Some good news and bad news about coffee

Coffee is a water based solution made up of thousands of different compounds. It helps grownups “adult” and keeps grad students alive. Perhaps the most notable compound in coffee is caffeine. Caffeine has  long been used as an energy booster and cognitive enhancer, but studies show it can actively prevent cognitive decline by blocking inflammation in the brain, which may even lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. 

Now here’s the bad news. Much of, if not all, the benefit of caffeine can be mitigated by coffee beans containing mold toxins, most notably Ochratoxin A. Mycotoxins, such as Ochratoxin A, poison your mitochondria, the “power plants” of your cells. Most of the coffee sold in the USA has what’s considered by the FDA a generally safe amount of mold toxins to zero mold toxins. However, what’s considered “safe” is tested as if it’s the only toxin the human will be exposed to, and the accumulation of the various toxins we interact with have a way of adding up. So “safe” or not, I personally want to avoid mold toxins wherever I can.

You can buy coffee that’s been third party tested for mold toxins, which is a safe way to go about it, but more expensive. You could also look for factors that will greatly improve your odds of toxin free coffee. For example, arabica beans are statistically less likely to contain mold toxins than robusta beans. Coffee beans grown at higher elevation have less mold as well as beans grown in central america. Beans labeled “pre-washed” will also improve your odds of a mold free coffee experience

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The bottom line is, you should try to buy the highest quality coffee that you can. If you feel tired shortly after drinking coffee, it may contain mold toxins. And if you get anxious or experience another symptom constantly after drinking coffee, it may be moldy or you may simply have a caffeine sensitivity and might want to try going off caffeine for an extended period of time to see how you feel.