|
Articles from our Coffee Talk newsletter INDEX: January 2005 - Coffee and Afternoon Fatigue February 2005 - Extraordinary SoyJoe March 2005 - The Tipping Point ARTICLES: January 2005 - Coffee and Afternoon Fatigue Fighting The Late Afternoon Fatigue Factor I send out samples of our healthier coffee every day to people all over the U.S., and even Canada and Australia. The feedback I get back is always very interesting. We love to listen to our customers because that’s what takes a product like ours from good to great. Unfortunately, however, what I have come to find is that many of us believe certain things about our routines because that is what we are conditioned to believe by society, marketing messages, friends, and simply the comfort level of the routine itself. Our healthier coffee, SoyJoe Blended Coffee, has half the caffeine of ordinary coffee. This is, of course, because half of the ingredient is a healthy dose of all-natural, organic soybeans (roasted with all-natural, organic coffee beans). One of the most popular and perhaps most interesting pieces of feedback I get from people who try our coffee goes something like this, “it’s great coffee, but I might still need my boost of caffeine to get me going in the morning and again in the afternoon.” Well I have discovered some good news for the coffee lovers out there, especially those who would enjoy drinking gourmet coffee throughout the day. A few recent studies show that drinking small amounts of coffee frequently throughout the day works more effectively to keep you awake and alert than consuming a large quantity of coffee at the start of the day. More importantly, perhaps, is the conclusion that “consumption of a few cups of coffee strengthens central information processing” (Wyatt JK, Cajochen C, Ritz-De Cecco A, Czeisler CA, Dijk DJ. Sleep. 2004 May 1;27(3):374-81. and Tieges Z, Richard Ridderinkhof K, Snel J, Kok A. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 2004 Sep;21(1):87-93.). Voila! Coffee, consumed in a healthy manner (insert “moderation” here), can make us more alert and even increase our cognitive abilities throughout the day. So that brings us to healthy consumption. I would argue that one cup of premium coffee with half the caffeine consumed on several occasions throughout the day can be very beneficial. It helps fight late afternoon fatigue and even increases cognitive resonance. Don’t take it from me – take it from the experts. What I find even more pleasing about this, as it relates to our SoyJoe healthy coffee, is the health benefits of adding more soy to your daily intake routine. We’re biased, but we see it as a win-win situation all around. Of course, please do not take this as strictly an endorsement to drink more coffee. Let me be clear in stating that this is only a suggestion with regard to how you may consume coffee with both health and mental benefits. More importantly, we’d like to suggest that you try your own test, and may even go so far as to say try this with our healthier coffee that has half the caffeine in place of some of the overcharged brands out there. Also, remember that caffeine affects each person differently. Two cups to some may increase alertness and cognitive response, but for others anything more than one cup might make you edgy and agitated. Be sure to stay within the limits of what your body tells you. February 2005 - Extraordinary SoyJoe What Makes a Soy/Coffee Blend so Extraordinary? This is an obvious question that I get from many first time visitors to our site, especially since we say other coffees are “ordinary” while our SoyJoe Blended Coffee is “extraordinary.” There are too many answers to squeeze into one article, so for the purpose of this brief explanation let’s focus on comparison (for additional information, see any of our previous articles on the C-Beans Coffee Co. web site). There is quite a bit of research out there determined to condition you to think about all the healthy benefits of “ordinary” coffee. I enjoy reading the conclusions of these studies because, after all, it helps promote anyone in the coffee business (as if the ever-growing coffee trend needs an extra shot of caffeine!). I have mentioned two current studies in some of my recent articles about coffee and your health. The first is a study from Japan with which you may already be familiar due to the recent “buzz” it has created. In a nutshell, this study monitored 90,000 individuals over the course of 10 years and found that people who drank coffee daily or nearly every day had half the liver cancer risk of those who never drank coffee. The second study, released about this time last year, concluded that drinking more coffee may reduce the risk of developing the most common form of diabetes. Basically, compared with non-coffee drinkers, men who drank more than six eight-ounce cups of caffeinated coffee per day lowered their risk of type 2 diabetes by about half, and women reduced their risk by nearly 30 per cent. Again, I love this news – especially because I enjoy drinking coffee. But I am also obligated to point out what these studies do not mention, which is that ordinary coffee also has a variety of highly destructive effects on the human body. For example, some studies indicate that coffee leeches needed minerals from bones due to its high acidity. And how about all the things people add to their coffee? Many people use extremely unhealthy creamers – products often made with partially hydrogenated oils that can contribute to heart disease. The bottom line? Consumption of coffee in excess, like any other food product, can conceivably be detrimental rather beneficial. The real issue is seeking moderation, balance and health. By comparison, this is where our “extraordinary” SoyJoe changes the game. Soy has natural alkaline properties that reduces the acidity of the coffee. The result is a smoother coffee that will not exacerbate heartburn and acid reflux, nor will it leech minerals from other stores in the body. The reduced caffeine in a cup of SoyJoe allows you to enjoy several cups throughout the day without overdoing your caffeine intake. Once again, even caffeine, when consumed in moderation, has some very beneficial effects, both mental and physical. Finally, the added value of soy in the diet cannot be overstated. Soy is the richest source of numerous phytochemicals that have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. SoyJoe is just one way to add more soy to your diet while enjoying a premium coffee. In fact, we have people tell us all the time that they have switched to soy milk as the additive of choice to their soy coffee due to the way it naturally complements SoyJoe. Soy milk takes the place of both a sweetener and a creamer. As stated earlier, this is just scratching the surface on the benefits of a healthy coffee consumed in a balanced fashion. But we hope that it will help you make smart choices and maybe even change your daily routine – especially if you replace your other coffee with heart-healthy SoyJoe! March 2005 - The Tipping Point A Healthy Lifestyle Awaits Us All This week I picked up the paper and read about how obesity is rapidly becoming the number one cause of preventable death in the U.S. Even with the unbelievable advances in the field of medicine, obesity is reducing average life spans in an age when science and technology should be increasing our average life expectancy. I just finished a book last week called The Tipping Point, by acclaimed columnist with The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell. An interesting read. Basically he provokes thoughtful consideration of how small things make a big difference. In general, Gladwell discusses how big picture things such as crime rates, consumer products, or diseases literally become epidemic in nature. In other words, any of these things reaches a point – the tipping point – that makes them so "sticky" and so compelling, that they spread like wildfire. And it’s the little things that add up to that point. What does all this have to do with coffee, you might ask? As I finished that book, I thought about how we reach those points in our personal lives as well. Life is full of choices, after all, and each of those small choices adds up. Eventually it can lead us to the point where we “tip” and go through an overwhelming change in lifestyle and attitude. Think about your morning ritual. You wake up, you might workout on a good day, you shower, you have some coffee, you might grab breakfast on a good day, and you go about your daily life – work, the kids, etc. What if you started adding up the little things until you created a tipping point in your life? What does it take? I’ll suggest that you can start with your coffee. We have choices about what we can do and what we will do all day long. Unfortunately most of us end up turning that into what we can’t do and what we won’t do because of petty excuses – “I don’t have time,” “It was easier to grab something quick,” etc. Why not start each day by choosing to drink healthy coffee? Success is in the little things. The next thing you know, you add a healthy breakfast to your day. With more energy you add a morning workout because you are sleeping better and get up earlier. Soon you are thinking clearer and you become more productive. Maybe you add a second workout two days a week with the extra time. All of a sudden, you’ve lost that pesky 10 pounds, your cholesterol level has plummeted – who knows where it leads - it depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Each day, if you have one little victory after another, these things add up until you reach a tipping point and before you know it you’ve created a wholesale change in your lifestyle. Diet fad after diet fad has come and gone. Our quick-fix society binges and purges with the best of them. If fad-dieting has been your thing, read Bob Greene’s book (Get With The Program) about changing your lifestyle and you will be done for good with “dieting,” that negative word that strikes fear into the lives of every American because they have to cut something out. It’s really about lifestyle choices – what you need to add to your life by choice rather than cutting things (like carbs!) out. Create small wins – and celebrate them! – and you will be on your way to a healthier new you. |