Vanilla Honey Iced Coffee

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When I get asked how much coffee I drink, honestly, the first thought I have is “mind yah business.” I am a supporter of coffee. Now I don’t believe in any extremes being the answer; too much of anything usually is never good. But 1-2 cups of coffee in the morning, to me, are just GLORIOUS. So, let’s do a quick rundown on coffee and then I’ll share my recipe. I had so many sips of variations making the recipe, so yes, I did give myself a headache making this post.

Benefits of Coffee

Coffee isn’t just a morning ritual; it’s packed with some good perks:

• Energy: Caffeine ramps up energy levels, alertness, cognitive function, and even physical performance.

• Disease Fighting: Studies show that coffee might lower your risk of type 2 diabetes, thanks to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Coffee can also lower your risk of heart disease, depression, and Alzheimer’s.

• Liver Protectant: (I was surprised to learn about this one.) It helps protect against liver fibrosis by slowing down the growth of scar tissue that builds up. Coffee can lower your risk of liver cancer too.

• Fat Fighter: Caffeine’s byproduct, paraxanthine, aids in fat metabolism.

Downsides of Caffeine

• Appetite Suppressant: Coffee can curb your hunger, so it can affect appropriate energy intake.

• Diuretic Effect: It can lead to water loss if you’re not hydrating properly.

• Disruption of Sleep for Late Night Coffee Addicts: Caffeine has the potential to impact your sleep patterns if you have it too late in the day.

• LIFE RULE - Too Much of a Good Thing Will Be Bad: Overdoing coffee can increase your heart rate, blood pressure, and make you feel anxious and nervous. If you’re pregnant, you also have separate rules. Bless all the moms out there, they’re saints to give up or decrease their caffeine intake.
  

Coffee and Your Genes

Did you know some people can down a late-night double shot of espresso and still sleep soundly? It’s all thanks to the CYP1A2 gene, which helps your body break down caffeine. If late-night coffee doesn’t keep you up, you are one of the blessed ones with two copies of CYP1A2*1A, which helps you rapidly metabolize coffee faster compared to people with variants of this gene.

How Caffeine Works

Just a super quick science lesson. Here are the molecules we need to know to understand the effects of coffee on the body:

• Caffeine and Adenosine: Adenosine makes you sleepy by binding to receptors in your body. Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors, preventing sleepiness and promoting energy.

• Caffeine and Cortisol: Cortisol does a lot for the body. Its connection to caffeine has to do with the fact that cortisol helps release glucose, your body’s primary source of energy. Cortisol levels naturally peak right when you wake up, which increases the glucose your body needs to create energy to start your day. Caffeine also increases cortisol levels. But if we rely on caffeine to crank up your body’s natural cortisol levels, your body might start to produce less cortisol on its own. So, this leads us to...

Timing Your Brew

Given how we naturally wake up from your body’s surge of cortisol and how caffeine can affect that, delay your first cup in the morning for 1-2 hours after rising. I know, I know, this isn’t what you wanted to hear. Instead, start your day with water, considering while you sleep you naturally become a little dehydrated since you haven’t had water in like seven hours. Maybe you lost a little more if you wake up sweaty. Water can also counter the discomfort you can feel when you drink coffee on an empty stomach. And if you want to be an overachiever, add a lemon. Lemon water helps neutralize the acidic coffee you’re about to indulge in.

Break Up With Those Super Sweet Sweeteners

Avoid sugary syrups; they can negate coffee’s benefits and spike your blood sugar, so you’ll get that initial rush of energy but it will be followed by a crash and the urge to crawl back into bed. I was the biggest fan and user of vanilla coffee creamer, and trying to crack a code on something delicious to replace that sweetener is why I decided to do this post in the first place. Beware of cold brews and lattes when you order out; they can be sneakily packed with super sugary syrups. And artificial sweeteners, guys, we know they are not good for us, we must stop using them! They are not good for the gut microbiome and can be 250-500 times sweeter than sugar.

The Takeaway

Coffee can be your morning MVP, offering multiple health benefits. The average cup of coffee has between 80-100 mg of caffeine. The FDA says that drinking 4-5 cups of coffee is safe for most adults. That’s more than I typically drink a day, but when in doubt: just listen to your body, and keep it moderate.

Okay, okay, now for the recipe 😊

Vanilla Honey Iced Coffee

• Cup full of ice

• 1/2 cup almond milk (I use sweetened)

• 1/2 cup cold coffee (make a pot of coffee and then put it in the fridge). I would recommend unflavored coffee since you're adding the flavors to your brew.

• 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

• 1 tbsp of simple honey sugar (recipe below)

Pour everything into the cup with ice. Mix and enjoy!

Simple Honey Sugar

• 1/4 cup of hot water

• 1/4 cup of honey

Mix well.

Sources:

·      https://www.houstonmethodist.org/blog/articles/2024/jan/is-there-a-best-time-to-drink-your-coffee-in-the-morning/#:~:text=How%20does%20caffeine%20affect%20the,promote%20sleepiness%2C%22%20says%20Gatlin.

·      https://thewell.northwell.edu/healthy-living-fitness/drinking-water-in-morning

·      https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/9-reasons-why-the-right-amount-of-coffee-is-good-for-you

·      https://health.clevelandclinic.org/best-time-to-drink-coffee

·     https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16522833/#:~:text=Coffee%20is%20a%20major%20source,are%20%22slow%22%20caffeine%20metabolizers