I love coffee! Many avoid coffee due to caffeine content, so do I. There is a debate over health benefits off coffee and its ill effects- Ayurveda too has something to say about it! So how do you know if coffee’s right for you? Ayurveda, offers some interesting clues- every type of food can be a poison or a medicine, depending on what your individual constitution is and how and when you consume it. Here is an ayurvedic coffee routine you should follow for a healthy you :
DRINK ONLY 1 CUP DAILY
Coffee can balance out folks who have a lot of kapha in their constitution. Signs of excess kapha include water retention, weight gain, sinus congestion, a lack of motivation, and a general feeling of being foggy-headed. If you fit the bill, drink just one cup daily and use organic coffee. Coffee’s hot, dry, stimulating qualities will counterbalance your dominant dosha’s heavy, wet, sluggish qualities.
AVOID COFFEE UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES
Avoid coffee if you have signs of a pitta imbalance, such as acid indigestion, heartburn, acid reflux, or skin rashes or if you’re often agitated, irritated, hypercritical, judgmental, or angry and if you have symptoms of excess vata, such as dehydration, dry hair, dry skin, constipation, insomnia, forgetfulness, restlessness, or if you feel scattered, spacey, or frazzled. Coffee will make these symptoms worse!
HAVE COFFEE EARLY
Caffeine is a stimulant. This is one of the main reasons we enjoy coffee so much. The caffeine gives us a jolt of energy and helps us stay awake when we feel tired. But if we drink coffee late in the day, this can interfere with our sleep, but poor sleep can cause all sorts of problems. The best time of day to drink coffee is between 6 am and 10 am, when the “cool, heavy, earthy” qualities of the kapha dosha make us feel a little sluggish.
ADD CINNAMON
Cinnamon is a tasty herb that mixes particularly well with the flavour of coffee. According to Ayurveda, cinnamon can lower blood glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides in diabetics. If you need some flavour, try adding a dash of cinnamon.
DO NOT ADD WHITE SUGAR
By adding sugar, you are adding on the ill effects of drinking coffee. Try adding just cream (preferably raw if you can get it) in place of sugar. You may also add jaggery or honey instead of sugar as a sweetener.
TRY CORIANDER COFFEE
The bitterness of coffee is part of its lure for pitta. A good morning coffee substitute for pitta is “coriander coffee”. Coriander seeds are roasted, ground and made into a beverage. The roasting provides a coffee-like bitterness while the coriander seeds are pitta-calming, digestant and soothing to the urinary system.
BALANCE COFFEE INTAKE THROUGH AYURVEDA
Even if you can’t resist having an early morning cup of coffee, you can at least adopt an Ayurvedic morning routine that will compensate for any minor adverse effects. Drink a cup of hot water with the juice of one lemon each morning if possible. This alkalizes the body and helps to counteract the acidifying effect of coffee. Also eat a grounding breakfast that will counteract the tendency of coffee to make your mind race.