Alternatives to Coffee You Need to Try

Whether you drink it for the caffeine, the flavor, or the ritual, coffee is undoubtedly a culture of its own.

And while there are certainly benefits to this popular beverage, according to Chinese Medicine, coffee may do your body more harm than good.

Don’t get me wrong. I love coffee, but it’s not something I would drink (or recommend you drink) every day. Even if you’re an organic, fair trade, shade grown, decaf Swiss water process coffee connoisseur, there are some important factors to consider before you brew your next morning cup of Joe.

Why You Should Be Cautious with Coffee Consumption

For one thing, drinking a lot of coffee may lead to accelerated aging. The nature of coffee is bitter, warming and dry, so even if you drink decaf, it can actually deplete your body's Yin/moisture, which can prevent your body from nourishing its Liver blood. This is especially important to consider for women who are menstruating, pregnant, nursing or postpartum.

According to Chinese nutrition, the bitter taste drains dampness, but too much bitterness can lead to dryness in your skin, hair, and nails. Lack of moisture/Yin is one of the key causes of accelerated aging. (Click here to learn more about this and how to slow down the aging process).

While the bitter taste in Chinese Medicine helps relax the Heart, excess bitter can actually deplete the Heart Qi and lead to anxiety, restlessness and insomnia — key symptoms that also become present with excessive caffeine consumption.

Dryness and heat are factors that in excess can negatively impact your health (click here to learn more about these factors and how they can impact your health). These factors become more prominent during the Spring and Summer, which is why it’s especially important to cut back on drinking coffee during these times of the year.

In addition, the caffeine in coffee in particular can excite your nervous system and activate your Liver, which can lead to Liver Qi stagnation thus resulting in more stress, more allergies, and can impede your Liver’s detoxification process. Since the Liver is most active during the Spring season, detoxifying your Liver is essential during springtime and reducing or eliminating foods and drinks like coffee (and caffeine in general) can be especially beneficial during this time.

5 Coffee Alternatives to Consider Trying

Though it may be fine to enjoy a cup of coffee on occasion, you might reconsider making coffee part of your daily ritual, especially during the warmer months of the year.

Here are five alternatives to coffee to change up your morning ritual.

1. Green Tea

   Green tea comes from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, a native of East Asia and India. It’s high in antioxidants, as well as other nutrients. The phytonutrients in green tea may also help you lose weight and maintain weight loss. A 2009 meta-analysis of studies found that catechin-rich green tea significantly reduced body weight (Hursel et al., 2009) and helps to maintain a healthy weight after significant weight loss.

   In a study of 40,530 Japanese individuals followed over seven years, drinking three to four cups of green tea per day was associated with a 31% lower risk of dying of cardiovascular disease (Kuriyama, 2006).

   The flavonoids in green tea, including epigallocatechin gallate, have been shown to decrease the liver’s glucose production, helping to regulate blood sugar more effectively (Waltner-Law, 2002).

   According to Chinese Medicine, unlike coffee and black tea, green tea is considered to be cooling. If you tend to have a lot of Cold in your Stomach (diarrhea, bloating, cramping), you might want to consider adding a little spice to your green tea, such as cardamom to add a warming effect that’ll balance its cooling nature. (Click here to learn more about spices)

2. Matcha

   The skyrocketing popularity of matcha brings wonder to the health benefits fo this trendy alternative to coffee.
   Like green tea, matcha comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. However, it’s grown differently and has a unique nutrient profile.

   The tea plants of matcha are covered for 20–30 days before harvest to avoid direct sunlight. This results in an increase in chlorophyll production and amino acid content.

   Once the tea leaves are harvested, the stems and veins are removed and the leaves are ground up into a fine powder. This means that the resulting matcha contains nutrients from the entire tea leaf, making matcha both higher in antioxidants and caffeine than green tea, which is harvested from the leaf, stems and veins of the Camellia sinensis plant.

3. Yerba Mate

   Yerba mate is a tea made from the dried leaves and twigs of the Ilex paraguariensis plant, and is an excellent substitute for coffee, black tea and other high caffeine drinks. Plus, its slightly bitter, smoky flavor makes it less of a compromise than most coffee substitutes.

   It’s traditionally consumed in South America from a container called a gourd and sipped with a metal straw with an attached filter at its lower end to strain out the leaf fragments.

   The health benefits of Yerba Mate are extraordinary, and its ability to give you a kick of energy without compromising longevity is one-of-a-kind. (Click here to learn five key benefits of drinking Yerba Mate)

4. Rooibos

   Rooibos is a caffeine-free alternative that’s been consumed in southern Africa for centuries. Rooibos, aka red bush or red tea, is made using leaves from a shrub called Aspalathus linearis, usually grown on the western coast of South Africa. Traditionally, it’s fermented to create the popular reddish-brown color and is most commonly sold and consumed in this way.

   Rooibos is packed with antioxidants (50 times more than green tea), which include aspalathin, quercetin and luteolin, which in test-tube studies have been shown to kill cancer cells and prevent tumor growth.

   Rooibos also contains alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), one of the main ingredients in skin treatments such as chemical peels. Not particularly common in foods, alpha hydroxy acid in rooibos tea supplements your skincare routine and its hydrating quality can moisturize your skin and help to reduce fine lines and wrinkles.

5. Warm Water

   According to Chinese Medicine, your digestive system is supported by your Stomach Fire, the ‘cooking pot’ which is the foundation through which nutrients are produced and absorbed in the body. This cooking pot needs its fire constantly stoked to have the Yang energy to break down and transform your food and thoughts. Consumption of cold foods and liquids puts out the Stomach Fire, leading to digestive weakness as well as symptoms that include diarrhea, bloating, malabsorption, bloating, gas and weight gain.

   Healthy digestion is the key to gut health, which is the foundation for healthy immunity, mental health and sleep (Click here to learn more about this).

   Drinking warm water in the morning is a powerful way to kick-start your digestive fire. Warm water aids blood circulation and as circulation improves, so does your body’s ability to detoxify as well as reduce muscle pain and contractions. Consumption of cold fluids, on the other hand, slows organ function and causes muscles to contract.

   Aside from its soothing ability, warm water helps to flush toxins out of the body, relaxes the muscles and expands blood vessels to improve blood circulation. In addition, drinking and eating warm beverages inhibits taxation on the digestive system and can aid in weight loss and weight maintenance. Warm fluids soothe the intestines, which can also help with digestive upset and constipation.

In addition to any beverages you enjoy drinking, I suggest you add warm/hot water to your routine and consider drinking it as a daily morning ritual. Drinking warm water in the morning can help improve your circulation, relax your body and mind, and prepare your digestive system for the day ahead.

What’s your favorite morning drink? Let me know in the comments below.

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References

Kuriyama, S., et al. (2006). Green tea consumption and mortality due to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all causes in Japan: The Ohsaki study. Journal of the American Medical Association, 296(10), 1255-1265.

Hursel, R., Viechtbauer, W., & Westerterp-Plantenga, M.S. (2009). The effects of green tea on weight loss and weight maintenance: a meta-analysis. International Journal of Obesity, 33, 956-961.

Waltner-Law, M.E., et al. (2002). Epigallocatechin gallate, a constituent of green tea, represses hepatic glucose production. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 277.

What it Means to Be Healthy (and why it's easier than you may think)

by Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac.

“The first wealth is health.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

The topic of health can instigate a variety of feelings and responses. If you’ve ever struggled with your health, the word alone can be a trigger. 

You may even feel shame and guilt about your choices with your health or think that being healthy may be too costly. 

And quite frankly, with all the information that’s available about the topics of health and wellness, it can be challenging to know what to believe or even where to begin. 

By definition, health is “the condition of being well or free from disease.” But to be healthy means “enjoying health and vigor of body, mind, or spirit.” 

So, to be healthy is to be free from disease and have vigor of body, mind or spirit.

Note that the spirit is embedded in this definition, which is why we’re going to look at why being healthy is fostered through a deeper relationship with yourself. 

Having a healthy lifestyle does not mean letting go of all the fun and pleasure in life and it certainly doesn’t mean making healthy choices all of the time.

Being healthy simply means doing things that keep you feeling good physically, mentally and spiritually. 

The World Health Organization’s definition of health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” illuminates just that.

We are all comprised of a physical body, a mind and a spirit. So why is it that most of us forget about at least one of these parts of ourselves throughout the day?

The most complicated element of the human experience is the mind—and it’s also the most difficult to condition. Luckily, if you notice that your mental state is imbalanced early on, you can use your physical body to reshape your thinking. Ancient practices such as Yoga, Qi Gong and Meditation are designed to help with this.

The ‘monkey mind’, as many of these ancient traditions call it, needs to be trained. Otherwise, the mind will run in all directions and lead you to the demise of both your physical body and your spirit.

But what if you have a problem with your body physically, perhaps as a result of an illness, an injury or some type of chronic pain? 

When your body suffers, you have two choices—you can dwell on the pain or dwell on the process of healing.

When you’re able to change the station that’s playing in your head to focus on healing, you can more effectively uplift your spirit to then help your body recover. This can be done through a variety of spiritual practices and very simply through the daily and routine practice of gratitude. 

Gratitude creates space for positivity and joy to flow into your life. 

The more you focus on the good you have, the more you magnify those things and begin to cultivate better things to come into your life. This is the fastest way to heal your body, which is a reflection of the health of your mind and spirit.

To be healthy then does not necessarily mean eating the right foods, exercising and sleeping well.

In its very essence, health is cultivated through a sound, peaceful and positive body, mind and spirit. 

Health is the state of ease you cultivate through an intimate relationship with your body and mind.

This means that you care about and pay close attention to both the body and mind. 

To pay close attention, you have to be fully present. 

When you’re present, you feel what you need and want in each moment and are therefore far less likely to make decisions based on impulse. 

When you’re present, you often choose nutritious foods because you’re in tune with the impact of food on your body and mind. 

When you’re present, you’re more more mindful of the people with whom you spend your time because you want to feel nourished by your relationships. 

When you’re present, you listen to the cues to exercise not because you feel you have to, but because you actually enjoy it. 

Paying close attention to your body and mind means being present with how you feel moment to moment, and this cultivates self-love. Self-love brings ease to the body, mind and spirit and prevents disease manifestation.

Self-love means that you care enough about yourself that you fill your life with the people, things, foods and activities you enjoy. 

It’s more important to have your life be fullfilling than to have it be full. 

For many of you this may mean that you do less, rest more and spend time in fewer yet more nurturing relationships and surroundings.

Tips on what foods will give you energy, which exercises are appropriate for your body, element and age, and which practices will help recondition your mind are certainly helpful.

But the truth is, no matter what I or anyone else tells you, the choice to be healthy must authentically come from you. 

And once you really slow down and pay close attention to yourself, the realization of a truly fulfilling life simplifies making healthy choices.

The Secret to Preventing a Cold

Growing up I could hardly get past the front door without hearing my mother, my grandmother or one of my aunts yell at me to put on a jacket.

You might relate — the tradition of wearing a jacket, coat or scarf to protect you from catching a cold when you go outside crosses over many cultures.

The idea is not to just to avoid getting cold, but more importantly we’re told that keeping your body warm will help prevent catching a cold.

Western medicine mostly writes this theory off as an old wive’s tale. Naturally, colds come from viruses, not from a strong breeze, right?

The answer isn’t so simplistic.

According to the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, one of the most prominent texts of Chinese Medicine, “Wind is the chief [cause] of the one hundred diseases. When it comes to changes and transformations, other diseases result…[whatever] sets in does so because of Wind Qi.” (Unschuld, 2011, 631). 

Wind is therefore considered to be one of the greatest challenges to healing according to Chinese Medicine. Wind can be associated with acute diseases like colds, flus, allergic reactions, and even chronic health disorders. 

But how in the world can a breeze, or Wind Qi, cause illness?

Well, it’s because of how pathology can enter and move through your body’s meridian system and the protective barrier that constitutes your immune system.

Your Immune System: The Sinew Meridians & Your Wei Qi

Your Sinew Meridians are a system of channels that cover the entire surface of your body and are responsible for bringing information from your external environment to your senses. 

Most importantly, the Sinew Meridians are conduits of Wei Qi, or defensive Qi, which protects you from your external environment much like your immune system.

When stimulated by Cold, Wind or Dampness - all of which are considered pathological factors in Chinese Medicine - these meridians instigate a defense that manifests as sneezing, sweating or a fever. 

The pathological factor of Wind most easily and commonly enters your body through the back of your neck.

If the Bladder Sinew Meridian, which runs along your back and is your first line of defense, is not able to push the pathological factor back out (via a tight neck, sneeze and slight sweat), it enters the Tai Yang zone (Bladder & Small Intestine sinews).

If the pathological factor continues to challenge your body and cannot be pushed out, it can become a cold that impacts your sinuses and respiratory system.

How You Can Support Your Wei Qi

One of the simplest things you can do to protect these meridians from invasion by external pathology is to wear a scarf, especially when it’s cold or windy.

By covering the back of your neck, a scarf helps prevent Wind from entering an important area that’s transited by the first protectors of your Wei Qi in the Sinew Meridian system — your Bladder Sinew Meridian.

Wearing a scarf armors this first line of defense to ensure that the factor of Wind doesn’t go into your body to become a cold or another type of virus.

Even if it’s warm and windy, you can still protect yourself by wearing a light scarf.

The health of your Kidneys is also vital to maintain strong Wei Qi, or defensive Qi, so it’s also essential to keep three additional areas of your body warm—your lower back near your kidneys, your lower abdomen where your kidney energy is stored and your feet through which your Kidney meridian runs.

In essence, keeping your neck contained by wearing a scarf, and making sure your lower back, abdomen and feet are warm helps protect your Wei Qi and immune system so as to prevent compromising your wellbeing during cold seasons.

Therefore, if you go out on a windy, cold day unprotected, the potential to catch a cold is not a myth.

Now that you know, I’d love to hear in the comments how you’re going to take action with these insights—does this empower you to keep your immune system strong?

Two Surprisingly Simple Ways to Boost Your Immune System

by Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac. & Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac.

While Autumn is the most important time of year to support your Lungs, your Lung health is essential to support your immune system year round. Here are two less common tips to strengthen your Lungs and support your immune system during Autumn and beyond.

Tip#1: Hydrate

Autumn is the season of the Metal element, which relates to the Lungs, the Large Intestine (or colon) and skin. Your skin is your body’s largest detoxification organ (byway of sweating) and therefore your most important defense against external pathogenic factors, or anything in the environment that can compromise your immunity.

Your skin is also an extension of your Lungs and what Chinese Medicine refers to as Lung Yin. Lung Yin is comprised of substance and fluids so if your Lung Yin is dry, your skin will be dry too. 

Just as the skin detoxifies your body through sweating, the Large Intestine also supports detoxification through elimination of waste. 

The Lungs, Large Intestine and skin are associated with the Metal element and the Fall season and each requires proper hydration to work efficiently.

If your colon is dry, you may experience constipation with dry, hard stools and if your Lungs are too dry you may experience dry cough, lips and mouth as well as dry skin.

Simply drinking adequate amounts of water helps hydrate these organs, but it’s also important to eat hydrating foods such as soups and stews as well as to steam and boil rather than fry or bake foods (which increase dryness) to support hydration even more.

Since most of the filtered water we drink nowadays is stripped of the minerals that help maintain proper fluid balance in the body, you may need to add some naturally processed salt to your drinking water to help your body retain fluids, especially if you notice your body feels and looks dry. 

If you’re concerned about salt because of high blood pressure, be sure to use naturally processed salt such as Himalayan pink salt or Celtic sea salt. Pink Himalayan salt is higher in potassium and lower in sodium than Celtic salt and may actually help lower blood pressure and reduce palpitations and heart arrhythmias. 

Managing proper hydration is the first step to keeping your immune system functioning optimally by supporting the production of your defensive Qi, known as Wei Qi. 

Wei Qi circulates along your skin’s surface at night to protect you from environmental factors that can challenge your immune system. At night, your Wei Qi withdraws internally to help your have a good night’s sleep.

Tip#2: Diffuse Immune Boosting Essential Oils

Essential oils provide potent support for immune and metabolic functions. They strengthen the Lung Qi to effectively combat fatigue, low immunity and asthma. 

Evergreen essential oils, including Pine, Black Spruce, Cypress and Balsam Fir, are important immune boosting oils. 

These oils can be used in an essential oil diffuser to strengthen your immune system and prevent colds and flus during the Fall season. 

If you have pets, be especially cautious with diffusing any essential oils, especially those like Pine which can be toxic to dogs.

If you tend to get sick during this season, you can consider using Eucalyptus oils to clear congestion in your lungs especially during the acute stage of an infection. 

Eucalyptus Radiata is a good all purpose ear, nose and throat oil and very good for viruses and can be combined with Eucalyptus Citriodora or Eucalyptus Globulus to combat infections. Diffusing essential oils, particularly those extracted from evergreens, can help strengthen your Lungs and clear your home and office to protect you from colds, flus and other viruses.

Summary

Hydrating your Lungs and supporting your body’s immune function is imperative during the Fall season to protect yourself from the plethora of colds and flus that tend to arise during this time of year. By incorporating essential oils and proper hydration, you’ll effectively support your health as we approach the colder Winter season.

*Here are some dietary tips to provide you with additional support for your Lungs & immune system.

Please note: These health tips are for educational purposes only. Please consult your medical professional for health advice specific for your individual needs.

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3 Foods to Strengthen Your Lungs

by Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac.

Your lungs play an important role in your immune system. As part of the respiratory system, and they provide a connection between your external and internal worlds through the breath. Inhalation draws in fresh oxygen and Qi, or energy, while exhalation helps you let go of toxins. 

The Lungs' natural movement is to disperse and descend Qi.

The Lungs disperse, or spread, the body fluids as well as the Wei Qi, the defensive Qi that runs on the surface of the skin to protect you during the day and travels into the body to help you sleep at night. This ensures that Wei Qi is equally distributed under the skin and to the muscles to warm and moisten the skin, allowing for a normal amount of sweating, and to protect the body from external pathogens that can cause colds, flus and skin problems (see more about this in a previous article).

As the uppermost organ, the Lungs also descend Qi to communicate with the Kidneys, which are said to 'grasp' the Qi of the Lungs. This allows for deep breathing. 

The Lungs also direct body fluids downward to Kidneys and Bladder. Dysfunction in the communication between the Lungs and Kidneys can result in wheezing and asthma or accumulation of fluids either from the failure of the Lungs to descend the Qi or weakness in the Kidneys that prevent the grasping of the Lung Qi.

The Lungs also have an important relationship with the Large Intestine. The descension of Lung Qi stimulates peristalsis to support detoxification through the colon.

While breathing exercises and regular movement practices like Yoga and Qi Gong certainly help to support your Lung Qi, there are also some key foods that can strengthen your Lungs and support your immune system overall.

Since the pathological factor that most commonly affects your Lungs is dryness (which is also the predominant factor during the Fall season) it’s important to stay hydrated and integrate three groups of foods that support the Lungs: fruits, nuts and root vegetables.

#1 Fruit

According to Chinese Medicine, all fruits support the Lungs.

Compact fruits such as pears, apples, Asian pears, and persimmons are most beneficial to nourish your Lungs. These fruits moisten Lung Yin to stop a dry cough and increase hydration during the dry season.

Eating apple-pear stew (cut one apple, one pear and simmer slowly on low heat - no water needed!) can help to moisten a dry cough. And drinking a little pear juice before going to bed can help you fall asleep since the Lungs must be nourished to anchor the Wei Qi, or defensive Qi, of the body, to help you fall asleep.

Though fruits are great hydrating foods, they should be consumed in moderation as their sweet nature can create phlegm and congest the Lungs. Citrus in particular, especially in the form of juice, is overly concentrated in sugar and can cause phlegm or mucus to develop, weakening your Lung Qi.

#2 Nuts

Like fruits, all nuts have an affinity with the Lungs. The nuts that help support Lung Qi in particular are pine nuts and sweet almonds. Walnuts help strengthen the Kidneys to grasp the Qi of the Lungs. Walnuts therefore are considered an important food for conditions like asthma with shortness of breath.

The only caution is to eat nuts in moderation and to avoid them if you have skin problems as nuts can generally hyper activate your Wei Qi, or defensive Qi, and lead to allergies, acne and skin irritation.

The damp or fungal nature of nuts also warrant caution. Roasting nuts reduces shelf life by causing the oils to more quickly turn rancid. It’s therefore best to purchase raw nuts and toast or soak them yourself to make them easier to digest. Walnuts and almonds are especially nice to eat when soaked overnight.

#3 Root Vegetables & Tubers

Root vegetables not only support your Lungs’ ability to descend Qi, but they also help fortify your digestive system by fortifying your Spleen and Stomach.

Root vegetables that are high in beta carotene, the precursor to Vitamin A (an important vitamin for immune health as well as the health of your hair, skin and nails) are especially beneficial to strengthen the Lungs. These include carrots, beets and sweet potatoes.

Tubers, including parsnips, rutabaga and daikon also help the Lungs descend Qi to support peristalsis. Rutabaga and daikon are also known for their ability to break up stagnation and clear fire toxins through the colon. In addition, turnips help to break up phlegm and are great to strengthen the Lungs and help clear a cough with mucous.

Conclusion

While these foods can generally support the health of your Lungs, this list is certainly not exhaustive and not all of the foods here may be beneficial to everyone. Nutrition is highly personalized, so if you want more specific recommendations, you can work with us or a trusted practitioner.

Remember that Nutrition = Food + Digestion so it’s important to remember that food is only beneficial when it’s properly digested so it’s always essential to support your digestive system to support healthy nutrition.

If you’re interested in learning about Classical Chinese nutrition in greater depth, you can learn more and join the waitlist for my upcoming program.

Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac. is co-owner and Director of A Center for Natural Healing in Santa Clara, California. The Silicon Valley-based health and wellness clinic specializes in Classical Chinese Medicine and Traditional Japanese Acupuncture with a clinic and studio where Dr. Moafi offers clinical services and transformational workshops that blend the ancient practices of Classical Chinese Medicine and Yoga. More information at www.setarehmoafi.com and www.acenterfornaturalhealing.com.

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Mung Bean & Turnip Detox Soup

Besides my yoga practice, one of the things I’ve most enjoyed about being at home while we shelter in place is having more time to cook healthy meals.

Cooking is definitely one of my passions. What makes it even more exciting is integrating the delicious influence of my Persian heritage with Chinese Medicine insights that turn food into nourishing medicine for the body, mind and soul.

So in lieu of a live practice today, I'm showing you how to make one of my all-time favorite soups that's super simple and has an array of health benefits.

This recipe from my mom makes the perfect springtime dish that helps detoxify your Liver and boosts your immunity to fight colds, viruses and of course allergies.🌷
Watch the video to learn step-by-step instructions on how to make this easy 7-ingredient recipe.

All you need is mung beans, turnips, onion, salt, pepper, oil, and broth or stock. Watch the video for all the details.

Creativity is so healing. And cooking can be such a fun, creative and nourishing way to support your health even in the most turbulent times.

Once you’ve tried the recipe, share it with your friends and family and let me know how it went below. I look forward to hearing from you!

This is What a Healthy Summer Looks Like

How to Let Go of Uncomfortable Emotions (Part 2)

How to Let Go of Uncomfortable Emotions (Part 1)