There is much evidence that caffeine can be very good for us - and that it enhances metabolism - however, as with everything, there are exceptions! There may certainly be a need for metabolically deranged folks to abstain from caffeine - though I haven’t seen the convincing studies on that. Generally caffeine enhances and supports metabolism - but maybe the real question is what is added to the coffee to de-acidify the impact, maybe that’s the missing link.
My self-experimentation has been rather convincing. I learning a long time ago that black coffee on an empty stomach - whether because of doing fasting or when used to quell hunger when a meal is delayed - is awfully hard on the system. And that taking a post-meal plain espresso with a creamy dessert can be heaven.
A lot of european and South American coffee is taken with lots of cream/fat or as a digestive after a creamy meal - not usually taken black on an empty stomach. There is also a French/Italian technique of taking the black coffee along with hot crusty bread or croissants or plain biscotti to soak up the acid - I’ve tried it in my past of and it works… for about 2 hours before you’re starving for lunch in that carbo crash way.
Also, the way one makes coffee matters a lot. I make traditional stovetop espresso in a stainless steel Vigano I’ve had since the 90s, here’s a pic I found on google images for the same kind:
Espresso is much lower in caffeine than french press or drip. I also add a little powdered cinnamon or cardamom to the basket with the coffee before brewing to sweeten it a little, and only fill the basket 2/3 full to weaken the consistency a bit. I drink the equivalent of about 3 espresso shots in the morning with plenty of fat.
I have found that adding 2-3 tablespoons of good fat to my morning coffee when fasting keeps me going another 6-8 hours before I need to eat. I use a 1 tblsp virgin coconut oil and 1 tblsp homemade ghee - with a spoon in my mug to stir it every few sips to help mix the oil in (I can’t stand to use a blender to make latte style emulsified coffee). I also add a few tablespoons of half n half because it’s delicious and gives me the 1 or 2 carbs needed to keep my female biology from thinking we’re starving and lurching into fat storage.
Inches keep dropping, brain keeps feeling amazing, so it’s working for me - plus smells great in the morning!
But everything’s not for every body, etc.
I got into making cold brew for a while; it actually tastes like coffee smells.
