Coffee is the second most popular beverage in the United States (not counting water) behind carbonated drinks, providing a host of health benefits that are still being discovered by many researchers.
Among the top health benefits of coffee include improved reaction time, heightened mental energy, focus and awareness, an increase in the important “master antioxidant” glutathione within the human body, and many more.
Coffee is so popular that an entire cottage industry devoted to whimsical goods like mugs and t-shirts with slogans like “don’t talk to me until I’ve had my coffee” has popped up in support of the actual coffee industry itself, reinforcing the world’s dependency on the iconic caffeinated beverage.
Despite these health benefits, there are several nagging, potential downsides to coffee, which is just part of the reason why so many people spend weeks, months, and even years trying to wean themselves off of it or to at least decrease their dependence on it.
Making matters more complicated is that coffee is a delicious and enjoyable beverage that most people wouldn’t give up even if they knew it would make them a healthier in the long run.
With that in mind, here are the top negative side effects to watch out for as a coffee drinker, and how to mitigate or even resolve them without giving up your coffee entirely:
1. Jitteriness- Like most stimulants, the caffeine in coffee tends to bring out more of the underlying personality and/or functionality of the person who consumes it, which explains why coffee makes some people extremely focused and energetic while others may feel jittery and scatterbrained.
How to Handle It: According to Dr. Eric Berg, a naturopathic focused doctor out of Virginia, coffee elicits a jittery response because it increases adrenaline production.
He recommends cutting your intake down to one cup per day, and also taking Vitamin B1 to supplement.
“Vitamin B1 will take that jittery feeling out of your body within about three to four minutes, it’s so simple,” he says in a recent YouTube video.
Dr. Berg recommends nutritional yeast for this purpose, a rarely consumed culinary ingredient that is often consumed by vegans and vegetarians. Nutritional yeast has a slight “cheesy” flavor to it, although it more closely resembles a spice.
2. Adrenal Fatigue- According to the well known naturopathic doctor Josh Axe, the answer to the question, “Is coffee good for you?” is both “yes” and “no.”
One of the biggest concerns to be aware of according to Dr. Axe is the whether or not each coffee drinker has adrenal or thyroid problems, because coffee may exacerbate and “tax” the body in these areas, Axe cautions.
How to Handle It: For those who do have adrenal or thyroid problems, Dr. Axe recommends switching to matcha green tea, which has about 1/3 the caffeine content of coffee and several other health benefits.
If you do have adrenal problems and still want to consume coffee, however, the problem could be a mineral and/or nutritional deficiency in general.
Adding foods that are nourishing to the adrenal glands such as organic coconut oil, steamed green vegetables such as broccoli, sweet potatoes, and black beans can also help to heal these glands over time, allowing the body to better tolerate coffee as well in the long run.
Recommended reading: Eight Foods That Help the Body to Heal Cases of Adrenal Fatigue and Nourish the Adrenals
3. Laxative Effect- While not everyone experiences this, coffee does have a laxative effect on many people because of the release of gastrin, a hormone produced by the stomach that speeds up activity in the colon. Even decaf coffee has this same effect.
Caffeine itself also seems to stimulate bowel movements by increasing peristalsis, the contractions that move food through your digestive tract, according to Healthline.com.
Coffee’s laxative effect has been attributed to the release of gastrin, a hormone the stomach produces that speeds up activity in the colon. What’s more, decaffeinated coffee has been shown to produce a similar response.
However, caffeine itself also seems to stimulate bowel movements by increasing peristalsis, the contractions that move food through your digestive tract.
Additionally, dairy-sourced cream or milk in coffee could aggravate the bowels if you are lactose intolerant.
How to Handle It: According to Naturopath Helena Davis, people who experience loose stools or diarrhea from drinking coffee should consider cutting it out of their diet.
Other possible fixes to this problem including switching to a low-acid organic coffee, adding calcium to your coffee (calcium works as an antacid, some Swedish coffee drinkers add an eggshell to create Traditional Swedish Egg Coffee), or switching to a non-dairy creamer.
4. Acidity- A healthy acidic-alkaline balance is important for overall health, but drinking too much coffee can upset that balance relatively quickly according to naturopathic Dr. Tom Ballard, especially if you’re not getting enough vegetables and fruits in your daily diet.
How to Handle It: One way to mitigate the acidic effects of coffee is by adding the spice cardamom to your next cup.
Cardamom is highly alkaline and mixes well with coffee from a flavor standpoint, which is why it is famously added as the “secret ingredient” in Turkish coffee.
It’s also important to counteract the long-term effects of coffee by drinking plenty of water, as drinking too much coffee can sometimes mask your body’s many signals that you may be dehydrated over time.
5. Muscle Breakdown- Also according to Healthline, a condition called rhabdomyolysis could occur if you consume too much caffeine on a daily basis, during which damaged muscle fibers may enter the blood stream.
This is rarely caused by excessive caffeine, but you can reduce the risk by drinking less than 250 mg of caffeine per day, or a maximum of two regular sized cups.
Thanks for reading! In addition to the above tips, make sure your coffee is organic whenever possible, as coffee is one of the most heavily sprayed crops. I’m a big fan of this Organic Antioxidant Rich Coffee from the Company Nutrition for Longevity.
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About Nick Meyer
