About this episode
Would taking Cortisol Manager or Maca offset my coffee habit? That was the real question from a reader. Do you have a coffee habit? Love it and don’t really want to give it up? Out of control a coffee habit could elevate your cortisol. Cortisol and insulin can combine forces for belly fat deposit. You may not have to kick that habit entirely but here’s how to decide. Caffeine is an ergogenic aid. For that reason caffeinated gels and gu-type supplements (which I don’t recommend) are often used during races to supply not only sugar but give a legal kick of energy. A little caffeine timed right can give you a fat burning boost, and help you exercise harder or longer without it feeling so. Test yourself though, because some feel anxious and jittery instead of having a better workout. And only do that in the morning. If you’re exercising late in the day… I hope it’s not intense then anyway for hormone balance … the caffeine is more likely to disrupt sleep, something you and I don’t need. Can I Do Something I Know Isn’t Good for Me as Long as I Take a Fix for It? Here’s the thing… if you appreciate the world of functional medicine and functional fitness and getting to the root cause of why you’re sick/don’t feel good, or why a movement causes you pain… then you’ll appreciate this. Why do you want or need the coffee in the first place? Before I go too far here, people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Cliché yes, but I love my… sometimes coffee more often matcha, too. In fact, I’ll share my two clean triple screened matcha source so you can avoid the mold, and heavy metals found to be significant in most matcha on the shelves… and my mushroom coffee from Foursigmatic plus a 10% off code as a subscriber of Flipping 50. My Coffee Habit And my coffee habit has been known to get out of control. I’m not actually seeking the energy – I’ve got that, but it is such a habit while I’m working the first few hours in the morning that I can easily be reaching for a third mug and not even realize it. But if you are reaching for it because you don’t have energy, you are trying to avoid eating and – in which case if you are fasting you need to be sure it’s black coffee and clear tea, and check to see how it affects your blood sugar levels. Even black coffee if your cortisol is already whacky might increase blood sugar. It certainly could if you’re having more than two cups and having them all morning into afternoon. Regardless, it’s acidic and too much of that isn’t good for your gut. The Question So, should you do something that you know overall is not good for your health, and can you just cancel it out, or erase it by taking Cortisol Manager, or something like Macapause (which I will also link to in the show notes? I recently did a podcast interview with Mona Fahoum about Femminssence’s Maca products for women in midlife. It’s been a lifesaver for me. My energy and morning mojo were back within a week.) Maca is an adaptogen – meaning it is not a hormone but supports natural hormone balance as works with your body on a as-needed basis. Perfect. I’m not opposed to taking bio-identical hormones. But keeping them on a low-dose and allowing my body to do what it can naturally are the way I want to go. What It’s Not I don’t think it’s like a contraceptive though, you know? Or like the morning after pill. If you know you shouldn’t be doing it anyway, figure out why you are doing it. Drinking tons of coffee is not overall good for your health. If you choose safely sourced coffee or matcha some is fine – actually has health benefits. But more is not better. You wouldn’t take two doses of vitamins or of a prescription med on the same day. We used to think of exercise and eating this way too, didn’t we? I can eat donuts or an extra serving of chips because I workout all the time. Or, have the dessert, you can spare the calories. Without including the damage the sugar, chemicals, and wasted calories have done, as we know now this thinking led to a lot of unhealthy active adults. One good habit doesn’t cancel a bad habit the way your daily habits (epigenetics) matter more than genetics. (By the way matcha has caffeine in it too, but there’s are autoimmune benefits and it has a combination of alertness with chill-pill effect that is distinctly different from the anxiousness sometimes experienced from drinking coffee). A Better Way to Energy than Your Coffee Habit So, let’s get you energy from sources that offer benefits. Drink more water- hydration will keep your coffee habit in check. Exercise regularly – shorter bouts more frequently for energy boosting. Kick those long sessions to the curb. Especially now that a strong immune system is just about the healthiest thing you can do for yourself. Resources: My Clean Matcha choice Mushroom Coffee (use Flipping-50) Femmenessence Macapause (also available if you’re in perimenopause) Podcast about Maca with Dr. Mona Fahoum show notes: Flippingfifty.com/coffee-habit