There are few things that you can say to do every single day.  Drinking water, making your bed, brushing your teeth, driving your car, putting on shoes?  There are only a few items that you can guarantee you do every single day.

For many of you, drinking coffee is one item you CAN guarantee you are doing every day.

Few things in life receive such urgent, everyday attention as getting that morning “cup of joe”.   The phrase “cup of joe”, by the way, is a reference to former Secretary of the US Navy, Josephus Daniels.

Many people suggest, “don’t even talk to me before I’ve had my morning coffee”.  I might be one of those people.  The beginning of my daily morning ritual is extremely consistent.  Wake up, go downstairs, and set-up my Cuisinart DGB-900BC Grind & Brew Thermal 12-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker to perform its daily task of making me that perfect cup of morning coffee.  Having made sure to clean the Filter Basket and the Gold Tone Filter, the night before, I only need to make sure there are enough coffee beans in the hopper, fill the water depot with 10 cups of filtered water, and press start.   While I wait for my hot coffee, I take a 20 ounce, tall glass, add 2-3 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV), and fill the rest of the glass with more filtered water.

I drink my morning ACV (diluted with filtered water) while I wait for my coffee to brew.  It does not take very long for my coffeemaker to work its magic.  It beeps when completed.  I then take my favorite coffee mug, pour my hot coffee, add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, a dash of Shaw Farm whole milk, and stir.  I really enjoy the very subtle coconut flavor that the coconut oil gives to the coffee.  If you have never heard of adding coconut oil to your coffee, this may sound weird.  It might surprise you to learn that there is a whole diet philosophy and “underground” coffee movement inspired by a book named, The Bulletproof Diet, that makes a serious case for why you should include coconut oil and “pastured” butter in your coffee.

For me, adding coconut oil to my coffee is a (potential) body fat lowering, mental focus enhancing trick

that we used to do way back in the 90’s.  Back then, coconut oil was not as easily available as it is today, and we would have to go buy MCT Oil by Ultimate Nutrition at a sports supplement store (this was before the internet).  MCT stands for Medium Chain Triglycerides.  Turns out that MCT Oil and coconut oil are basically the same thing.  I won’t bore you with an in-depth discussion of chemistry, but “medium chain” refers to the length of the carbon chain: C6, C8, C10, and C12.  All you need to know is that MCTs have specific usefulness in the body and bodybuilders have known about them for over 30 years.  For me, they were an essential part of my pre-contest dieting.

But, let’s get back to the coffee.  After the coconut oil and before the whole milk, I forgot to mention something else I add.  I add Pure Coenzyme Q10 (COQ10) Powder.  A very small amount.  The warmth of the coffee and the fats of the coconut oil make my morning coffee the perfect medium for taking COQ10 effectively.   I add COQ10 to my daily regimen for specific personal reasons I can detail another time.

I add milk, specifically Shaw Farm whole milk for a couple reasons.

First, adding milk (or cream) naturally reduces the acidity of the coffee, because calcium neutralizes stomach acid.  Because I drink coffee everyday, I want to make sure I am not setting myself up for problems later by chronically pushing my body towards acidity (vs alkalinity).  Secondly, I add whole milk rather than reduced fat milk because I eat in favor of fat and generally avoid sugar.  Thirdly, Shaw Farm whole milk because they do not add carrageenan to their dairy products.

Although it’s estimated that 30 millions to 50 million Americans are lactose intolerant, when I hear someone is having trouble with milk and milk products, I often wonder… is it actually the milk (or milk product), or is it the carrageenan?   Based on research, carrageenan appears to be a systemic inflammatory agent and a really bad idea for you to include in your diet (study, study, study).   So, should you risk daily consumption of even small amounts of carrageenan?  I say, “absolutely not!”. 

Of course, if you are using a product like Coffeemate, that is even worse. Take a look at Coffeemate Original coffee creamer ingredients: Water, Corn Syrup Solids, Vegetable Oil (High Oleic Soybean and/or Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed), and Less than 2% of Sodium Caseinate, Mono- and Diglycerides, Dipotassium Phosphate, Artificial Flavor, Carrageenan.  Talk about rolling the dice on your health!

Many may say, “well, I use Almond Milk”, or, “I use Coconut Milk”, or even “I use Soy Milk”.  So, let’s address each one of those.

I view Almond Milk as one of the current great health scams.  There is a long list of these types of health scams.  I am old enough to remember when bagels first became widely available at local supermarkets and the big marketing push that ensued.  Bagels were actually advertised as health foods!  A healthy way to start your day (!!) –a terrific breakfast choice!  Per usual, lies, lies, and more lies.  Almond Milk is just another item on the long list of “healthy food” scams.  Plain almonds are great, eat them.  Pulverizing them in water, filtering off the solids (pulp), and drinking that product… is a very questionable, and wasteful practice.  It’s a waste of  an otherwise nutritious food, and a waste of your money.  Almond Milk has very little actual almonds in it – most of it is water, thickeners, sweeteners, emulsifiers, and flavoring.  Oh… and they add some vitamins too.  Why?  Because the end product has practically no real nutritive value.

Soy Milk outranks Almond Milk as a good way to gain fat…

Read Part 2…