6 Reasons Why Coffee Can Help You Live Longer!

Coffee can sometimes get a bad wrap. Drinking too much can be problematic, however, too much of anything is bad for us. That's why it's deemed "too much". Coffee, without the addition of dairy and sugar, actually has some pretty good health claims behind it that are backed by research. Check out these 6 things coffee does to make you live a healthier life!

1. Coffee boosts brain power!

Caffeine (in moderation) can actually be quite useful when used correctly. It can enhance brain function and improve memory! We all know caffeine is a stimulant, so I'm sure the energy boost is no surprise. Depending on how quickly your body can metabolize caffeine, some people may notice caffeine has a stronger affect on them than others. 

Caffeine acts as an antagonist to the neurotransmitter Adenosine. Adenosine is known for promoting sleep and surprising arousal. Caffeine blocks this action, causing you the be alert and focused and has been shown to improve memory, cognitive function and reaction times!

2. Coffee can help you burn fat!

Caffeine is the reason behind this one as well. Studies have shown that consuming the appropriate dose of caffeine before exercise can actually shift the body to metabolize fat as a preference over carbohydrates. This can sometimes get a bit blown out of proportion in some weight loss supplements, so watch out for this little fact! It seems to be very dose dependant and unique to the individual, and it also tends to work best after the 90 minutes of exercise mark! 

3. Coffee can improve your athletic performance!

Another point for caffeine! That shift in metabolism that helps you burn more fat will also increase performance in endurance type sports or events. Again, it is important to remember that the majority of this effect comes into play only after the 90 minute point. 

It can also help in the short term and is often a popular choice in pre-workout weight lifting supplements. Short term, caffeine can reduce the perception of pain and make it a little bit easier to push yourself just a little more, which can make all the difference in close competition. 

4. Coffee can protect the liver!

Now it is true that caffeine is broken down and processed by the liver, so you'll often find coffee on the avoidance list when approaching things like a detoxification program. The liver is an incredible organ with many responsibilities, so for the purpose of detoxification, avoiding caffeine takes away one more job so the liver can work on detoxifying the rest of the body. So detoxification protocols aside, coffee has actually been shown to be very protective of the liver. In fact, people who drink 4 or more cups of coffee a day (avoiding the sugars and dairy) have up to an 80% decreased risk for developing cirrhosis! 

5. Coffee can make you more happy!

Aside from that smile that creeps across your face and the joy in your soul that occurs when you smell a fresh cup of coffee, there are studies that show a correlation between lower rates of depression in people who drink 4 or more cups of coffee per day. That 4 cup a day mark seems to be the magic number here.

6. Coffee is rich in antioxidants!

This may come as a surprise to some of you, it definitely did to me, but coffee is actually a pretty great source of antioxidants. In fact, for most people who eat the Standard American Diet (SAD), coffee is likely the greatest contributor of antioxidants, trumping both fruits and vegetables. Coffee is definitely a rich source of these ever so important antioxidants, but the fact that a Standard American Diet is so deficient in other sources is concerning as well. That aside, coffee can most definitely be a healthy way to start your day! 

There we have it, coffee is pretty great. As long as you are skipping out on the massive amounts of sugar and dairy, you can reap in all the rewards that coffee has to offer. Not all coffee is created equal though so try your best to be drinking more locally roasted beans so freshness is preserved and mold is kept to a minimum. Some beans I personally love can be found on my "Guide to Supercharging your Day" post, as well as some tips to make your coffee work even harder for you first thing in the morning. Check it out and let me know what you think!


Dr. Rob Raponi ND, CISSN, B.Kine(Hons)

www.msknaturopathic.com

What is Naturopathic Medicine?

While it is a quickly growing field, there are still quite a few misconceptions about what it actually means to be a naturopathic doctor, or simply, ND. I personally see this every time I meet new people and tell them about what it is I do. Soon after informing them that I am studying to become an ND I am typically met with one of the following three responses;

1) They love it and proceed to having an entertainingly extensive conversation about what they take and who they've had visits with,

2) Disapproval or impartiality. Conversation doesn't usually last long, and

3) "Oh! Like homeopathy?"

Those last two responses (especially the third) are the reason I have decided to start my blog by clearing the air about what exactly naturopathic medicine is and what it is we do. 

So, who are these crazy individuals who decide to get into this field? Where did we come from and why this form of medicine? I can't speak for all of us, but I can tell you we are quite the diversified group of individuals united by the common goal of helping others, and I mean truly helping others in any and every way that we can. I can also tell you that to get where we are we are required to finish an undergraduate degree, complete all of the prerequisite university level science courses and then successfully complete another four year degree at an approved naturopathic college. So we also love to prolong that whole graduate and enter the work force thing. 

Enough of the backstory, let's get back on topic. What is naturopathic medicine? What it really all comes down to is treating the root cause of disease. We are trained to do a very thorough patient intake in which we attempt to obtain a complete history of factors that may have contributed to that specific individual's illness. Attention to detail, asking the right questions, obtaining lab tests and ensuring that each person is heard as their own unique case are all key factors into how an ND begins their approach to identify and then treat the root cause.

The simplest way I can explain what we do is by comparing ND's to mechanics and our patients to their cars. When a warning light shows up on your car dashboard, it's trying to tell you something is wrong even though you may have no idea what that light means (or is that just me?). Now you can do one of two things here; take your car to the mechanic where the problem will be diagnosed and fixed from the inside so the light turns off, or you can simply cover the warning light with a piece of tape and forget that it's there. Here we can see how simply treating the symptom (the warning light) is really not getting down to the real reason it came on in the first place. ND's are the mechanics who are going to use all of their tools to diagnose and fix the real problem. Instead of wrenches, ratchets and screwdrivers, ND's use nutrition, counselling, physical manipulation, acupuncture, supplements and yes, occasionally homeopathy to develop a treatment plan that is specific and realistic to the individual so that their illness can be addressed properly and thoroughly. While the results may take longer to achieve than a conventional medical treatment protocol , the overall results will be lifelong and with fewer complications.

I hope I have been able to clear the air on what naturopathic medicine is and I encourage any and all of you to continue to research more about it and comment or ask me any questions you may have.

Rob Raponi, CISSN, B.Kine,
Naturopathic Intern
www.msknaturopathic.com