Black Coffee in the Morning and Green Tea in the Afternoon

As well as the recommended daily servings of green juices, you can consume other fluids freely through all phases of the Sirtfood diet. These should include non-caloric drinks, preferably plain water, black coffee, and green tea. Both coffee and green tea are Sirtfoods and there is now considerable research now that drinking both are linked with numerous health benefits.

We recommend that coffee be drunk black, without adding milk as some researchers have found that the milk can reduce the absorption of the beneficial sirtuin-activating nutrients. The same has been found for green tea although adding some lemon juice actually increases the assimilation of the sirtuin-activators.

• Mounting research suggests coffee may offer protection against a number of health concerns, including cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and Parkinson’s. It also has athletic performance-enhancing benefits
• Green tea has also been shown to improve heart, bone, and vision health, and may protect against type 2 diabetes and cancer. Long-term consumption may also promote weight loss
• Quality is paramount for both coffee and tea. The healthiest coffee is an organic dark roast, ground from fresh whole coffee beans, consumed “black.” Also, look for organic tea grown in a pristine environment.

While the research suggests you can have upwards of five cups of coffee per day without adverse effects, we believe this may be too much for many, especially with adrenal fatigue being so common. One way to balance the risks and benefits would be to limit your coffee consumption to one or two cups in the morning and drinking green tea in the afternoon. Also, remember that to achieve therapeutic benefits from coffee, it needs to be:

• Organic: Most coffee produced today is heavily contaminated with pesticides. It’s actually one of the most heavily sprayed crops grown. So, any coffee you consume should be organic, pesticide-free coffee.
• Fresh whole bean: You’ll want to purchase coffee in whole bean form and then grind it yourself to prevent rancidity. Pre-ground coffee may be rancid by the time you drink it.
• Properly dried and roasted: The coffee should smell and taste fresh, not stale. If your coffee does not have a pleasant aroma, it is likely rancid and poor quality. Darker roasts may provide greater health benefits and be easier on your stomach than light roasts.
• Black: Drink your coffee black, without sugar or cream. Add sugar and you’ll certainly ruin any of the benefits discussed above by spiking your insulin levels and causing insulin resistance.

Tea also has its issues. Green tea plants are known to be especially effective at absorbing lead from the soil, which is then taken up into the plant’s leaves.

Areas with excessive industrial pollution, such as China (where nearly 90 percent of the world’s green tea is produced), may contain substantial amounts of lead.

While the lead in the tea leaves is not thought to leach very effectively into the tea, if you’re consuming Matcha green tea (which contains the entire ground tea leaf), it’s especially important that it comes from Japan instead of China.

Both black and green teas are also naturally high in fluoride, even if organically grown without pesticides. This is because the plant readily absorbs fluoride through its root system, including naturally occurring fluoride in the soil.

So, as with coffee, when selecting tea, opt for organic (to avoid pesticides), grown in a pristine environment (to avoid fluoride, heavy metals, and other toxins from contaminated soil and water). A clean growing environment is essential to producing pure, high-quality tea.