Coconut Cinnamon Cold Brew

Coconut Cinnamon Cold Brew

This morning brew is 100% Bali-inspired. It was simply too dang hot and humid in Bali to sip on steaming cups of coffee, instead, Kyle and I sought out huge cups of icy cold brew. With the weather (finally!) heating up in Ontario we’ve switched over to drinking this smooth and sweet cold coffee as our morning beverage of choice. I’ve always been a hot coffee kind of gal but thanks to this new recipe I’m officially a cold-brew convert.

Not only is this cold brew absolutely delicious, it’s also loaded with health benefits. These are the top 5 reasons why I start every day with a cup of this coconut cinnamon cold-brew:

1. Caffeine is nature’s best pre-workout supplement: Several studies show that caffeine can boost your metabolic rate by 3–11%. Caffeine in coffee also increases epinephrine levels which prepares your body for physical exertion and helps to increase the release of free fatty acids as a fuel source. I drink 1/2 a cup of this cold brew about 30 minutes before my daily gym session to improve endurance and increase results.
2. Coffee may prevent diabetes: At this point there are multiple studies showing that coffee drinkers have a significantly reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes. These studies show that people who drink coffee have a 23–50% lower risk of getting this disease with one study even showing a reduction as high as 67%. I’ve struggled with blood sugar instability since I was a child so a lot of my daily wellness practices focus on balancing my blood sugar levels and resetting insulin sensitivity.
3. Coffee prevents Alzheimer’s disease: Alzheimer’s disease is on the rise, it’s devastating to families, and there is no cure. Recent randomized controlled trials of the current medications for Alzheimer’s disease indicate that none of them actually work. What does work? Lifestyle factors like diet (high fat, low carb; Alzheimer’s is considered diabetes of the brain), exercise (this is one of the only interventions that has been proven to increase BDNF & delay dementia) and coffee! There are several studies showing that coffee drinkers have up to a 65% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
4. Cinnamon in this cold brew balances blood sugar: Cinnamon can also help to normalize blood sugar levels and lower insulin resistance. In one study, volunteers ate 1 gram of cinnamon daily for 40 days (1 g = 1/2 a teaspoon) and at the end of the study period researchers found that cinnamon cut blood sugar levels by 24%. This cold brew has 2 tbs cinnamon which equals about 1g/serving.
5. This cold brew may help you live longer: Several observational studies demonstrate that coffee drinkers have a lower risk of death. In two large-scale studies drinking coffee was associated with a 26% decreased risk of death in women. Want to live longer? Drink coffee! See this whole ‘health thing’ doesn’t have to be so difficult …

New patients are always afraid that I’m going to ‘take away their coffee’ when this couldn’t be further from the truth (unless you suffer from anxiety, then we may need to discuss your overall caffeine intake as part of a lifestyle medicine approach to healing). Coffee is delicious and provides a ton of health benefits. This make-ahead cold brew gives you all the health offerings of coffee with an added boost of blood sugar balancing cinnamon.

Well-Wandering pro tip: Make sure anything you drink iced in Bali is made using ice with a hole in the middle – this means it was purchased off site and made using filtered water. Bali-belly is real you guys, you can ask my husband what happens when you eat garnishes and use tap water to rinse your tooth brush …

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Coconut Cinnamon Cold Brew

This morning brew tastes like our time in Bali since it was simply too dang hot and humid in Bali to sip on steaming cups of coffee. I've always been a hot coffee kind of gal but thanks to this new recipe I'm officially a cold-brew convert.

Ingredients

• 4 cups filtered water 
• 1 cup ground coffee 
• 2 tbs cinnamon 
• 1/4 cup coconut flakes 

Instructions

Add all of your ingredients to a large mason jar and let sit in the fridge for 24 hours. Strain, and keep the filtered cold brew in the fridge for 1 week. Drink 1/2 a cup topped with creamy homemade almond milk or coconut milk and a little extra cinnamon.

References:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2912010
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7486839
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18842784
• https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00125-009-1516-3
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4609100/
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18559841
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20182054