Coffee in the eyes of traditional Chinese medicine: pros and cons

From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, coffee is good for refreshing the mind and invigorating the spirit. Drinking it in moderation can relieve fatigue. However, its disadvantages should not be ignored. Coffee is highly stimulating. Excessive drinking can easily lead to adverse effects such as insomnia and palpitations, and may even aggravate anxiety. Stimulants such as caffeine in coffee may be similar to the "dryness and heat" in traditional Chinese medicine theory. Long-term and large-scale drinking may be detrimental to physical health. Traditional Chinese medicine reminds people to drink coffee in moderation and pay attention to balance when enjoying the refreshing effect of coffee.

In busy modern life, coffee has become a must-have drink for many people to refresh themselves and cope with fatigue. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, the pros and cons of coffee are not as simple as modern scientific research. Let’s talk about traditional Chinese medicine’s understanding of coffee, explore its advantages and disadvantages, and help everyone understand this drink more comprehensively.

1. Benefits of Coffee

1. Refresh the mind : The caffeine in coffee is a stimulant. After entering the human body, it can stimulate the central nervous system, making people excited and focused. For people who are tired from work or study, drinking coffee in moderation can have a refreshing effect.

2. Promote metabolism : Traditional Chinese medicine believes that coffee can promote human metabolism. Drinking coffee in moderation can speed up gastrointestinal motility, help digestion, and promote the excretion of waste in the body.

3. Protect cardiovascular system : Studies have shown that drinking coffee in moderation can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. According to traditional Chinese medicine theory, coffee has the effect of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, which can improve blood circulation and keep blood vessels unobstructed.

2. Disadvantages of coffee

1. Overexcitement : Although coffee can refresh the mind, drinking too much can cause overexcitement of the nervous system, resulting in symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety, and palpitations. Especially drinking it at night may affect sleep quality.

2. Damage to the spleen and stomach : Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes that the spleen and stomach are the foundation of acquired constitution. The stimulating nature of coffee will irritate the gastric mucosa. Long-term and excessive drinking may lead to gastritis, gastric ulcers and other diseases.

3. Damage to the body's Yin essence : Coffee has a hot and dry nature. Long-term drinking can easily damage the body's Yin essence, leading to symptoms such as dry mouth, thirst, and dry skin. Especially for people with a hot constitution, Yin deficiency, and hyperactivity of fire, they should be more cautious when drinking coffee.

4. Affecting calcium absorption : Certain ingredients in coffee may affect calcium absorption. Long-term and excessive drinking may lead to osteoporosis and increase the risk of fractures.

3. Reasonable drinking in the eyes of traditional Chinese medicine

How to drink coffee properly according to traditional Chinese medicine?

1. Control the amount of drinking : Moderate drinking is the key. Depending on your personal constitution, generally 1-2 cups a day is enough. Do not drink too much.

2. Pay attention to the time of drinking : try to avoid drinking at night to avoid affecting sleep. After drinking during the day, you can increase the amount of exercise appropriately to help the body metabolize caffeine.

3. Constitution identification : People with hot constitution, yin deficiency and hyperactivity of fire should reduce their drinking or not drink at all; while people with cold spleen and stomach and insufficient yang can drink appropriately, but still need to control the amount.

4. Matching and conditioning : When drinking coffee, you can pair it with some ingredients that have the effect of nourishing yin, moistening dryness, and harmonizing, such as wolfberry, chrysanthemum, honey, etc., to balance the hot nature of coffee.

5. Individual reactions : Everyone reacts differently to coffee. If you experience symptoms such as insomnia or palpitations, you should reduce your drinking or avoid it altogether.

Traditional Chinese medicine's understanding of coffee is not absolutely good or bad, but a comprehensive consideration based on many factors such as individual constitution and living habits. In modern life, as long as we master the reasonable drinking method and drink coffee in moderation, we can enjoy its benefits and avoid its potential risks.