Love Coffee first thing in the morning?

Two reasons why you might want to change the timing of your morning caffeine


☕ A caffeine fix is a pretty common way of waking up in the morning, helping us get ready to tackle the day. Many of us enjoy our morning caffeination and Couldn't bare the thought of giving it up.

We don't necessarily have to give it up.

Coffee significantly contributes to our daily intake of phytonutrients & It is associated with many health benefits. Luckily it's a case of when instead of never.

And 2 reasons why you might want to delay:

1️⃣ Caffeine interferes with the absorption of some essential nutrients, including calcium, vitamin D, and iron. It's also a diuretic and can increase the loss of water-soluble vitamins, e.g., B vitamins & vitamin C. drinking coffee one hour before a meal does not affect iron absorption. Upping the amount Of vitamin & copper in your meals have also been found to improve iron absorption and reduce the impact that coffee/ caffeinated drinks has

2️⃣Your body sharply increases the release of cortisol into the blood first thing in the morning (up to 75%), known as the Cortisol Awakening Response - CAR peaking 45mins after waking. This causes blood sugar to rise, so you have energy available to start the day. CAR has an impact on things like energy, resiliency, and mood. Those with fatigue, chronic stress & burnout tend to show a low/flat CAR.

CAR impacts immune function. If you have a low/flatlining CAR, you have a higher risk for certain cancers and autoimmune diseases.

CAR acts on your thymus gland, which makes T cells, the kind of master controllers of the immune system. CAR plays an important role in destroying immune cells in the thymus that are potentially autoimmune or malfunctioning. (fun fact: only about 50% of the T cells we make in the thymus ever make it out. This might seem inefficient, but it is part of a more extensive process that enables up to respond to a vast diversity of germs)

If you feel like your CAR is flatlining, try isolating that caffeine-induced morning cortisol peak from your natural CAR by pushing back the coffee for 1-2 hours.

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