The Ultimate Guide to Decaf Coffee: Using it to Improve Health & Performance and Choosing the Best Decaf

Many people are dependent on their coffee and don’t even know it. They rely on and look forward to that ‘kick’ first thing in the morning. Or you might be one of those that experience unpleasant physical and mental symptoms from caffeine, including anxiety, insomnia, irregular heartbeat, stomach pain, and bladder irritation.

Most people don’t even consider replacing regular coffee with decaf, even for a short period of time because most decafs taste bad and may harm your health because of the potentially dangerous chemicals they use to process it.

In fact, most commercial decaf coffees use Methylene Chloride or Ethyl Acetate in their decaffeination process. Ethyl Acetate is commonly also used in glues, nail polish removers. Methylene chloride is so harmful that it was even banned to be used in paint thinners. The FDA has approved the chemical to be non-toxic to consume in accepted levels.

Although most of us will not be imminently affected by methylene chloride, those who are vulnerable include pregnant moms, the elderly, and those with heart complications. You can see the issue here as those groups are usually decaf drinkers. This harsh chemical used in most decaf coffees can be passed on from the mother to the baby which can cause serious damage even if it is a small amount of methylene chloride. 

Finding the right decaf that tastes good, makes you feel good and is good for you can be a complete game changer.

You can enjoy decaf coffee and still drink regular strategically to get the most out of it.

WHY DRINK DECAF

Caffeine is not something to just casually mess around with while assuming it’s not significantly, and sometimes deleteriously, affecting your your nervous system and health. Many suffer from caffeine addiction, adrenal fatigue and GI issues from overconsuming their coffee…headaches, overstimulation, and crashing after the caffeine runs out.

Everyone should consider taking periodic breaks from caffeine which is why I recommend doing a caffeine reset on a recurring basis (learn more here).

Ok, so you’re thinking about take a break from caffeine…

What about coffee alternatives?

I’ve seen other products claim to be a “coffee substitute” like chicory root and matcha green tea but, in my opinion, there is NO alternative to coffee. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy drinking matcha (I like and recommend Matcha Kari) but it definitely doesn’t replace my coffee.

Coffee tastes amazing! And you can’t substitute amazing.

Plus, you can enjoy decaf and still get all of the health benefits of caffeinated coffee. In this JAMA study, researches found that both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee offer similar benefits to health due to their similar antioxidant levels, especially if you choose decaf that is made for health.

What kind of health benefits?

• Prostate cancer: lower risk of prostate cancer, inverse association with advanced prostate cancer.
• Breast cancer: caffeinated coffee intake may be associated with lower risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.
• Liver cancer: habitual coffee drinking is associated with a significantly lower risk of liver cancer in Japanese population.
• Other cancers (gastric, colorectal): varied results; but often complicated by higher rates of smoking in coffee drinkers.
• Cirrhosis of the liver: 1-2 cups of coffee per day protects against cirrhosis.
• Parkinson’s: higher coffee/caffeine intake is associated with a significantly lower incidence of Parkinson’s.
• Weight management: coffee consumption reduces weight gain and improves blood sugar control.
• Type 2 diabetes: increasing coffee consumption by 1.5 cups a day reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes.
• Metabolic syndrome: coffee consumption is negatively associated with metabolic syndrome.
• Periodontitis: coffee consumption is inversely associated with severe periodontitis.
• Inflammation: coffee consumption has beneficial effects on inflammation and HDL cholesterol.
• Oxidative damage: coffee consumption is associated with lower oxidative damage of DNA, in part by decreasing body iron storage.
• Coffee Drinkers live longer and reduce all-cause mortality: drinking coffee is a significant benefit, especially in women. Women who drank more than 3 cups per day had a 55% lower risk of death from CVD and 25% lower risk of death from all causes. Another study showed drinking coffee was associated with a 20% lower risk of death in men and a 26% lower risk of death in women, over a period of 18-24 years.

Don’t get me wrong though, by avoiding caffeine you may miss out on some of the performance-enhancing benefits that caffeine can provide like:

• Stimulation in brain function
• Boosted metabolism
• Enhanced physical performance

This is why I use regular coffee strategically. I’ll only drink it if I need to boost any of the above. For instance, if I’m doing a very intense or long workout or if I need to be super focused for work.

Drinking decaf a majority of the time keeps me caffeine sensitive so that when I do drink it, I only need a cup or two to get the full performance benefits.

WHEN TO CONSIDER DECAF

There are certain times when choosing decaf makes sense.

• When doing a caffeine reset to become caffeine sensitive and become less dependent on it (learn more here).
• Post-exercise – drinking regular coffee can raise already high stress hormones which only feeds the fire and prevents proper recovery. It can also suppress mTOR, which you want to spike after a workout. See my recommendation at the bottom of this article.
• If you suffer from poor sleep quality, insomnia or drinking coffee past 2PM – Caffeine’s half-life, the time it takes for your body to eliminate half of the caffeine you consume, is about five to seven hours. If you have a cup of coffee at 4 p.m., by the time you’re ready to go to sleep, half the caffeine may still be circulating in your system.
• If you’re caffeine sensitive but still want to enjoy coffee.
• You want to maintain caffeine sensitive so that when you do need as much and don’t require a full pot of coffee to get the desired effects.
• If you have certain health issues like HPA axis dysfunction.
• If you’re pregnant or breastfeeding

So if you decide to drink decaf, you don’t have to write regular off permanently.

CHOOSEING A GREAT DECAF

As I mentioned above, most chemically decaffeinated coffee is processed with potentially- harmful chemicals. It might be safe or it might not, but hey, why take the risk?

When choosing a chemical-free decaffeinated coffee it is important to choose a coffee that uses Swiss Water Process to decaffeinate the coffee.

Swiss Water Process Explained (and the process my recommended coffee uses):

• The water process relies entirely on two concepts to decaffeinate coffee beans, solubility and osmosis. Caffeine is water soluble, but many other compounds within the coffee bean are as well, some of which might contribute to coffee flavor and we want to preserve those compounds in our coffee.
• First, caffeinated coffee beans are soaked in caffeine-free green coffee extract, allowing the caffeine to be extracted from the bean and into the solution while the flavor components are retained in the beans.
• Next, the now caffeine-saturated green coffee extract is then processed through activated charcoal to remove the caffeine that was extracted from the coffee beans, thus becoming caffeine-free again and ready to extract caffeine from a new batch of coffee, making the process repeatable and more sustainable.
• The 99.9% caffeine free coffee beans are then dried to their originating moisture level and re-bagged.

Other Things to Consider

There are many adverse effects and health risks associated with the toxins that are produced when growing, processing, storing and shipping coffee so it’s important to choose your coffee wisely. Being aware of the source of your coffee purchase can be a critical health choice.

Ensure the coffee is roasted AFTER the coffee is ordered to maximize freshness and antioxidant levels.

This is one reason why it’s best to avoid ordering coffee off Amazon. It’s a question of freshness. It is often roasted ahead of time so it could be packaged, shipped and stocked in the warehouse. Just do your research.

Even if the Amazon listing says “Fresh Roasted,” it might be 6 months old, as that is fresh in comparison with many of the other store-bought beans.

Yikes!

Here are few other things to consider (for any coffee bean purchase):

• USDA organic certified
• Specialty grade
• Lab-tested free of mycotoxins and mold
• High-altitude, organically grown Arabica beans 
• Sustainably sourced

PURITY DECAF

After a lot of research on your behalf (you can thank me later) Purity Organic Coffee is the best decaf coffees I’ve found. It’s a fresh-roasted, specialty-grade decaf that is 99.9% caffeine free without sacrificing taste or health benefits, providing many (if not more) of the health benefits you’ll get from regular coffee, plus no mold and mycotoxins.

This coffee is made with the finest and purest ingredients! Less that 1% of the world’s coffee beans meet the same rigorous standards for purity. When we drink coffee that was grown consciously, we are assured that we are avoiding the common toxins that basic coffee provides.

Purity’s decaf is a single origin from Colombia and is sent to Vancouver for Swiss Water Decaffeination, ensuring a chemically-free process.

It’s probably the healthiest decaf on the market because they were able to retain over 2g (per 100g ground coffee) of antioxidants with their roast profile, PLUS the coffee is certified organic, certified Rainforest Alliance, certified Smithsonian Bird Friendly, and they’re working on a Demeter certification for biodynamic farming (closest thing to regenerative). 

Purity Coffee is also 99.9% decaffeinated while most other decaf brands are only around 60%.

I think the Swiss Water aspect (very cool, because at the end of last year there was a windstorm of media on unhealthy decaf methods) and the National Zoo Smithsonian both particularly capture what makes Purity’s decaf really rare in the world.  

A TIP TO STRETCH YOUR COFFEE SUPPLY

Good quality coffee isn’t cheap but it’s an investment in your health so I feel it’s worth it. One thing I do to stretch my coffee supply is what I call “coffee cutting”. I use half the amount of beans I would typically use but add a few caffeine-free “coffee alternatives” to maintain a similar taste while also enhancing the health benefits. Here’s what I do:

To brew coffee:

• 4 cups filtered water
• ~30g Purity coffee
• 1 Tbsp Chicory root – rich source of inulin, aids in digestion and supports a healthy gut by promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria and it can stimulate the gallbladder to produce more bile, which may be beneficial for fat digestion. It tastes almost like Robusta coffee, albeit with a sweeter aroma.
• Optional: 1Tbsp Blue Zone Maya Nut and Cacao – good source of fiber, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.

Then, if I want a little more bitterness and earthy flavor, I’ll add:

• 1 Tbsp drinking cacao (I like Cacoco brand) – this adds a little extra healthy fat, antioxidants and flavanols, which have been linked to better cardiovascular health.
• 1 packet Chaga (I like Four Sigmatic) – adds a little earthy flavor and an immune boost to coffee.

DECAF FOR POST-WORKOUT

I recommend trying the decaf cold brewed. It’s really refreshing after an evening workout (or any workout).  It has all the good stuff (anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, hydration, minerals [K,Na, Ca], as well as Niacin and Riboflavin), but no caffeine to keep you up at night or overstimulate an already stimulated nervous system.  

Plus it’s great for doing a caffeine reset or drinking during an extended fast.

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I encourage you to consciously choose your coffee and make it not just an enjoyable daily ritual, but one that further enhances your health.

Try Purity Organic Decaf and get 10% off with code EVOLVEDNS here: https://troydelaney.com/decaf

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To learn more about using coffee to improve your performance, sign up to my FREE online course here: https://antifragile.fit/performancecoffee/

To learn more about using coffee to lose weight and improve your health, sign up to my FREE 21-Day Black Coffee Challenge: https://antifragile.fit/blackcoffeechallenge/

Check out my Step-byStep Guide to Start a Fasting Lifestyle. It’s a comprehensive guide to the most potent tool for optimized health, longevity and performance.

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