer’s.
Liver Protector – Some research appears to show that coffee protects your Liver.
Downsides of too Much Coffee
Makes you agitated – Chinese medicine would call that too much fire.
Increase Stress levels – Anything with a lot of caffeine in will increase stress.
In the end it is common sense if you have too much of anything it is bad for you, so don’t have too much. 1-2 cups of coffee a day seem to have a beneficial effect, beyond that it tips the scales in the opposite direction.
Tai Chi and coffee – Tai Chi calms the mind and body and helps it to heal itself. 1-2 cups of coffee spaced throughout the day should have no adverse effect. Eat lots of green leafy Veg, Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts, sounds like a good recipe to me.