← The Dr. Josh Axe Show
The Dr. Josh Axe Show
How Coffee Affects Your Brain, Hormones, and Gut
00:45:06
Coffee is the most consumed beverage on the planet—second only to water. But here's the catch: depending on how (and what) you drink, your morning cup could either boost your brain, metabolism, and longevity… or quietly wreck your gut, hormones, and sleep.
Loading summary
Transcript53 lines
- [00:00]
Dr. Josh Axe
Here's the truth. Coffee is the most consumed beverage in the entire world. Okay? So the only thing that people drink more than coffee is water. Coffee contains over 1,000 compounds, including caffeine, antioxidants, specifically flavonoids and polyphenols. And here's the important thing to know. Coffee doesn't impact everyone the same way. If you're not drinking coffee correctly, it can trigger fatigue and anxiety and gut issues. But if you do it the right way, there can be massive, massive health benefits, which I'm gonna get into on today's show. By the way, coffee doesn't actually give you energy. Hey, everyone. I'm Dr. Axe, and welcome to show. Each and every week, we dive deep into the science and principles behind how you can grow in body, mind, spirit, and take your health and your life to the next level. Today we're gonna be breaking down the truth about coffee, going through its benefits, its drawbacks, when to drink it, when not to Dr. And alternatives as well. And if you are going to drink coffee, I'll go through the best type of coffee to drink and what you absolutely want to stay away from. And here's the reality. If you're not drinking coffee correctly, it can trigger fatigue, anxiety, and gut issues. But if you do it the right way, there can be massive, massive health benefits, which I'm going to get into on today's show. Before I dive in, though, make sure to subscribe to the channel and hit the link in the show notes to subscribe to my weekly wellness newsletter so you don't miss a thing. If you're not subscribed, make sure to subscribe. All right, here's the truth. Coffee is the most consumed beverage in the entire world. Okay? So the only thing that people drink more than coffee is water. So again, it's the most consumed beverage in the world. And it's made from roasted coffee beans, of course, which we know. Which by the way, I want to say they're not actually beans. They're actually seeds of coffee. Cherries, which actually coffee cherry extract has lots of weight loss benefits in and of itself. But coffee consumption in the US has been increasing for many years. The average American drinks three cups of coffee per day, equaling about 400 million cups every day in the US alone. And coffee contains over 1,000 compounds, including caffeine, antioxidants, specifically flavonoids and polyphenols and even oils. And here's the important thing to know. Coffee doesn't impact everyone the same way. Some people thrive on it, while others Experience side effects like anxiety, digestive discomfort, or energy crashes. And I'll say this for myself. My wife, Chelsea, Dr. Chelsea Axe, she is a big coffee connoisseur. My wife worked in a coffee shop in high school and throughout college. So she was a barista. In fact, when we got married, for one of her birthdays, I bought her a. I think it's a La Marzocco, like, actual coffee espresso machine. And so she dialed it in, and so we would do fresh espresso beans a lot of times in the morning. But I want to say she reacts incredibly well to coffee. She drinks coffee, does very well, all different types of coffee. For myself, I can do a little bit of coffee. Sometimes I don't do it every day. I do a lot more Matcha green tea, but I will do a little bit of coffee or mushroom coffee as well on occasion. And. And with coffee, for me, it has to be a very, very specific type of coffee. And with it, I tend to need to do a coffee that's low acid or also do a little baking soda and some other things with it, like cardamom, because if not, it really bothers my digestive system, and I get jittery and anxious, like, I don't do well with coffee unless it's a very, very specific type of coffee. So I've experienced this myself. I've experienced working with thousands of patients with this. You know, I'm very aware of when I'm working with a patient with hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue, hormone imbalance, dialing in their coffee consumption, which I'll go through with those different conditions, what you want to be aware of and how you want to do that today. Also, low testosterone in men. And one thing to note is there are genetic predispositions for a lot of people that influence how their body breaks down coffee. In fact, your ability to break down caffeine depends on something called the CYP World 1A2 gene. It's a specific gene which determines whether you're a fast metabolizer or a slow metabolizer of caffeine. And fast metabolizers clear caffeine from the body quickly and typically experience the benefits of coffee, like alertness, increased metabolism without those negative side effects. But slow metabolizers process caffeine more slowly, sometimes leading to jitters, insomnia, heart palpitations, and increased anxiety. And a medical study published in the Journal of American Medical association found that slow metabolizers with this CYP1A2 gene who drink more than three cups of coffee per day are at higher risk of kidney disease and high blood pressure. And fast metabolizers didn't experience any risks whatsoever. And so one it's important to be aware of. How does caffeine, how does coffee impact your body? I'll say this for myself. I've done a lot of Matcha green tea in the past and I can drink Matcha and it never bothers me at all, even though it has caffeine in it. Now, one, it has about half the amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee, but also it contains higher levels of amino called L theanine. And this theanine also sort of brings calmness to the body at the same time. And so there are different things you could also pair with your coffee or the caffeine that may impact your body. Now another important thing to note is caffeine works by blocking adenosine. Now that's a neurotransmitter that signals relaxation and sleepiness. This is why coffee makes you feel awake. So by the way, coffee doesn't actually give you energy. It blocks a neurotransmitter that tells you you're tired. And once that caffeine wears off, adenosine floods the system, causing an energy crash or sleepiness. Some people experience fatigue, others brain fog, even irritability a few hours after drinking coffee when that adenosine blocking effect starts to wear off. And there was a study published in a psychology journal, Frontiers, and they found that individual differences in these adenosine receptors explain why some people feel great on coffee, while others feel anxious or fatigued after drinking it. And some people are very sensitive to caffeine and feel overstimulated on even just a small amount. I mean, I've had people who just have a few sips and it absolutely wrecks them. And for me, I found it's a very specific number. If I do like a very like one shot and it's a good quality cup of coffee and I have it with food, then I do fine. But if I have two shots or more for myself, I just, I do not do well at all versus my wife can drink coffee the entire day and has no issues whatsoever. So it's important to be aware of. Caffeine and coffee beans affect people based on their genetics, based on their gut microbiome composition, based on their liver detoxification ability, and based on their adrenal health. I would say those are the biggest factors that impact the way that coffee affects different people. And I would say if you are a person and you get jittery or anxious or heart palpitations around caffeine consumption, you want to be very, very careful with it. If you get digestive issues, there are some people who notice it upsets their stom. Now some people notice it causes them to have bowel movements. Now there are two reasons for that. One is not a good reason. If it gets very acidic, it actually upsets the stomach, causing the bowels to release, which isn't good. But for others, sort of, that bitter nature causes bile to be released, which is actually a way of detoxifying or impacting the liver and gallbladder, which causes you to have bowel movement. So I would say if it causes you to have loose stool and upset stomach, coffee is not serving you well. It's actually damaging your gut versus if it's just causing you to have bowel movements more regularly and you still have a firm, healthy stool, then it's really probably not as much of a problem for you. The other thing I want to mention that is critically important about caffeine and even if you're a person that tolerates caffeine very well, is that caffeine has about a 12 hour half life, okay? And caffeine at the very least stays in your system for around 8 hours. For most people it's closer to 12 hours. So I want you to think about this in another number stat. That's important. After five hours, 50% of the caffeine is still present in your system. So if you wake up in the morning and have a cup of coffee around 9am and you have one cup the entire day and you go to bed at 9:00pm, okay, all the caffeine's out of your system, it's not going to affect your sleep whatsoever. But if you're a person that has a coffee at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and it has a 12 hour half life, so it's still in your body up until 3am it absolutely is disturbing your sleep cycle, especially your deep sleep. Now you may say, well, I sleep just fine. I fall asleep when I have coffee. For a lot of people, even though you may fall asleep, you are not getting as deep of sleep and as restful sleep when you're drinking coffee in the afternoons. And for most of my patients I recommend if they have any sort of health issue, I say, okay, you can drink coffee in the morning, it needs to be the right type of coffee, organic, it needs to be quality. But I prefer you drink it in the morning only. And if you want a little caffeine or something to stimulate, let's do some more adaptogen. The afternoon you can do a little bit of tea, so lower doses. But I do not recommend caffeine for most people in the afternoon because it's still in your system and would disrupt the sleep of a lot of people. Now the other thing that caffeine can do is increase cortisol and adrenal stress. Caffeine stimulates cortisol release which contributes to chronic stress, adrenal fatigue and hormone imbalance. So if you're a person with hypothyroidism, which by the way, hypothyroidism, your thyroid is very connected to your HPA axis, your hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenals. And if your adrenals are fatigued, it then fatigues or impacts your thyroid hormones. So chronic fatigue syndrome, hypothyroidism, Hashimoto's. If you're just a person that's generally fatigued or have adrenal fatigue, you really want to be careful with coffee, not do it or if you do it, just do it in the morning. And the other thing I want to mention is that drinking coffee on an empty stomach actually amplifies this effect and spikes cortisol and blood sugar even more. And so if you are going to have coffee, doing it with a little bit of coconut milk or MCT oil or grass fed butter, doing it with a little bit of food, you're better off because it's gonna impact cortisol in a more healthy manner. Now I wanna say this, if you do tolerate coffee and you're a generally healthy person with not much fatigue at all, then the health benefits of coffee are tremendous. They're a great source of antioxidants, specifically polyphenols, which have been linked to extending your lifespan. In fact, one of the biggest benefits of coffee if you tolerate it well, is longevity and reduced risk of heart disease. In fact, studies have found that moderate coffee drinkers between one and three to four cups a day, but again not excessive amounts, it's probably closer to those one to two cups a day, have a lower risk of all cause cardiovascular disease and mortality, including high blood pressure, lower cholesterol, lower heart failure and lower atrial fibrillation. So coffee actually can be a longevity food if you tolerate it well. And remember this saying, one person's perfect food, healing food is another person's poison. Okay? So it's just really important to remember that. Listen, if you do well with coffee, great. And this same goes with this is true with a lot of foods. You know, I have had cancer patients that thrive on raw foods, doing raw juices, some raw vegetables. But if I give those same foods to somebody with irritable bowel disease or diverticulitis, it will absolutely wreck their digestive system. So just know, coffee, if you tolerate it well, can be an amazing healing food and extend your lifespan. But if you don't, it could actually take years off your life. So it's important that you learn what works for you with coffee. And as I'm going to talk about the end of the show, do the right type of coffee. So continuing on, here's what some of the science says. For instance, there's one study that's found if you drink three to five cups a day, that equivalent, which, by the way, two shots is two cups, all right? So don't think, oh, I have three shots in my glass and that's one cup. Now we're talking about, like, if you're an espresso drinker, one shot, okay? But that being said, it can lower your risk of heart disease, according to a study, by 15%. But if you have more than that, five cups increases your risk of heart disease by 22%. That's even in people that tolerate coffee well. So if your person just pots and pots and pots and you're drinking all day, it is not good for you, period. Especially later on in the day. Also, there's a study on postmenopausal women. They may benefit more for men from coffee because it has phyto. Phytoestrogens which help counter estrogen decline and support heart health. This is another thing that's very important. If you are consuming conventional coffee, there are phytoestrogens, which for men and for some younger women that are estrogen dominant, is not ideal. This is where drinking something in addition to maybe you have one cup of coffee in the morning, but you drink some dandelion tea in the afternoon, which has some coffee like, you know, that bitter, nice. That nice bitter flavor to it. Maybe you do that instead because that's going to get rid of the phytoestrogens, which is really what more men and a lot of young women need today, for the most part. Now, when it comes to benefits, the other big, big benefit of coffee, according to the medical studies, is brain health and cognitive function. There are studies that suggest coffee drinkers have a lower risk of depression and are less likely to develop neurodegenerative diseases. Coffee stimulates dopamine production, which also lowers the Risk of Alzheimer's and Parkins. And by the way, there is something just so mentally nourishing about drinking coffee. And I'm thinking about Chelsea and I, before we had kids, we used to go to coffee shops every Saturday morning. Now we do brunch, which is still fun, and have our coffee there, but we would go to this local coffee shop in Nashville in the gulch area, kind of just south of downtown. And we would sit there and drink our coffee and just talk and relax, and it was just wonderful. And then we were just in Park City here not long ago. We did the same thing as the snow has fallen and just really enjoying our cup of coffee there at a place called Harvest there in Park City in the morning. And even just thinking about it, there's something very enjoyable and nourishing about coffee. In fact, one of the things that people don't realize about coffee is that it's connected to what's called your endocannabinoid system. So if you're familiar with CBD and CBG and cbn, a lot of these cannabinoids that are found in hemp and the cannabis plant, these are connected to a lot of the different areas of your body, and these stimulate neurotransmitters to improve your mood, like dopamine, like we've talked about. Well, coffee is one of the compounds along with cacao and dark chocolate. Coffee and cacao probably stimulate the body in that way, that endocannabinoid system, more than any other foods out there. And think about that. Isn't that true? Coffee and chocolate? What else? I mean, can you think of other foods that stimulate you and create this sort of sense of joy and fulfillment? And what's better than, you know, Chelsea and I, when we went to this specialty coffee shop, we would always. They would give us a little piece of dark chocolate, and it was different flavors, and you would actually pair that with your espresso and coffee, and it was just an amazing experience. But I bring that up to say, those compounds, that dark brown color in Chinese medicine also is very stimulating of the brain and the nervous system. And so those are the two foods that are probably most tied to joy in eating and overcoming depression. And medical studies are now proving that. And also there's other studies showing it improves memory and overall cognitive function. The other big thing about coffee is it's an antioxidant powerhouse. Coffee is one of the richest sources of polyphenols, which fights oxidative stress and slows cellular aging. Polyphenols in coffee include chlorogenic acid, diterprenes, trigenaline, caffeic acid and P chomeric acid, feluric acid. And so these are polyphenols, numerous ones as we talked about that slow aging polyphenols are the antioxidants that also make extra virgin olive oil so healthy and many berries and other fruits that you superfruits that you're probably familiar with. And these same polyphenols are also found in black tea, green tea and cacao powder. And they actually have chemo protective properties protecting your liver, protecting your body from toxicity. They're anti inflammatory. So lots of benefits there's. And so again talking about coffee, there are a lot of benefits for anti aging there. The other big benefit when you look at the medical studies is for weight loss. Caffeine boosts something called thermogenesis in your body, which is where your body actually burns calories by producing more heat and it helps fat oxidation so your body actually lose body fat. And one way it does this is by burning brown adipose fat via this thermogenesis. And so there are many studies showing that the caffeine in coffee does help with weight loss. So there are benefits there via a lot of the medical studies. And this can also be great as a pre workout studies have shown. If you want to get more out of your workout, coffee is a great way to naturally support healthy energy levels. As I mentioned though, I want to be clear. Coffee is for a lot of people, but it's not for everyone. And as I talked about, excessive consumption can lead to heart disease, digestive issues, hormone imbalance and nerve system imbalances. And the biggest thing that I would say that I've seen in patients that coffee is connected to outside of the nervous system stimulation, which I'll get into, is it disrupting the stomach and the small intestine. And the reality is coffee is a very acidic food which can irritate the stomach lining and worsen acid reflux, gastritis and ibs. According to the medical journal, nutrients and caffeine increases stomach acid production which may trigger heartburn and discomfort. And so coffee stimulates biorlease and gut motility, which is why for some people they feel the urge to go to the bathroom after drinking it. So it does stimulate gut motility. So if you've got constipation there can be benefits there. However, this can also contribute to, as I mentioned earlier, loose stools, digestive distress and damage the gut if it's too excessive. The other thing I mentioned is it can cause hormone Imbalance, coffee spikes, cortisol, as we talked about. And for those with HPA axis dysfunction, like adrenal fatigue, hypothyroidism, it's not recommended. And I would say if you do have those issues, most people can get away withif you tolerate coffee well and you do have adrenal fatigue and hypothyroidism, then I would say, hey, do one cup in the morning of a really good quality cup, not Starbucks, okay, that's sprayed with glyphosate and chemicals and not recommended, the non organic chemically laden coffee. But if you do a really good quality cup, one in the morning for most people, they're still going to be fine. Now, I want to mention one other thing. When it comes to coffee and maybe possible downside could be nutrient depletion. Now, I don't really believe it is that strong of a diuretic. As long as you drink a little bit more water, it shouldn't be a problem. But it may deplete the body of certain amounts of B vitamins and magnesium. And so you may want to increase your B vitamin consumption, especially if you are consuming coffee regularly and electrolytes. And so getting more fruits and vegetables in your diet and more alkaline foods like celery and watermelon will help offset some of those negative side effects. Now, one thing which is connected as well with low energy is anemia. And people that are anemic or mineral deficient also need to be very aware of some of the downsides of coffee. According to some studies, it can inhibit the absorption of some minerals, especially iron, magnesium, calcium and zinc, by binding to them in the digestive tract, making them less bioavailable. And this particularly is significant for something called non heme iron. This is iron from plant sources is coffee can reduce its absorption by up to 60% when consumed with meals. So again, just know if you are anemic or have a blood deficiency or fatigue. And if you stick out your tongue and if it's pale, that means that coffee is likely disrupting your iron absorption, making you borderline anemic or fully anemic. And as I talked about, it can act as a diuretic, so increasing your sodium, your potassium, your electrolytes, especially potassium. So getting more fruits and steamed vegetables in your diet can help. This I also want to mention too, the biggest downside of most coffee is it's not organic and is sprayed heavily with glyphosate and other pesticides. In fact, coffee is one of the most chemically sprayed crops in the entire world, often containing pesticides that I mentioned, glyphosate. And studies have shown that even after being roasted, pesticides have the capacity to still exist in commercial coffee. And non organic coffee may contain mold toxins called mycotoxins, which can negatively impact brain function, immune health and digestive health. So if you also have mold toxicity, Lyme disease, chronic infections, you need to be extremely careful about the type of coffee you consume because the combination of pesticides and mold and mycotoxins can be very harmful to the body. In fact, one study found that mycotoxins are present in up to 93% of studied coffee samples. And the method of this coffee was drip coffee, espresso, Turkish and instant. All of them had mycotoxins. So think about this. 93% of coffee today has mold. And that for people with chronic infections, everything from long Covid to autoimmune disease to gut microbiome issues is terrible for your system. And so this is why coffee could be one of the most toxic things harming your health if you're not consuming the right type of coffee. So here's what to know about coffee. Number one, make sure it is not sprayed with chemicals. So whether it's organic or not sprayed at all, you need to make sure of that. Also look for coffee beans that are lower acid. That's a better option. And just listen to your body when you're consuming it. The safe range for most people is about that one to two to maybe up to three cups of coffee a day if you do well. But really the four plus cups I do not recommend for anybody. And the other thing is you can do some decaf coffee. It's much lower in caffeine. And so if you want to get that flavor and enjoyment in the afternoons, then just do decaf coffee. And also remember, timing matters, okay? So don't do it too late in the day because it can disrupt your sleep, especially your deep sleep. And also remember, hey, if you get upset stomach drinking it with food, you can add a little bit of baking soda, that's beneficial. That can help reduce some of those acidic side effects. And also, as I mentioned, eat more fruits, eat more vegetables. These can help with that as well. And also, I mean, look for brands. There's a brand that I love and I'm actually going to bring him on in a minute. His name is Charles Livingston and he is the founder of Lifeboost Coffee. This is a really, really great coffee that can really bring a lot of benefits to your body because it is free of Glyphosate free of pesticides and chemicals. And it's called low acid coffee and it's mold free. So again, if you're buying coffee, again, organic, mold free, low acid is what you want to be looking for in the brand you're buying. And the other thing that's great about organic coffee is it not only doesn't have all the chemicals, it tends to be, according to studies, higher in antioxidants. And it's going to have more health benefits. It's better for the gut, it's better for the environment, it's better for everything. And so again, you really want to buy the organic low acid mold free coffee when you are buying coffee as well. It's so much easier on your digestive system. It's also likely better for the adrenals because your gut health is also tied to your adrenal health. Of course, your gut health is tied to almost every area of your body, especially your brain. So that's important as well. Now I want to talk about some coffee alternatives that I think can be great options. And for myself, I drink a lot of green tea or matcha and other forms of tea as well. A little bit of black tea as well. And the great thing about tea, especially green tea, is it contains L theanine which helps promote a calm, sustained energy. Green tea is also high in egcg, epigalacticatechin gallate, which is a powerful polyphenol that supports brain function, metabolism, heart health, longevity. It's the number one drink consumed in all of Asia and it helps extend your lifespan. So again, adding in some green tea is more alkaline too. That can be great. And also mushroom coffee is fantastic. I love mushroom coffee that has lion's mane which is great for the brain, cordyceps which is great for short term energy and endurance. And adrenals reishi mushroom, which is great for longevity and your adrenals as well. So mushroom coffee is also wonderful. You know, cordyceps promote ATP production and mitochondrial health. So there are lots of benefits of mushroom coffee. And also like herbal coffee substitutes from chicory, barley, especially dandelion and cacao powder. These ingredients mimic coffee's rich, earthy, bitter flavor without the caffeine. And dandelion especially is good for detoxification. And cacao is also very, very high in these antioxidants. So here's the truth when it comes to coffee, it can be an incredible healing food for you or it can be toxic. So the biggest thing is to listen to your own body, listen to your genetics. Are you a fast metabolizer? Are you a slow metabolizer? Does it make you jittery and anxious or upset your stomach? Or do you just feel a sense of enjoyment and a light form of energy on it? Right. The other thing is don't overdrink it. Have a little bit, not too much, and maybe add in some other things like decaf or other things in the afternoon because it can disrupt your sleep. So now I want to bring on one of the world's leading experts in coffee. His name is Dr. Charles Livingston. He is a chiropractic physician, he's a nutrition expert, and he's actually the founder of lifeboost Coffee. And he wanted to sponsor today's episode. And I reached out to him because I wanted to find somebody who was a coffee expert who really understood the science around good coffee versus bad coffee. And so we're going to be busting some of the myths together and deep diving into coffee in terms of the ideas around low acid, organic, mold free. And so excited to have him on the show. Dr. Livingston. Hey, welcome.
- [27:14]
Dr. Charles Livingston
Hey, thanks for having me, Dr. X.
- [27:16]
Dr. Josh Axe
Well, you know, I've known Dr. Charles here for a lot. Quite a few years. I mean, it's probably been 12 years or so I remember. Yeah. Reaching out. Yeah. We chatted in the past and I was just always so impressed. He's always had such an amazing heart to help people. I remember in the past you've done, you've done a lot with helping people with insulin resistance lose weight, just helping people just generally, you know, break free of just numerous health issues. And so I've always respected your work. I wanted to have you on because coffee, as you already know, is the most consumed beverage in the world. And not all coffee is created equal. You know, there's obviously there's a lot of bad coffee out there. One of the, one of the stats I went through was 93% of coffee tested today had mycotoxins. I mean, that is absolutely mind blowing. So walk us through what inspired you to found a coffee company that was actually creating coffee that can heal people, not hurt people.
- [28:09]
Dr. Charles Livingston
Yeah, no, that is a fantastic question. And so I didn't start actually drinking coffee till I was in my mid-30s. And then that was about the time when I'm 46 now. So that was about the time when, like the research for coffee being good for you started to come out. Thanks to our friend Dave Osprey. Right. And he was touting the health benefits, which before that, I've never really Heard I was always told, you know, and through school and stuff that caffeine was bad for you and you know, all, all those things. But yet, like you said, coffee is one of the most drank beverages in the world and people drink a lot of it. And so I started to understand the health benefits. I'm like, yeah, I want to start doing this. So, you know, I started drinking it and like I, it wasn't the best flavor at first, so it was something I had to get used to. But when I started to, I've started in getting deeper into the research, I started to notice that there wasn't a lot of healthy coffee beans out.
- [29:11]
Dr. Josh Axe
Yeah.
- [29:12]
Dr. Charles Livingston
And when you, when you break it down, coffee's, you know, one of the most drank beverages in the world. People, coffee drinkers will drink on average three to five cups a day. They drink it 365 days a year and they drink it 20 plus years. Right?
- [29:30]
Dr. Josh Axe
Yeah.
- [29:30]
Dr. Charles Livingston
If you're a coffee drinker, you do not miss a day because it messes up your day.
- [29:33]
Dr. Josh Axe
Yes, exactly.
- [29:35]
Dr. Charles Livingston
So the problem is, is, and as well as, you know, being a cash crop like that, that's one of the most popular beverages in the world. It has to be highly sprayed with pesticides because it's quantity over quality.
- [29:47]
Dr. Josh Axe
Yeah.
- [29:48]
Dr. Charles Livingston
So when you're drinking that many cups of coffee a day for that amount of time. In our training we learned that you bioaccumulate toxins. And so what happens is this, like this death by a thousand cuts. You just start to accumulate all these toxins and toxins and then all of a sudden you start to get all these weird health problems over time. And not saying that like it's all directly related cough, but when you think about all the toxins that you're getting hit by from the land, from the air you breathe, from the foods that you eat, from the stuff you put on your skin. Like this was one aspect that I wanted to do that I knew that I was going to be drinking three to five cups a day. So I wanted to find the cleanest source because that's one source of toxins that I can control and I couldn't find anything.
- [30:33]
Dr. Josh Axe
Yeah.
- [30:34]
Dr. Charles Livingston
So that's. So I basically created a process that we call trust pure, which is our, our checklist to find the, the best beans and how we roast it. We third party test for 450 plus different toxins. Wow. Including glyphosate, you know, acrylamide, you know, heavy metal. The heavy metals, mycotoxins, molds.
- [30:55]
Dr. Josh Axe
I mean if you would go and ask Starbucks for this. You couldn't get it right. I mean, it's like if you go to most coffee chains, they just don't test their beans at all. For one, they probably don't even want to know what's in there because they're only concerned with sales. But I know for you, as a physician, this is something that really matters to you because it's your own health, it's your family's health, it's your patients that you care for. So I know that this is really important. I can remember years ago, my wife and I have been always very conscious of this. And I remember we were in a rush somewhere. This is a few years ago. I'm trying to remember if we were traveling internationally or whatever. And then my wife was like, okay, well, I just got to get coffee somewhere. And got it. She was, oh, I feel jittery. I feel bad because we were so used to just drinking just really good coffee. And so, you know, one thing I've noticed as I've taken care of so many patients over the years is some people don't realize that they feel bad. Some people don't realize. I mean, they're drinking coffee, they're jittery, they're anxious, they're kind of overwhelmed throughout the day, and they don't realize it's the coffee affecting them. If you think about if somebody's drinking three cups a day, which I mentioned this earlier on the show. If you're drinking a cup that's got three shots in it, that doesn't count as one cup. Okay, So I just want to be clear, because you had the three cups are like three cups, so nine shots. So. But all that being said, I do think. I mean, that is a lot of toxins, because I've read plenty of studies that say that. That there. I read one study that said coffee might be the most sprayed plant with pesticides. I mean, it is highly, highly sprayed with chemicals.
- [32:22]
Dr. Charles Livingston
Yeah, I would. I would put that. And then my guess would be that or tea or chocolate. I think those would be. Yeah, you know, when it comes to those type of. Especially since, remember that coffee is imported. So the regulations outside the US Are different than they are.
- [32:38]
Dr. Josh Axe
That's right.
- [32:39]
Dr. Charles Livingston
And so with Europe, their standards are stricter. So what happens a lot of times is when coffee is sent to Europe and it doesn't meet their standards, it gets rejected. They send it to the U.S. oh, wow. Yeah.
- [32:48]
Dr. Josh Axe
Well, that doesn't surprise me. Listen, this is true with everything. Our standards are lower for food dyes food additives, you know, sugar, all of those things.
- [32:56]
Dr. Charles Livingston
Yeah.
- [32:56]
Dr. Josh Axe
Wow, that's crazy. So. So we, so we're talking about these mycotoxins and mold. I mean, this is a. Well, I'm sorry, we're talking about pesticides and chemicals. And that's really, you know, when you're buying organic. You want to buy organic coffee.
- [33:06]
Dr. Charles Livingston
Yep.
- [33:07]
Dr. Josh Axe
When you're buying coffee, this is critically important, and this is something you test for. Now, the other big thing, along with it being organic and pesticide, and I. Let me say this, too. Glyphosate is the chemical most sprayed on coffee beans today. And this. I've done a lot of research on the gut microbiome. Glyphosate will live in your gut for a very long time, causing poor nutrient absorption, causing gut inflammation that can lead to arthritis, lead to autoimmune disease. So if you're a person with autoimmune disease, hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue, any health issue, toxicity, non conventional coffee is destroying your body. And so you really want to switch to organic. But the other big thing that you promote and talk about, which is very rare to find, is somebody that tests for mycotoxins and mold in their coffee. And I've cared for so many patients with mold toxicity. Lyme, Long Covid, Epstein Barr, just chronic infections. And it's really important for those people that they are not exposed to mold and mycotoxins. Now what led you to understand the importance about drinking coffee that's also mold and mycotoxin free?
- [34:12]
Dr. Charles Livingston
Yeah, I mean, just like through, through the research and studies, I was starting to see, you know, that word pop up a lot. And so it's one of those things that through research and like, listening to other experts on it, you learn that it's one of those hidden health hazards that you don't really, you know, nobody really talks about it. It's like you could have all these symptoms that they can't figure out. But what it really is, it has to do with mycotoxins and molds. And mold is everywhere. You just need a moist, damp environment. Right?
- [34:45]
Dr. Josh Axe
Yeah.
- [34:45]
Dr. Charles Livingston
And so if you're storing anything in a moist, damp environment that's like any type of food product, it. You have an opportunity to grow mold on that. So, yeah, there's, you know, as the, the beans are grown for coffee, and then there's the storage aspect of it. Right. And then it's then when you have it at your house, just making sure that you're storing your coffee in A cool, dry place.
- [35:09]
Dr. Josh Axe
Yeah. Yeah.
- [35:10]
Dr. Charles Livingston
So, yeah.
- [35:11]
Dr. Josh Axe
And if you think about most of the countries where we're sourcing coffee from, they are very humid and very hot. I'm. We're talking about the Caribbean, those, you know, northern areas of South America, Mexico. I mean, this is where coffee's grown. And then you think about the way it's probably stored when it shipped over a course of a, you know, a few weeks, and what's happening then? I mean, I know, you know, Chelsea, and we buy raspberries and blackberries all the time. It always blows my mind how. I mean, is there anyone else out there? You buy blackberries and raspberries. Like, there's always mold on these things. And we actually found a way around that. So we take our blackberries and raspberries immediately when we get them, we wash them in baking soda.
- [35:45]
Dr. Charles Livingston
Okay.
- [35:46]
Dr. Josh Axe
And then we put them in a separate container with just some, like, paper towels or some baking soda. And then it just. There's no mold there.
- [35:52]
Dr. Charles Livingston
Yeah, the paper towel trick. Amazing.
- [35:55]
Dr. Josh Axe
And here, and here's the other thing I want to mention with you is that part of it is when you're using baking soda, it reduces the acidity. And so one of the other great things I love about what you do is low acid coffee. I will tell you, my biggest problem with coffee has been it's affected me two ways. My wife was a barista.
- [36:12]
Dr. Charles Livingston
Okay.
- [36:13]
Dr. Josh Axe
And she is a coffee connoisseur and loves coffee. So when we got married, I'm like, okay, I want to jump on the coffee train. I never was a coffee drinker, but I want to go enjoy a cup of espresso with my wife in the morning. But I found that we'd go to some places and it's like, I would feel jittery and then I would tell, like, my stomach would get upset.
- [36:29]
Dr. Charles Livingston
Yeah.
- [36:30]
Dr. Josh Axe
And it was the acidity of the coffee was really the biggest thing that affected me. And you've been able to source and create a coffee that's low acid coffee. How are you able to do that? And how is this coffee different in that way?
- [36:41]
Dr. Charles Livingston
Yeah, that's a. A great question. And so with low acid coffee, it has to do with, I believe that the region it's grown, the. The maturity level of coffee, how long it's allowed to mature. So that's one of the reasons why we, we love shade grown coffee is because it allows the canopy of the. The shade. Not only does it protect the bird, the migratory birds that come down that act as natural pesticides for the plants, but it also allows the beans to grow to full maturity before they're picked.
- [37:11]
Dr. Josh Axe
And I don't understand because the coffee beans are more nutrient dense when you do that. And this is true with a lot of foods. Like, for instance, if you look at wild blueberries and those are harvested versus conventional, they'll have three times more antioxidants because they're harvested at the right time, not two weeks early. And a lot of those nutrients come into full bloom when they're ripe. So when you're harvesting some with not ripe. So most of you that are drinking coffee today, the beans aren't ripe. So when I talked about earlier, the benefits of antioxidants and chlorogenic acid and all these compounds, you're only going to get that in mature coffee. As you know, Dr. Dr. Livingston here is talking about, and then his company, Lifeboost Coffee, that. That really specializes in this type of coffee.
- [37:51]
Dr. Charles Livingston
Yeah, yeah. And then the way it's roasted affects it as well. So our roasting process. So it's like a combination of those three. So I don't know if it's. It's also, they say it's the height at where it's grown too, on the mountain. So with all those, I think it's multifactorial. What makes it low acid. And then I also do think that the toxins play a role in, like causing a lot of the stomach issues and stuff.
- [38:17]
Dr. Josh Axe
Yeah.
- [38:17]
Dr. Charles Livingston
As well.
- [38:18]
Dr. Josh Axe
Yeah. It makes so much sense, you know, and so. Yeah. Yeah. When it comes to coffee, if you're drinking Starbucks, I just want to throw this out there, too. It's just not good coffee. They're likely mold, mycotoxins. There's definitely pesticides. It's. It's definitely high acid. It is not good for you. So investing in getting good quality coffee, especially when you're going to drink much, I mean, think about this. For a lot of people, it's the thing that they're consuming the most outside of water now, actually, I know plenty of people, actually they consume it more than water. So I shouldn't say for across the board, but for a lot of people, it's the thing that they're putting in their body the most. And so making sure it's clean, it's quality, you're going to get the benefits. And for some people, like, this is an easy swap. The other thing is it tastes better. One of the things I love about quality coffee, you know, Chelsea and I have gone, we love going to Italy and tasting coffee there. I've been all over the world and you can tell the difference in the quality in coffee beans. And so one thing I really love about what you've been able to create here is this coffee is just, it's incredible. It tastes amazing. Walk us through a little bit here. One of the coffees I love is you've got a mushroom coffee.
- [39:21]
Dr. Charles Livingston
Yes.
- [39:21]
Dr. Josh Axe
And I am a huge fan of medicinal mushrooms, so I want to jump into the other coffees here. But talk to me about mushrooms and coffee, the sort of combination you're able to create here in this product as well.
- [39:32]
Dr. Charles Livingston
Yeah. So we use for our mushroom coffee. Mushrooms are really kind of the, the, the trend right now. It's really popular and it's because, like, I think it's because people will, will feel them when they use them, especially lion's mane. And we get a ton of testimonials coming in about people who are like, oh my gosh, like, I can totally tell the difference between your medium roast and then your cognition. So the, the medium roast, the cognition is the medium roast beans in our, in our signature medium roast with chaga mushrooms, which when you hear chaga think immune support and when you think lion's mane, think brain sport, they do other things as well, but those are kind of their two primaries. So with this combination of lion's mane and chaga, like we, we've just got a lot of testimonials and you know, I absolutely. I have mushrooms in my coffee every day. Yeah, I'm, I guess just like you, a biohacker. And I'm always looking to optimize this, you know, sack of meat as much as I possibly can, for as long as I can to be as healthy and, you know, happy and pain free as possible as I get older.
- [40:43]
Dr. Josh Axe
Yeah. So yeah. Well, I love this. Yeah. Lions made the research around it for, for, for focus, for memory is fantastic. There's a lot of people with brain fog issues now. Part of that's due to their bad coffee because mycotoxins are a major, major player brain fog as there are pesticides. And then the chaga Chaga as well. Yeah. Great. Immune health, great. It's an anti inflight, the most anti inflammatory mushroom. And so this is pretty amazing. And so if anybody's interested in getting the world's greatest coffee with mushrooms as well, you can check out lifeboost. They've got a cognition blend here, mushroom coffee, and then a few others here. I know you've got a dark roast. You also have a medium roast. And so it just depends on your preference but again, remember this, when you're buying coffee, you have to look for three things. Number one, that it's organic. Coffee is one of the most sprayed plants in the entire world. And so you've got to go organic with it. If it's not organic, you shouldn't buy it, you shouldn't drink it, you shouldn't put it in your body. Number two, mold free and mycotoxin free. We're living a world today where mold is affecting so many people, causing major, major issues and staying away from mold. Mycotoxins and most companies aren't testing for it because they just don't care like Dr. Livingston does about their patients and about people out there. And the third thing that we talked about is low acid. If you're a person with gut issues, microbiome issues, or you just want to have a healthy, thriving gut, you want to go low acid in your coffee as much as possible. And so organic, mold free, low acid is what you want to look for with buying your coffee. And Dr. Livingston here has founded a great company. And I only bring that I try myself, that I love myself. And I've known Dr. Livingston here for, I mean, I met him around the time that Chelsea and I got married, about 12, 13, no, 13 years ago. And so anyways, he's doing so many incredible things here with his new brand of coffee here called Lifeboost. And I think it's one of the best, if not the best quality coffee in the world. And Dr. Livingston, any final thoughts that you want to share with us about coffee and about your company here, lifeboost?
- [42:40]
Dr. Charles Livingston
Yeah, I mean we were always trying to one up ourselves. We're always trying to do better and find more things to test to make sure that it is the cleanest coffee that you can find. So one of the things we're looking at right now is testing for mycoplastics as well.
- [42:56]
Dr. Josh Axe
Wow, Amazing.
- [42:57]
Dr. Charles Livingston
So, yeah, I mean we're just, you know, my goal is to be the healthiest coffee company company on the planet. And like we're not going to stop until we, we achieve that. So we're always trying to up level and just make our products better and you know, always take care of the customers.
- [43:16]
Dr. Josh Axe
I love it. Well, one of the things I always look for in partners are people, is people I trust and people that are authentic and transparent. And there's not enough companies out there being really transparent about what's in their product. And so I love that you've been so transparent that you do all this lab testing and creating this amazing coffee brand. But hey, thanks so much for coming on.
- [43:32]
Dr. Charles Livingston
Hey, man, I appreciate you having us.
- [43:34]
Dr. Josh Axe
Yeah, it was really amazing having you on today. I want to give a big thank you here to Dr. Charles Livingston for coming on the show today and sharing his wisdom with us today about the health benefits of coffee and what to look for. Also, he's sharing, being incredibly generous here and giving one of the largest discounts we've ever had on the show. 58% off for those that purchase Lifeboost Coffee today. And so you can go to lifeboostcoffee.com axe and use the code AXE. That's AXE. And get 58% off for just a short period of time only. So make sure to take advantage of this because I believe this is the biggest discount they've ever done. And I don't know if it's because I'm a friend, we've known each other for so long. But just want to say thanks again, Dr. Livingston. Again, it's lifeboostcoffee.com Axe enter the code AXEAXE for 58% off this organic, low acid mold free Coffee tested over 450 tests done to make sure this is the highest quality coffee in the world. So I want to say thanks so much again and again, thank you to all of you who are watching that are subscribed, that are sharing this. There are millions of people that don't know the truth about coffee. Hey, let's spread the word together. If you're not subscribed, make sure to subscribe. We've got some amazing guests coming up. Dr. Mark Hyman and just so many others. We're going to cover a lot of in depth information too. Coming up about longevity, healing your hormones. So I want to say thank you, all of you for watching. I'll see you on the next episode.