For a while now I have been trying to figure out what triggers my skin breakouts, and decided to do a deep dive into everything that I’ve been putting into my body. Here is what I have learned about my beloved coffee:

Coffee has a ph of 4.5, which makes it 10,000 more acidic than water. After adding sugar and milk, it becomes 20,000 more acidic, which causes the body to take alkalinity from your body tissues causing degeneration.
Coffee is a short term fix. While it can immediately improve one’s mood by stimulating dopamine, overtime it strips the body of serotonin which leads to depression, stress and anxiety.
High caffeine intake restricts blood flow, even to the brain. Caffeine is a vasoconstrictor, which means it tightens blood vessels– this is why it is best to eliminate it or at least limit caffeine intake to 100mg per day for optimal health.

I have tried replacing my coffee with matcha tea, but sometimes my urge is larger than life. On these days, I go to HI-VIBE located just steps away from our office. My go-to order is a Keto Coffee (240cal).

HI-VIBE uses the holy grail of coffee beans, The Purity Coffee, to make it.

Coffee is mostly treated as an industrial crop and often commercial coffee is sprayed with pesticides and sometimes left to mold or ferment before it ships. Purity Coffee only sources organic beans and tests all green coffee for mold, pesticides and Ochratoxin A (which can cause kidney damage).

To be optimized for health benefits, organic coffee needs to be specialty-grade. Specialty-grade signifies that the coffee has been carefully inspected and sorted to ensure the beans are free from defects– most notably chips and cracks. Uniform, perfectly shaped beans allow for a more even roast– greatly reducing the amount of carcinogenic compounds produced when coffee is roasted unevenly.

The roasting process is next. Many commercial coffee producers eliminate the toxins and mold that develops on coffee by roasting it away. However, according to Purity’s scientists, toxins don’t just disappear but merely change their form. Additionally, cancer-causing compounds called Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (or PAHs) develop as a result of smoking or over-roasting coffee beans. Through extensive lab testing, Purity uses a unique roasting protocol to retain maximum antioxidants in coffee beans while completely avoiding PAH development and reducing the amount of Acrylamide (which occurs as result of under-roasting).

Purity’s founders is committed to freshness; storing green beans for 15 months, roasting only according to the number of orders received and shipping the beans to the customer within 48 hours of roasting in bags flushed with nitrogen.

Keto Coffee is made with Purity Coffee, butter and MCT. I like to add Lions Mane to mine.

MCT promotes the filling of fullness and serves as an instant source of energy. It helps burn fat and reduces food cravings.

Lions Mane has positive effects on your body– mainly the brain, heart and gut. It relieves symptoms of anxiety, depression and helps repair nerve damage.

I try not to drink too much coffee, but when I do I try to drink the purest, most antioxidant rich coffee. Give it a try next time you are in the River North neighborhood!

XX,

MD