Make Your Coffee Healthy!
By Donna Stark
What type of person are you? Are you somebody who wakes up in the morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to tackle the day with loads of energy and a zest for life? Or are you somebody that can't function without a cup of coffee in your hand? If you are the latter, you've got plenty of company. Millions of Americans count on that cup of joe to survive their day, and for the most part, it's OK for them to do so. But there are some times when coffee consumption stops being OK and actually becomes a liability to our overall health and wellness. So, let's try to keep our coffee as healthy as we can, shall we? Take a look at what I mean.
Breaking Bad Habits
From frappuccinos to lattes to cappuccinos to mochas to chillers to everything in-between, ordering a coffee today certainly isn't what it was like in years past. Coffee has gone from "I'll take it black or with cream" to "give me as much sugar and fat as you can possibly fit into a 16-ounce cup," and many of us are paying the price for it in the form of added calories, excess weight, and an increased risk of diabetes. No amount of coffee is worth all of those health issues, so be proactive about it now. Here are a few ways you can make your coffee a little bit healthier.
- Keep it simple - If you are a several-latte-per-day kind of person, consider going back to plain, old brewed coffee. You could literally shave off hundreds of calories. Yes, you read that correctly. Hundreds of calories per day.
- Make the swap - Still aren't ready to give up those lattes quite yet? Well, let's take another route then ... a lower-fat route, that is. The next time you are ready to place your order, swap out your whole milk with low-fat, non-fat, or even a dairy-free milk alternative. You may not even notice the difference!
- Say no to the extras - This may be the hardest choice to make, but your body will thank you for it in the long run. Say no to all of those extras. The whipped cream, the flavored syrups, the cookie crumbles, and the ever-so-flavorful butterscotch crunchies. You get the point and your body will get a healthier drink.
Your Healthy Cup of Joe
Making changes to our routines can be hard, but it doesn't mean you need to sacrifice everything that you love. So, go ahead and enjoy that morning cup of coffee. Just make it a little healthier so you can continue to enjoy it for years to come!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Vancouver, Wash.