Traditional Chinese Medicine: 15 Reasons Why Coffee is Good For You

Acupuncture, Chinese massage, oriental beauty tea… Many of us are curious whenever we hear about those “Ancient Chinese Secrets” that some people swear by. Fortunately for you, I have a bachelor’s degree in the Chinese language and came across this very interesting article on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and its angle on coffee and all the health benefits it includes. So here are 15 reasons why they think coffee is good for you. Enjoy!

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1. Coffee refreshes and clears the mind. As if we didn’t know this already, but TCM really goes into depth as they explain why our brain feels more refreshed after having that cup of joe. The rich aroma of coffee easily stimulates the central nervous system and promotes brain activity, which in turn makes the mind able to think more clearly. This also explains why after drinking coffee you may have more inspiration, a higher thinking and concentration ability, and improved work efficiency. Coffee also stimulates the cerebral cortex, which promotes one’s sense of feeling, judgment and enhances memory. No wonder why we need that coffee when we are prepping for a test or a challenging day at work.

by Sam Marsh Illustration and design

2. Coffee is good for bones, joints, and exercise regimes. Have you ever had coffee before a workout and then feel like your invincible? I myself love having coffee before I do gymnastics because I would feel… just… really fierce. This is because caffeine induces muscle contraction as well as increases tendon strength and improves motor function. You may also feel like the little voice inside your head that usually tells you when to stop just isn’t there, so during your workouts, you may feel more inclined to break your last record, or do something a little more extreme. Why don’t we just change the name to motivation in a cup?

3. Coffee aids in digestion. This is another thing that we probably already knew, but lets look a little deeper. Caffeine stimulates the sympathetic nervous system (think fight or flight) which makes peristaltic movement (involuntary movements of the digestive tract) increase. This may be why after you have that grande Caffè Americano you have no problem going to the bathroom afterwards. Caffeine also stimulates the gastrointestinal tract to secrete gastric acid and promote digestion, which in turn prevents bloating and constipation. What a miracle!

4. Coffee destroys fat cells. Wait, whaat？That’s right, according to TCM, caffeine can accelerate the decomposition of fat cells and increase the body’s metabolic rate. On a side note, bathing with coffee powder is an excellent skin treatment that helps to tighten and sooth skin. We all need to pamper ourselves a little more, so save some money and give yourself your own at-home spa caffeine anti-cellulite treatment. You’ll thank me later.

5. Coffee reduces bloating. Caffeine promotes kidney function and removes excess bodily fluids and sodium retention. Drinking coffee thus improves bloating, edema and weight loss.

Image by Mindful.sodexo.com

6. Coffee improves blood circulation. The linoleic acid contained in coffee can cause mild hemolysis, which breaks down red blood cells. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, hemolysis natually occurs during exercise, and is a means of removing aged cells from the bloodstream. This occurrence prevents thrombosis (blood clots), enhances the constriction of blood vessels, promotes blood circulation, and relieves pressure headaches, especially migraines. Having healthy blood circulation is important because blood carries oxygen and nutrients to working cells throughout the body, including the skin, thus nourishing skin cells. In addition to providing oxygen, blood flow also helps carry away waste products, including free radicals. Coffee also helps restore elasticity to muscles and skin, and prevents vascular disease.

Image by New Life Genetics

7. Coffee has anti-aging properties. Coffee has that rich dark color and slight bitterness because it is rich in antioxidants. Although many people focus on teas, fruits and vegetables being high in anti-aging antioxidants, some research reports indicate that coffee contains 4 times more antioxidant substances than tea. So coffee scores extra points in fighting free radicals. Yay!

8. Coffee is a mood booster. TCM claims that drinking the appropriate amount of coffee can help people feel excited, put them in a joyful mood, forget about their troubles, alleviate depression, relieve stress, and relax. Sounds about right.

http://www.menstuff.co.za/lifestyle/5-health-benefits-of-drinking-coffee/

9.Coffee aids lungs in fighting asthma. Caffeine boosts the body’s sympathetic nerves (fight or flight) and suppresses parasympathetic nerves(our body’s rest and digest system). These effects on the body are much likened to the drugs used to treat asthma, which try to activate the sympathetic response and block the parasympathetic response. This is because during sympathetic activity (like fighting bad guys) the airways need to dilate in order to get more oxygen into the lungs and around the body.  So basically, coffee is like an asthma medication, it can help open the breathing airways. I bet you didn’t know that one.

10. Coffee can deodorize smells. Caffeine contains tannin, which can eliminate mouth odors such as garlic and meat. Very interesting…(But what about coffee breath?)

GREMLIN

11. Coffee can relive hangover symptoms. Drinking coffee after having alcohol will rapidly oxidize the acetaldehyde (a contributing cause of a hangover after alcohol consumption) converted from alcohol, decompose it into water and carbon dioxide and excrete it from the body.

12. Coffee may help prevent Gallstones. Caffeine can stimulate the gallbladder to shrink and reduce the formation of gallstones in the bile. For men who drink two or three cups of coffee a day, the chance of getting gallstones is less than 40%. To me personally, I don’t think 40% is that low of a number, but were going with it.

13. Coffee protects dry eyes. Research claims that coffee drinkers are significantly less likely to suffer from dry eye syndrome than those who do not drink coffee. This is mainly related to the purine composition in coffee, which stimulates the glands to secrete liquid and thus protect the eyes. This is great for all those who sit in front of a screen monitor all day long. Drink up！

14. Coffee provides pain relief. For the times you have a headache because you didn’t sleep well the night before, or when you have a pressure headache in your side temples due to your blood vessels constricting, coffee can eliminate that discomfort. TCM recommends however, that you stick to having coffee only in the morning or at noon.

15. Coffee can reduce the risk of stroke. Coffee can accelerate the metabolism of cholesterol and reduce coronary atheroma. Coronary atheroma is the build-up of fatty deposits on the walls of the arteries, and will restrict blood flow to the heart. Reducing the chance of coronary atheroma thus reduces the chance of stroke. Who knew?

So there you have it, 15 benefits of drinking coffee according to Chinese Medicine. Of course, there are many different kinds and fields of Chinese doctors, all having different opinions. Some may feel that coffee should not be consumed at all. But it is fabulous to know that some of our friends in the eastern world enjoy coffee just as much as we do. Have any questions or concerns? Please let me know in the comment box below, I’d love to hear from you.

Coffee and Anxiety: Personal Experience and Research

Maybe you’ve enjoyed coffee for many years. You enjoy waking up and including coffee in your daily ritual. You might even be like me and before you go to bed, tell yourself: “I can’t wait to wake up and have coffee in the morning!!” But what if something suddenly changes, what if when you drink coffee, you start to feel… not so comfortable? You may start to get a tightness feeling in your chest, heart palpitations, and even be able to feel the blood rushing and pumping through your body. You may be so tired, but when you lie down to take a nap, you can’t force yourself to relax.

If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. I suffered with these symptoms for over two years. Is coffee really to blame? In this article, I will tell you my story of what I experienced and how I overcame these alarming symptoms.

First of all, I must say my story and research is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Going back to my story. Coffee was always the thing that set it off, the heart palpitations. However, sometimes other things would trigger it such as eating lunch, drinking soymilk, and being on the underground subway. I was always afraid of when my next attack was going to be, resulting in a huge cycle of anxiety-ridden paranoia. It actually took a lot of work for me to even figure out what my triggers where. Then I realized coffee, or caffeine might be to blame. But was that really so?

I hate seeing doctors, going to hospitals especially, but my husband (fiance at the time) insisted on taking me to see a doctor. They ran a bunch of tests on my heart and found nothing particularly abnormal. My heart was healthy, so that should have been a relief right? But to be honest I was a little frustrated. I just wanted answers. What did the doctor advise me to do? “Change your lifestyle” he said. I also saw another doctor, a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) doctor, who told me that my qi (vital energy) was very weak. Both of the doctors gave me medicine. The first one was an anti-anxiety medication and also a medication to help me sleep. The TCM doctor gave me some powdered Chinese medicine to help balance my qi. They also both gave me advice on lifestyle changes. Here’s what they advised and the results it brought me.

• Stop drinking coffee. I know, I know, the worst news in the entire world. It seems like a huge chunk of my inner culture was ripped out from inside me. No more coffee? How could I handle this? But with the support of my fiance, and friends, I was able to temporarily quit drinking the liquid of life until my symptoms improved and was able to slowly incorporate coffee back into my daily routine. For a story and tips on how to quit coffee, please subscribe and stay tuned for that future article.
• Go to bed early. The doctor told me to be in bed before 11:00. 10:00 is even better. According to Traditional Chinese medicine, our bodies get the best and most crucial sleep before midnight. So if your just hitting the sack at around 12:00, and scrolling on your phone for over an hour (its okay, we all do it) then your missing the best and most healing sleep that our bodies need. So I made it a priority to get home at a decent hour, take a nice relaxing shower, and get a nighttime routine down that would tell my subconscious its time to get ready for bed. Honestly it helped a lot. I tried to stay away from the lights of my phone screen to increase melatonin production and read a little from a real book if I wasn’t too tired. Getting a good night’s sleep is also crucial to being healthy during the day. Prolonged lack of sleep can lead to increased levels of cortisol, which is a stress hormone released by the adrenal glands. Too much cortisol will interfere with the daily cycles of other hormones, disrupting sleep patterns and causing fatigue (thus why I was so tired all the time). After understanding how hormones in the body work, I started to understand why I was in a bad cycle of not being able to sleep at night, tired during the day, not being able to relax, and feeling anxious.
• Simplify your life. The doctor told me to work less, exercise more. Work less…. this was something very difficult to do, but I was really desperate at the time. I simplified my life, started reading things on minimalism, and cut my hours of work time. The result? I started to have a more calm mind and a sense of control. I started finding inner peace. I took time for myself to rest and think. I started to feel really good. But still, every once in a while, the panic attack would still rise up. But it was okay. I would tell myself that it would pass, drink some water, say a prayer, and maybe go for a walk. To this day I still stress the importance of not cramming my schedule so full, and giving myself a little more time just to breathe.
• Exercise. I can not stress how important this is. Anxiety is built up energy inside your body that can’t get out, So exercise is a great way to get that energy out and relieve stress. Since I often got anxiety after eating lunch, the doctor advised me to take a leisurely walk for 30 minutes to an hour after eating. At the time, I couldn’t do any strenuous exercise, because I was pretty weak and I would get lightheaded very easily, sometimes just from standing up from a sitting position. After I improved, I was able to increase my workout intensity, doing about 40 minutes of cardio and 20-30 minutes of strength training. Currently, if I don’t get about 3-5 workouts in in a week, sometimes the anxiety will creep back up on me. So I feel like this is a very important attribute to staying anxiety free.
• Stop worrying. For those with anxiety symptoms, sometimes its hard to link the physical discomfort with our mental thoughts. For me, it seemed that my subconscious was worrying but I actually didn’t have any idea that these thoughts were stressing me out. The physical symptoms just seemed to come randomly and out of no where. Now after working really hard on controlling my thoughts and reducing my worries, I now can see the link. Whatever tasks or things I need to do, or anything that is on my mind, I write it down. I tackle it. If it is something that I cannot tackle, I talk about it with a trusted friend, and come to terms that it is something that I can not change, so I don’t worry about it. Talking to someone about problems that you cannot change can be beneficial in two ways. One, maybe they can come up with a solution that you never thought of. Two, they might help you put things in proper perspective, realizing that your problem isn’t so big after all.
• Be positive. Enjoy the little things. Pamper yourself. Sometimes we can get so caught up into the fear of anxiety, always thinking about when its going to come up again, and hating ourselves when its happening. But if we can change our attitude, tell ourselves that our anxiety is just a current feeling, that it will soon pass, we then wont let anxiety control us. In the meantime, find fun things to do. Go for walks, start a project, go to a bookstore and find a new treasure. Learn to paint. The mind is extremely powerful, so keep the mind positive and the body will follow.

Conclusion: Is coffee to blame for my anxiety? Maybe just a little. I’d like to think of my anxiety as the domino pieces already lined up and ready to fall at any time. Coffee was just the little push of a finger that would trigger the dominoes to fall. My anxiety was already there, accumulated by my hectic and somewhat self-abusive lifestyle. I am happy to say that now I can peacefully enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning without my heart feeling like its going to beat out of my chest. I sleep well at night, and am not overly tired during the day. I feel like I have control over my life again.

Have you had similar experiences with caffeine and anxiety? What has helped you? Please share your thoughts with me, I would love to hear it!

About Us

We are Jerry and Alix.

At first, we knew nothing about coffee. Sure, we know that a latte tastes good and has frothy milk in it. But as far as what makes a great cup of coffee, and if we could duplicate it ourselves, that’s a whole nother story.

We are a newlywed couple and co-owners of ClaymensCorp who have fallen in love with coffee. We want to explore our love of coffee and take you with us on this journey. We will focus on not only making that perfect cup, but also exploring the science, culture, and art behind it.

We are coffee enthusiasts. We are not coffee experts. But who really is a coffee expert anyways? It was Albert Einstein who towards the end of his life stated that after all his accomplishments, he then realized that he is just like a child at the shore who has found only a small skipping stone. We can never stop learning, this includes even those who claim to be experts. These small skipping stones that we find can never amount to the vast open sea that is still left to be discovered.

So here’s to all you coffee lovers out there, come learn with us. Please discuss things and share your knowledge with us. In honor of Einstein, start throwing stones with us.