Tag Archives: coffee

The 9 Best Gilmore Girls Food Indulgences, or the Gastronomic Nightmare That is the Gilmore Girls’ Diet

gilmore girls food

If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent the last 10 days or so in a Gilmore Girls-induced haze. Ever since the entire series was added to Netflix on October 1, I confess that I’ve been binge watching almost every night.

Several things have stuck out to me while re-watching the series. I’ve marveled at the quick, witty script, cringed at the awful early 2000’s fashion, and enjoyed pre-Bridesmaids Melissa McCarthy. However, the thing that’s stuck out to me the most has to be the food. It’s a running gag that the titular Gilmore Girls eat like crap and somehow manage to still look amazing. To celebrate (and condemn) the gastronomic nightmare that is the Gilmore Girls diet, here’s a countdown of some of their top indulgences.

gilmore girls chinese food (more…)

Battle of the Beverages: Tea is Better for Long-Term Health than Coffee

hot tea

It’s sure to start a battle of the beverages, but a new study is making the claim that tea may be better for your long-term health than coffee.

Presented in France, this study looked at the overall health of both tea and coffee drinkers for seven years. As Shape reveals, those who drank tea had a 24 percent lower non-cardiovascular mortality rate than coffee drinkers.

The presenter of the study, Nicolas Danchin, M.D., Ph.D., said in a release, “If you have to choose between tea or coffee it’s probably better to drink tea. Coffee and tea are important components of our way of life.”

That’s definitely true. Many people simply can’t start their day without a few sips of tea or coffee. Happily, this morning habit isn’t a bad one to develop at all. Both tea and coffee have been shown to have health benefits when consumed in reasonable amounts.

According to Professor Danchin, tea may even be a better choice than abstaining from either drink. (more…)

Bulletproof Coffee May be the Hottest Cup of Joe Around

bulletproof coffee

Dave Asprey, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, spent over 15 years and thousands of dollars perfectly brewing his hot idea. And though it we call it “coffee,” it is so much more than that.

Bulletproof Coffee has all of the perks of coffee–the energy, the robust taste, the delicious aroma–but it has features that no other coffee bean boasts.

The beans used in Bulletproof Coffee are processed mechanically rather than under the sun, as you would expect of most other coffee beans. By mechanically processing the beans, Bulletproof Coffee has fewer bacteria and less mold, which happens to be in most other coffee beans you already consume. Though any traces of mold or bacteria in other coffee roasts will not hurt you (a little mold never hurt anybody!), there is definitely a crisper taste to the beans in Bulletproof Coffee. And while some people likely prefer the coffee down and dirty–that old fashioned percolater taste–if you are not a fan of deep, dark coffee flavor, Bulletproof definitely does not have that classic coffee taste. (more…)

Supplement Pods Could Change the Way We Take Our Vitamins

Show of hands, how many of you start the day by turning on your coffee maker? Now while I can’t actually see any of you holding your hands up, I think it’s pretty safe to assume most of you are. Making that first cup of coffee is natural, but what if instead of coffee when you turned on your coffee maker, you got your daily servings of vitamins and minerals?

coffee pods

That’s the idea scientists at Nestle have come up with. The serving of vitamins and minerals would be formulated to your daily needs; to be sure you didn’t get too much or too little of the good things your body needs to function.

It may sound too much like science fiction to be true, but Shape Magazine reported that Nestle’s Institute of Health Sciences is working on the project, which has the code name “Iron Man.”

(more…)

Coffee Plus Stress May Lead to More Stress

I attempt to kick my caffeine habit at least three times a year. I’ll do pretty well for a while, but then I’ll need to stay up late to finish a project, or not sleep very well… You know how it goes.

drinking coffee

The fact is I know I’m far from alone in having an addiction to caffeine that never quite subsides. (However, I’m pretty alone when it comes to my dislike of coffee—I hate it almost as much as I love it!)

In fact, when Shape Magazine polled more than 750 of their readers, they found nearly half of them admitted to drinking more coffee than usual (up to two cups) when they needed to feel more focused, stay alert, and be productive, especially at work.

(more…)

“Coffee for You, Water for All” TOMS Enters the Coffee Business

How do you take your coffee: plain, a little cream, a little sugar? What about with a decent-sized dose of do-gooding? If TOMS founder and CEO Blake Mycoskie has anything to say about it, that’s how everyone will be drinking their coffee from now on.

toms coffee

He announced TOMS new coffee line, TOMS Roasting Co., at South by Southwest earlier this month. Just like with the original TOMS shoes, and the eyewear line that followed, TOMS Roasting Co. will not only be selling a product, but doing social good.

(more…)

The Dangerous Ways Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Ruin Our Health

By Team Best Life

Think about it: Your choice of beverages 100 years ago was pretty much limited to milk, water, coffee and tea. The same goes for the span of human history prior to that. Sugary drinks are a 20th-century phenomenon, and the very modern toll they take on our bodies encompasses more than just obesity.

coffee sugar

Here are a few facts to help keep the sugar you drink in check.

Sugar’s effects are multifaceted. Diabetes, high blood pressure, and disorders that affect our metabolism can all be attributed to over-consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB).

It starts early. The SSBs and fruit juice children consume are responsible for up to 15 percent of their daily caloric intake. (more…)

Take the Decaf Challenge and Enjoy More Health Benefits from Coffee

By Janis Jibrin, M.S., R.D., Best Life lead nutritionist

Need that morning cup of coffee or tea to “really” wake up? If so, you’ve developed a caffeine tolerance. That basically means that caffeine has lost its edge—instead of giving you an extra boost of energy, it simply brings you to the level where you’d be without caffeine. My caffeine conclusion: I have more energy overall without it.

coffee

This isn’t just my own personal observation—research backs me up. Caffeine (coffee, tea, or caffeine pills) may offer an immediate spike in mood and alertness, but it doesn’t last. In fact, caffeine could make you feel little more tired and moody later in the day, according to research at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. (more…)

We Pimped a Homemade Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte

By Abra Pappa for Nutritious America

Tis’ the season to consume many, many, many pumpkin spice lattes. A now ubiquitous beverage of fall, this Starbucks flavored java is loved the world over.

Last month there was a reported pumpkin spice syrup shortage at hundreds of Starbucks around the country; lovers of this beverage were outraged! It was the Pumpkin Spice LattePOCALYPYSE! Happily for the PSL fans (that’s what they affectionately call this fall beverage) the syrup was replenished and drinking resumed.


But wait! I am so sorry to burst your pumpkin bubble, but do you know really know what you are drinking? Espresso, steamed milk, and pumpkin spice syrup, yes, but what is in that pumpkin spice syrup? I for one, wanted to know. Starbucks isn’t terribly forthcoming about ingredients. Their website is extremely helpful with fat and calorie counts, but when it comes to actual ingredients one must dig deeper to come up with the truth.

I emailed them (which quite honestly, is very simple to do on their website) and asked for the ingredient breakdown. I received this:

Sugar, Condensed Nonfat Milk, Sweetened Condensed Nonfat Milk, Annatto (E160b, Colour), Natural and Artificial Flavours, Caramel Colour (E150D), Salt, Potassium Sorbate (E202, a preservative).

This list did not make a holistic nutritionist very happy. The first ingredient is sugar, then more sugar in the form of sweetened condensed milk, and numerous coloring agents and preservatives. Then the big whammy, under the guise of “natural and artificial flavors” are hidden health disastrous ingredients that legally do not have to be listed. Ingredients like Vanillin instead of Vanilla (synthetic vanillin primarily comes from wood pulp, a bi-product of the sulphite process. Yum!) are considered “natural ingredients.”

Well fear not pumpkin addicts, this is a truly simple and luscious drink to make at home. You will save calories, fat, and yucky franken-food ingredients, AND save yourself a pretty penny!

Consider the Pumpkin Spice Latte Pimped! (more…)

Coffee Healthy Enough to Be a Prescription? Not Quite

Like millions of other coffee lovers, I rejoice at the sight of new research bolstering the health benefits of my favorite beverage. From increased alertness to improved workouts to better brain function, you really can’t go wrong with a cup of joe – or two – in the morning.

With new research surrounding the mysterious coffee bean, experts now believe we may be one step closer to elevating the benefits of coffee from good to prescription-worthy.

As reported by CNN, recent studies propose that it may be the antioxidants in coffee that give it its superior health qualities. This is because our bodies produce oxygen radicals that can damage DNA, but antioxidants work to prevent this damage. This is especially good news for U.S. coffee drinkers since coffee was recently found to be the top source of antioxidants for Americans.

Another major benefit of coffee comes from the caffeine, which can have positive effects on brain health and alertness because it binds to adenosine receptors which can slow us down and leave us feeling sleepy. No wonder one cup of joe alongside breakfast is the way so many people start their day. (more…)

Coffee and Alcohol May Increase Heartburn

If you’ve ever experienced heartburn and were left stumped as to what the cause was, perhaps you should turn your gaze toward the bottom of your cup – your coffee cup, that is.

Experts from the University of California, Los Angeles, are suggesting that alcohol and caffeinated beverages can have a direct effect on heartburn. This is because a ring of muscle located between the stomach and esophagus called the “lower esophageal sphincter” can be temporarily affected by alcohol and caffeine in some people.

As reported by NPR, UCLA gastroenterologist Kevin Ghassemi, explained that this muscle is meant to be closed at all times except for when food is passing into the esophagus. But because alcohol relaxes it, it creates an opening. And when this happens, he says, stomach acid can come back up into the esophagus, which is reflux – which is what causes the burning sensation we experience with heartburn.

Furthermore, Ghassemi makes the link to caffeine as well saying, “The caffeine that’s in coffee or other caffeinated beverages also will relax the sphincter muscle.”

If you’re one of the lucky few who doesn’t experience heartburn after consuming caffeine or alcohol, consider yourself normal. Ghassemi points out that some people are naturally predisposed due to a “weak or faulty sphincter muscle.” This, he says, can often be influenced by being overweight or obese because it increases the risk. (more…)