Hello beautiful!
How are you doing today? I hope you're doing well! Judging by the title of this post, I am sure you can see that this post is about to talk about that amazing morning cup that so many of us love! Whether that be in the morning to kickstart the day, that afternoon pick me up, or whatever way you enjoy your coffee! Or maybe you're not a coffee drinker at all, but want to know why "drug" is in the title of a post about a harmless drink, or at least you think that for now!
Like a lot of people, I grew up around parental figures and grandparents who all drink coffee. The smell alone of a cup or pot of brewed coffee, or the smell emanating from the coffee aisle in the store and coffee shops are undoubtedly nostalgic smells. I love coffee as much as the next person. Don't get me wrong it can taste amazing and does if you find one you like! I do believe it has benefits to drinking it when it doesn't have a bunch of things added into it. However, I was shocked when I saw it associated with the term and word "drug." I thought surely that can't be right. But the more I thought about it I wasn't surprised! If you were to look up and read the history of the origin of coffee being sold you will find out it was originally sold as a drug. It was sold as a drug for its effects of quick energy and focus it gave people. Something so many have come to rely on and look forward to from it. I am positive someone is still potentially asking themselves, "how in the world can coffee be addicting if all it does is give us this great jolt of energy and focus? Especially, since those aren't causing any harm to us." Now, I am not saying by any means it is doing a lot of harm to us at all. It isn't nearly one of the worst drugs to ever be made and put on the market. That's for sure! But, it can be addicting in its own right! But. . .how?
It can be addictive in the sense that so many rely on it mainly for an energy boost. Which lasts for at least a few hours once it kicks in. Only for it to cause an energy crash later, and then leading you to want more energy again, and we then go and have another cup, and so on. It keeps us on that cycle because you get hooked on the instant gratification it brings and the instant surge of energy. The instant energy given is what keeps us coming back. Especially, since, quite a large part of the population myself included have crappy sleep. Bad sleep equals low energy. Therefore, low energy equals a search for more energy. A search for more energy means us going to lean on resources we know to get us what we need. Regardless of what that resource may be. Factor in that a lot of people add sugar to their coffee or get sweetened coffees from coffee shops makes it that much more addictive because sugar acts like an opioid in our brains, which is its topic for a different post. Haha! Which isn't great if we are being open and honest with ourselves. So what do we do about it, or do we have to do anything about it?
In my opinion, no, we don't necessarily need to do anything about it. Not unless you feel you are addicted to coffee and want to change it for yourself. I think it is fine to drink coffee. If you drink it, one of the best ways to gain health benefits from coffee would be to opt for organic coffee and to drink it black. Now, if you religiously use milk or cream in your coffee or can't stand the taste of black coffee you can add coconut milk/cream or almond milk as a substitute to your coffee. Preferably, one that doesn't have a lot of additives to it, but that is pretty hard to come by depending on what resources are available to you. I am going to share a recipe for a homemade coconut milk creamer I found from another blog that I can't think of the name of at the moment, and then I am also going to plan on playing around with it. So I will try to share things on that. One day I may do a post on the benefits of coffee because it really can have health benefits. Most of the time the ones we grab from coffee shops that taste amazing aren't necessarily the best for us. But, every so often they're alright. I love coffee and I know a lot of others who do as well, and I fully intend to share about alternatives or healthy coffee recipes. So if that's something that interests you stay tuned!
To conclude this post, I hope you found it interesting and informative to a degree. It is a long of a post, but I didn't realize I had so much I would say in it! Haha! I cannot wait to do posts about some of the things I mentioned in this post, and I am excited to be getting a burst of desire to write at the moment. I am hoping this burst of creativity lasts for a little while! I love you and send lots of love to you today and always! It's not impossible to be healthy and have things that are healthy taste unhealthy! If only we just open up our minds and our imaginations! That is always a combo that is sure to take us somewhere! I will see you again soon!
Best wishes and lots of love,
The Inspiring Hummingbird!