Is Coffee Bad for You? – Plus a Frozen Peppermint Mocha Recipe!

The last thing I remember is sitting on the bench, watching the volleyball tournament continue around me as my heart raced out of control. Then everything went black.

I never really liked exercise in middle school. I would run seemingly endless, breathless laps around the gym before pretending to take my heart rate. I could never seem to find my pulse, so I’d just jot down some made up number close to what the others would record. What I didn’t know at the time, what my gym teacher and my parents didn’t know, was that I had a serious heart condition.

Kicking the habit

Years later, I was suddenly dealing with the blackouts and the extreme breathlessness when I started to become seriously active again. The solution was surprisingly simple though, I was told to give up all caffeine. This meant my favorite dark chocolate and espresso had to go.

For about four years, I continued to ditch the caffeine while I played competitive volleyball. I felt fantastic and had tons of energy. But when high school ended and I hung up my jersey for good, I slipped back into the caffeine habit. 3 years of college and nearly a few hundred hazelnut lattes later, I was dealing with hypothyroid and adrenal fatigue.

Is coffee bad for you?

But what about the rest of the population? Is coffee a benign beverage, or is it a health wrecker?

“Caffeine increases blood sugar levels… When caffeine is combined with other sugars (and so many people sweeten their coffee with sugar, honey, etc.), it can be even more detrimental. Because of this, it can be a contributor to insulin resistance.
Caffeine, which is a stimulant, is often used to boost someone’s energy. When stimulants are used in the body, they can aggravate existing blood sugar issues and create imbalance, even in healthy people. This is because caffeine depletes two of our most important neurotransmitters, serotonin and norepinephrine.” – Delicious Obsessions

Additionally, caffeine dehydrates the body and:

“Causes the body to excrete potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and other minerals, as well as B vitamins (especially thiamine, B1), and vitamin C.” – Delicious Obsessions

There is plenty of debate on either side, but if you’re relying on coffee and caffeine to get you going in the morning, you have blood sugar swings, fatigue or adrenal problems, then you’d probably feel better kicking the coffee can down the road.

A tasty alternative

Surprisingly though, I still didn’t want to completely get rid of my favorite beverage. Until now.

I’ve finally found something that satisfies that coffee craving sweet tooth, without causing my heart to race or give me a caffeine crash a few hours later. My friend Jessica created some amazing herbal coffee blends, that are not only sans caffeine, but actually help boost your body and detox your liver! Talk about versatile.

I can now “indulge” in that peppermint mocha, the iced almond latte and my superfood vanilla latte.

The bad news first

Jessica was selling her handcrafted herbal coffees for awhile before the FDA regulations got too steep. Since our government has decided a food (like herbal coffee) can’t claim to prevent disease or heal the body without being considered an illegal drug, you can no longer buy these coffee blends.

There was even a company willing to buy the recipes and jump through all hoops needed to manufacture these blends. Lucky for you though, Jessica chose an alternative.

Get your hands on this

Instead of turning her perfected formulas over, Jessica decided to publish them in her very own e-book. She gives detailed instructions for how to make 5 of her popular herbal blends, including happy liver herbal coffee, spicy chai, pumpkin spice and creamy cocoa. Let me tell you, these are drool worthy!

You can get all 5 formulas and coffee creation drinks.  Click here to check it out.

I’m really excited to try the Buttered maple cream, S’mores and White chocolate mint lattes! This frozen peppermint mocha will keep you out of the Starbuck’s line and is the perfect, frosty winter drink.

Frozen Peppermint Mocha

Ingredients

• 8 oz. brewed herbal “coffee” (cold)
• ¼ cup cream or milk of your choice
• 2 tsp. cocoa or carob powder - get it here
• 1 tsp. peppermint extract - get it here
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract - get it here
• Sweetener of your choice (optional, maple syrup is my favorite)
• Ice (or coffee ice cubes mentioned on page 29)

Instructions

1. Place all of your ingredients into a blender.
2. Whiz in your blender for 20-30 seconds, or until the ice is completely blended.
3. Serve immediately.

© 2024 Recipe from The Herbal Spoon