Coffee, as we drink it today, originated in the 13th century in what is today known as Ethiopia. By the 16th century, coffee had spread to Egypt, Yemen, Persia, Turkey and northern Africa. From there, it went to Italy and the rest of Western Europe, as well as Indonesia and the Americas.
Types of coffee
Coffee traders decided to create code names, such as Java, Mocha, and cappuccino to protect the actual sources where the coffee beans were acquired. It just so happens that these names indicated the regions where the beans were grown. Java is an island in Indonesia. Mocha is a city in Yemen, Arabia. Cappuccino derives its name from the Italian city Capuchin. The word coffee derives from kaf, the Ethiopian name for coffee.
Physical effects
Coffee is a stimulant to the central nervous system. Drinking coffee inhibits the release of natural brain opiates, which make you feel good and counteracts pain. Women need all the natural brain opiates their bodies can hold, especially around their menstrual periods and not to mention childbirth. Coffee may rev you up for a while, but is sure to bring down as well.
Excessive consumption of coffee causes shaking and trembling of the hands due to nervousness. Coffee greatly impairs the nervous system. Coffee also harms the adrenal glands. It revs up these glands, but also brings them down. Anything that goes up and then down is taxing for the body.
Coffee contains the stimulant caffeine. Unlike bioactive caffeine found in green tea, black tea, yerba mate, guarana, and kola nut, the caffeine in coffee is considered dead. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant that is followed by a depressed phase involving exhaustion, nervousness, irritability, fatigue, and often headaches.
The volatile oil in caffeine called caffeol is an irritant to the lining of the stomach and causes poor digestion.
Caffeine constricts blood vessels of the brain and causes decreased flow of blood, which cuts the oxygen supply to the brain, resulting in a headache. It also increases your heartbeat 15% and makes your lungs work 13 times harder than normal. It greatly plays a role in fatigue as well.
Healthier Solutions
A great alternative to drinking coffee is Teeccino herbal coffee, made of roasted carob, barley, chicory root, figs, dates, orange peel and almonds. It is delicious and tastes just like coffee. You can find it at most health food stores such as Whole Foods Market.
Herbal teas such as guarana, kola nut, and yerba mate are also excellent alternatives to coffee and include bioactive caffeine, which is not deleterious to the body.
The herbs borage, basil, licorice, ginseng, astragalus, and fo ti are great for restoring the adrenal glands.
Thank you for reading!
