Coffee built the foundation for my work ethic and professional enthusiasm when I accepted my first job as a barista and coffee-roaster at Dunn Bros Coffee in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Yep, that’s right, I was a coffee-roaster. You may not see these around most coffee shops, but Dunn Bros prides themselves on the sacks of raw beans from over a dozen countries that surround the giant roaster at each location (and admittedly, I take pride in knowing firsthand the process from harvest to brewed beans). Perhaps it was from witnessing the smooth-beige colored Ethiopian bean turn to a silky-rich-brown color as it cooked and crackled that molded my perception of coffee as more a ritual than drug (similar to the way the Chinese and Japanese view Tea).   

Coffee, itself, has been around forever and can be considered a “natural product.” However, as the coffee industry has grown over the centuries, the plants have become more and more laden with pesticides and the farmers more and more abused. For that reason, I always recommend buying organic or fair trade coffee when available to support sustainable resources – so that coffee will be around (along with our planet) for years to come.

The Health Controversy

The arguments against coffee are mostly due to its caffeine content, which is about three-times higher in an 8oz cup of coffee versus a shot of espresso, an 8oz cup of green or black tea or a 12oz soda. Even a cup of decaf-coffee can still contain up to 5mg of caffeine. The initial perils of coffee was the suspected link between caffeine and heart disease.  Current research has shown, however, that caffeine is not necessarily a direct contributor to heart diseaseand that coffee itself may have health benefits such as preventing Parkinson’s Disease, Type 2 Diabetes and Liver Cancer. Sodas and energy drinks pose a larger threat to heart disease than coffee or tea, for example, due to their high sugar content that escalates the inflammatory response. Caffeine, however, has shown to increase stress hormones in certain people, which can then lead to cardiovascular disease or emotional disturbances such as anxiety. It is important to discuss with your health care provider what is the most appropriate approach for your health. In general, I find that patients trying to get pregnant, or who are suffering from anxiety, sleep disorders or breast issues often benefit from weaning themselves off coffee. 

The Chinese Medicine Viewpoint

As I have discussed in previous posts, Chinese Food Therapy utilizes the energetic functions of foods to “treat” conditions of the body. Coffee is no stranger to these findings. Energetically, coffee is very yang, or moving. It causes things to “get-going” in the body, which can sometimes begin to deplete the body of its natural ability to ignite it’s own engines, so to speak. We say this directly affects the kidney energy, which can be likened to adrenal function in Western medicine. Also, it can lead to an excess of heat in the body, causing insomnia, heart palpitations, digestive upset or irritability. Since the body’s energy is moving more, people who come in for acupuncture after their morning coffee often are more sensitive to the treatment as their qi is more on the surface. 

On the flip side, the benefit of coffee is said to tonify the heart qi – giving a feeling of joy and calm in certain constitutional types. It can also facilitate healthy respiration before a big workout by circulating the lung energy. In general, however, coffee does not have many real clinical implications in Chinese medicine – but it does give us a baseline to work with in helping people on their journey to optimum health. Just like anything else, portion control can make all the difference (such as consuming 60oz of coffee per day vs. 8oz). Personally, I tend to come from the school of thought: “everything in moderation,” and if I firmly believe deleting coffee from a patients diet will drastically improve their health – I can sympathize because I know how much comfort and benefit can come from our ritual coffee.

Coffee Enthusiasts

This post was inspired by my friend, Tony Black, who is a real coffee enthusiast – so much so that he has created a blog dedicated to images of people with their morning cup. It is a fun site, and a true testament to the ritual we have created around coffee way beyond the Starbucks phenomenon. Check it out and see Borbayand my-self’s featured photos in this week’s edition.  

Leaving Your Analytical Mind at the Door

Although receiving a degree and license in traditional Chinese medicine means completing a rigorous four-year masters program, this ancient science is built on a foundation completely different from the one we grow up with in the Western world. Scientific algorithms and molecular biology will not serve to understand the complexities of something like acupuncture. The first step is leaving what we know to be true at the doorstep, in order to open up space for a second foundation to be built – one stemming from such eastern philosophies as Taoism and Confucianism. For this reason, acupuncture can be difficult to understand from a western medicine perspective. It is like trying to understand the flavor of an orange by eating at a pizzeria – an inappropriate model for comparison.

It has been said that acupuncture affects nerve communication, blood flow and conducts electrical impulses within the fascia muscle layer.  But, as I said, try and leave your analytical mind at the door. At the risk of sounding esoteric, acupuncture connects to the energetic pathways in the body known as meridians. These pathways are inherent in nature, and flow through every living thing (much like matter at its molecular level). They are typically unseen, and unfelt, yet ever alive and flowing with Qi – vitality.  Qi is what gives us life. Without it, there is no movement, no fullness and therefore no life. When Qi cannot flow smoothly, we feel it in the form of pain, illness or distress. Acupuncture directly manipulates the flow of Qi by way of the meridians of the body.

It’s All Connected

There are over 400 points on the human body throughout 12 different meridians, each with a specific function. Over the thousands of years that it took to develop Acupuncture, such functions were tested and agreed upon – having shown clinical efficacy based on experiential findings. Such findings were not based on disorders like “diabetes” or the ”flu,” because those labels were not yet invented at that time, but rather on individual pattern disharmony. Chinese medicine asks the question: “what does the person presenting with XYZ discomfort need?” not “what is the XYZ discomfort called so I can treat that.”  The latter form of question is more common within the Western medical model, which is in my opinion a strong case for the need to employ both models of care in public health for optimum results.

Back to the topic: how acupuncture works.  As I said, it is all connected. For example, if a person presents with knee pain it may be very beneficial to place needles at the knee joint to relieve it. However, needles placed on the elbow, low back or abdomen are also commonly used for strengthening the knee and depend on individual pattern differentiation. Likewise, several points around the knee are great for digestive problems, and often those points will be needled on individuals with no inherent knee pain at all. To understand how the energetic pathways run is to go to school for a very long time. To make sense of it otherwise, is to accept that there is plenty happening in life that we cannot see – not all that dissimilar from Western molecular biology.

The Web Around Us

Take cellular phones and the Internet. There are direct, real, pathways of communication between carrier towers and individual devices that are always open and able to travel at instantaneous speeds. We walk around among and through these pathways all day long - without knowledge of their existence except through the end result: our web browser working or receipt of a text message. When this system is slightly out of whack, the connection is lost and our devices malfunction. The pathways need to be re-opened and cleared so that proper functioning can occur. Imagine that the meridians in your body are the pathways and the commander keeping them open is the Qi. It is the job of an acupuncturist to open up such communication within the body, so there are no glitches.

Different People, Different Treatment

Unlike the technical support team looking for the predictable piece to fix an Internet malfunction, the human body is far  less predictable. The acupuncturist must look deep at individual constitutional patterns to develop proper and effective treatment. This takes time, a detailed history, and oftentimes ongoing treatment. Acupuncture works well alongside western medical treatments as it can offer great relief for side effects (as in Chemo Therapy) and without adverse reactions. It is also very beneficial for health maintenance (much like exercise), boosting the immune system, and can be used on a seasonal basis as preventative medicine once uncomfortable symptoms have resolved. Many people find that acupuncture is very relaxing, promoting an almost meditative state, an added bonus. 

To find out more how acupuncture can help you maintain or acheive your wellness goals, please contact me.