America Runs on Dunkin’. Do You?
by Vin Miller
This catchy Dunkin’ Donuts slogan actually has a lot of truth to it. Most Americans rely on coffee to wake up and get their day started, and some people even need it to get through the afternoon. Are you one of them?
According to the National Coffee Association, more than 50% of Americans consume coffee on a daily basis and drink an average of 3 cups per day. Dunkin’ Donuts, arguably the most popular coffee franchise in America, helps to support this habit by serving nearly 1 billion cups of coffee each year. There’s no doubt that the coffee habit is alive and well, but unfortunately, many people are using it to mask a significant problem that they may not be aware of.
What America is Really Running on is Fumes
According to the averages from the National Sleep Foundation and a recent Gallup poll, Americans are working 45 hours per week, spending a total of 46 minutes per day commuting to and from work, and are getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night. In reality, many people are working longer and sleeping less than this data suggests. We’re busier and more stressed than ever, we’re exposed to growing levels of chemical and electromagnetic pollution on a daily basis, and we’re eating an unprecedented amount of processed food. As a result, many of us are suffering from chronic exhaustion and compromised health. Coffee just so happens to be a convenient, tasty, and effective way to compensate, but the results are only temporary and the consequences can be significant.
How Coffee Gets You Through the Day
Coffee is one of the most concentrated sources of caffeine available and directly stimulates the adrenal glands to produce a number of hormones and neurotransmitters that keep you alert and energized. This is actually the same physiological stress response that we’ve relied on throughout our evolution to overcome and avoid life threatening danger. Because the body must draw from it’s own resources to support this heightened physical capacity, it’s an expensive burden to the body. Much of the stress, excitement, and physical activity that we encounter and engage ourselves in on a consistent basis also invokes this response even though there’s no associated life threatening danger. As a result, the fast pace of modern life wears the body down and impairs its capacity to adequately handle stress and stimulation. This is known as adrenal fatigue and can lead to a number of additional health issues.
Whenever you feel exhausted, it’s a sign that your body has been pushed beyond it’s capacity and needs time to recover. When this type of fatigue is common and recovery is slow, it’s a strong indication of adrenal fatigue and the associated reduction in capacity to produce the hormones and neurotransmitters that are needed to cope with stress and feel energetic. This state has become so common that most people perceive it as normal, and without any thought, use stimulants like coffee to get through it. Doing this pushes the body beyond it’s reduced capacity and makes the problem even worse. It’s like whipping a tired horse. While the horse may respond by temporarily increasing it’s effort, it will soon become even more exhausted and will eventually collapse. Likewise, people who spend decades pushing their bodies like this often destroy their health in the process.
Additional Coffee Concerns
In addition to the stimulating effect of coffee that so many people rely on, there are some additional concerns that can push an already overwhelmed body over the edge.
As most people know, caffeine is a diuretic and increases the amount of water excreted from the body. Unfortunately, most people don’t drink enough water as it is and compound the problem by drinking coffee, soda, and other caffeinated beverages instead of water. This greatly increases the risk of chronic dehydration and the significant problems that it can cause. Since coffee can satisfy or even suppress appetite, it can also reduce the consumption of foods that provide the essential nutrients needed to recover from fatigue and support optimal funciton. This is a particularly important concern for people who mostly eat processed foods.
Coffee bean crops tend to be heavily sprayed with pesticides and are grown in countries where it’s legal to use chemicals that have been outlawed in the United States. As a result, most brands of coffee are likely to contain a notable amount of dangerous chemical residues. In addition, many people load their coffee with unhealthy amounts of sugar, or even worse, dangerous artificial sweeteners like Nutrasweet, Equal, or Splenda.
According to Julia Ross, the author of The Mood Cure which is an excellent book about improving your mood through diet, the potential problems caused by caffeine reach even further. It’s a major cause of anxiety and studies have shown that people who regularly drink caffeine are more likely to suffer from chronic depression. Caffeine also inhibits the production of serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter that promotes happiness, and melatonin which is a hormone that’s essential for refreshing and restorative sleep. Ross also states that caffeine can deplete the body of important nutrients including the B vitamins, vitamin C, potassium, calcium, and zinc, can overstimulate and weaken the kidneys, pancreas, liver, stomach, intestines, heart, nervous system, and adrenal glands, can acidify the body’s pH level, and that it only takes two small cups of coffee to initiate these effects!
How to Enjoy Coffee as Part of a Healthy Lifestyle
I know that many people are very attached to coffee and are unwilling to give it up. Fortunately, you don’t have to. I’m definitely not going to help you justify moderate coffee consumption as something that’s beneficial to your health, but in reasonable moderation, you can probably enjoy coffee on a fairly regular basis without it having too much of a negative impact. What’s most important is that you be honest with yourself and make sure that you’re choosing to drink coffee for the pure enjoyment of it, and maybe even for a small energy boost. If you’re using it regularly to wake yourself up, elevate your mood, or get through the day, then you’re doing yourself a disservice and it will likely catch up with you.
If you decide to continue drinking coffee, at least choose an organic source to avoid the pesticide issue and also be mindful of what you add to it. I’m not a coffee drinker and I unfortunately don’t know of any good brands of organic coffee to recommend. If anyone knows of a good brand, please share it with us by leaving a comment!
What to Do if You Rely on Coffee for Energy
The only reliable way to enjoy many years of balanced and lasting energy is to achieve and maintain optimal health. The first and most important step in doing so is to implement the foundational principles of a healthy lifestyle. Without this, anything that you do to increase your energy will be no better than compensating with a stimulant like coffee. If you’d like additional guidance on implementing a healthier lifestyle, my free course, 7 Simple Steps to a Leaner, Happier, and Healthier You, will provide you with plenty of information to help you get started.
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This is a great post. As soon as I saw the commercial for Everyone Runs on Dunkin. I immediately thought, Yeah, because we all have AF!! I had not heard of the Mood Cure book and will definitely check it out. Here are a few good articles that I’ve come across on AF and caffeine — The caffeine controversy and Adrenal fatigue — the effects of stress and high cortisol levels. Both are from the Women to Women clinic, but the info applies to both men and women.
Thanks, Jacqueline!
The Mood Cure is a great resource, I highly recommend it!
Those are good articles, thanks for sharing them. I particularly like two of the points made in the first one. Individuality is an important concern and you have to go without caffeine for a while to truly understand how it’s affecting you.
Thanks for pointing out that even Americas favorite morning brew can be laced with dangerous chemical residues from the pesticide use of coffee bean growers. One can not live obliviously to what they put into their bodies or down the road they might have to deal with unwelcomed cells growing within themselves. Keep up the good work Vin.
Hi George, thanks for your comment!
While some people are less interested than others in protecting their health, it’s important to at least be aware of the consequences! Especially “unwelcome cell growth.”
I relied on coffee in 2004-5, but did not do anything to get my school sleepiness away. I now drink coffee very rarely, otherwise limited to once per week. But not the popular instant coffee brands because I prefer coffee brewed.
My dad enjoys Barako coffee, a variety of coffee grown in Batangas, Philippines. I too, enjoy it without sweeteners. I feel some Filipino farmers honor tradition, so some chances you will find it organic.
My coffee story
Since 2005, I have never drank >1 mug of hot coffee in one seating. But in 2002, my dad introduced me to a coffee chain (The coffee bean) and enjoyed its Ice blended coffee, so I drank >1 mug, max 2 sessions in a week, at night. Fortunately the trips to the coffee chain lasted roughly 4 months.
Today I use the 80/20 approach to coffee and try as much as possible to not order coffee at that chain at night, I order tea instead. I finish a family member’s coffee if it can’t be finished.
And the 2002 habit repeated April, July, August 2004/5 and 2 weeks of August 2006 (School holidays, enjoying the other side of Malaysia, Sarawak, when my dad was working there)
Hi ægil, thanks for sharing your story!
Nothing fixes sleepiness quite like sleep!
It’s good to hear that you’ve reduced your coffee intake to a more moderate level.
At home, I’ve had good luck with Jim’s Organic Coffee.
In a rush, the local coffee house near work serves up an organic, fair trade brew for CHEAPER than what Dunkin charges for the same sized cup of their pesticide-laden junk! It tastes better, too
Hi Chris, thanks for the recommendation! Local coffee shops sound like a great alternative as well.
Great article. I have been a 1-2 cup a day coffee drinker for years and years now. Typically just in the morning. And all along I’ve said “it doesn’t keep me from sleeping.” That’s not entirely true as I’ve come to learn upon switching to green tea. I still try not to have more than 2 cups of my green tea each day max. And now, at night when I get into bed, there’s no lag time. It’s light’s out and I’m asleep. I don’t need to unwind more or watch a movie. When I’m drinking coffee regularly, I feel the need for it more and more each morning, whereas when I stop and switch to tea, I don’t have that same drive for the caffeine. I’m glad I’ve felt the difference so that I can look at coffee as something to enjoy now and then and not something I need to fuel my day! This is the second time I’ve “quit” drinking coffee as a daily thing and I think it’s going to stick this time! I feel SO much better!
Thanks for the post!
Diane
CHEK HLC Level 1
Holistic Nutrition Educator student at Bauman College in Berkeley, CA
Hi Diane, thanks for sharing your experience! It’s amazing that two cups of coffee in the morning can impact your sleep and I think it’s important for others to be aware of this possibility. It’s great that you’ve noticed such a big difference and you raised an important point about recognizing the improvement. Once the benefits of healthier habits have been experienced first hand, it serves as natural motivation and makes it a lot easier to stay focused. This is why we should all be more willing to try new habits that might contribute to our health and well being.
I’m a recovering coffee addict… haha. Seriously, though, I decided to embark on a food elimination diet about 6 weeks ago to discover potential food allergies. I’ve successfully eliminated caffeine as part of this, and have never felt better! I used to be a one coffee in the morning, and usually one in the afternoon type of person, and now my energy level, waist line, and wallet are all thanking me for kicking my daily Dunkin Donuts habit. I’m sleeping through the night and am wide awake at 3pm, my usual “crash” time. Definitely a good decision to make!
Hi Kaitlin, thanks for sharing your experience!
Most people don’t consider beverages when they think of food sensitivities, but coffee definitely qualifies, especially when it’s consumed on a daily basis. It’s great to hear that you’ve experienced so many improvements. Keep up the good work!
Dang it! This is one thing I haven’t been able to eliminate yet, and I admit I haven’t really tried. I truly enjoy my morning coffee, though I do also rely on it as an energy boost. Sigh. I have transitioned so much to NT, but there is still a list of more to do. Baby steps. I guess this is at the bottom of that list.
I do thank you for the very valid warning, Vin. I’ll get there eventually, I hope.
In the meantime, I’ve found this wonderful source of certified organic/fair trade coffee. I like it because it is a charity that invests 1/3 of net profits into organizations helping children . They also roast your coffee to order, and the prices are very reasonable. I just got my first order a few days ago, and haven’t tried it yet, but I think I will love it. Saint’s Coffee
Hi Jen, thanks for sharing your experience! As you seemed to have already figured out, it’s important to not overwhelm yourself by taking on too many changes at once. It sounds like you’re motivated to live a healthy lifestyle, and as long as you keep that motivation, I’m sure you’ll eventually get past the coffee habit if you really want to.
Thanks for the recommendation of Saint’s Coffee! I think it’s great what they are doing!
You are right, most people can’t function without their morning coffee because they don’t get enough sleep and don’t eat well. I have never liked coffee, I drink herbal tea and grow my own chamomile. It’s wonderful.
Herbal teas are a great alternative to coffee and it’s even better that you grow your own plants to make it! I don’t know as much as I’d like to about herbal teas, otherwise I would have mentioned in the article, but I look forward to learning more about it in the future.
You know, I live what I think is a very healthy life style, which does admittedly waver now and then, but for the most part it’s always healthy. One of my main rules is to eat as much raw food as possible, and if it is processed, it is not to have sugar added or to have any ‘numbers’ on the ingredients.
The other rule is ‘everything in moderation. Including moderation’ …with that, I allow myself the occasional chocolate etc and, after being introduced to good espresso coffee, then coffee a day.
My coffee drinking has become a bit of a ritual thing for me which I quite enjoy …and I generally never drink it in the morning. It seems almost too ‘violent’ to introduce something like that to the body upon first waking. When I have coffee, it has to be ‘good’ espresso type coffee, and it will generally be in good company, or in a nice cafe or a beautiful spot, where the whole thing is an experience. And I keep it to one a day.
However, I won’t drink coffee for coffee’s sake (…as I write this, I haven’t had a coffee for about 4 days). If it’s not good coffee or in a beautiful spot, then I’ll leave it for the day. I don’t know what coffee is like in the US, but travelling through Europe and Australia, you really get some wonderful experiences and some great coffee (and it’s really true what they say about Italian coffee. It is just the best!).
Just thought I’d share my philosophy with you
Hi Mianne, thanks for sharing your experience! It’s always refreshing to see an athlete who is conscientious about their health. I think athleticism can be one of the most profound expressions of excellent health and I wish more athletes shared this point of view.