Moldy Coffee

Moldy Coffee

Coffee beans are the seeds of the coffee cherry. If you have ever gone fruit picking then you know it can be challenging to collect the fruit that has not been damaged by animals or insects, and even more so to collect the fruit without damaging them yourself. Even then, it is a race against time to consume the fruit before they mold and decay.  As one might expect with mass produced food products, the situation is considerably worse. According to this 2003 Pub Med Article which examined 60 samples of Brazilian coffee, 91.7% of of the coffee samples were contaminated with mold and 33% of the samples tested positive for Ochratoxin A, a mycotoxin.

Mycotoxins

Mycotoxins are produced by mold. Ochratoxin A is a mycotoxin produced by molds such as Aspergillus and Penicillium. According to Food Safety Watch, Ochratoxin A is nephrotoxic (damaging the kidneys), and genotoxic (damaging DNA), and teratogenic (damaging a fetus). According to this American Cancer Society publication, the mycotoxins produced by Fumonisin B1 & B2 found on corn are linked to cancer and according to this 2011 Pub Med Article, both Ochratoxin A and Fumonisin are known to cause brain damage. In short, mold produces mycotoxins and mycotoxins are bad for you.

Roasting Does Not Eliminate Mycotoxins

According to this Pub Med Article, roasting moldy coffee beans at 200 deg-C (392 deg-F) only reduced the Ochratoxin A by 12%. Since roasting does not eliminate all of the mycotoxins produced by mold, it is imperative to try and eliminate all mold from your diet, starting with your morning cup of coffee. 

Negative Publicity is Free Publicity?

Perhaps it is purely a coincidence, but shortly after I inquired about the mold criteria of a local coffee roaster, a podcast regarding Bulletproof Coffee appeared on their website and iTunes. Their first mistake was: They made Bulletproof Coffee incorrectly. They used the wrong coffee beans, substituting their El Salvador roast the first day, a dark Guatemala roast the next day and even suggested using "really junky coffee". Hopefully you understand by now what a mistake this was. Their second mistake was: They did not change the rest of their diet. One of them even admitted to eating a muffin (so not Bulletproof). Their third mistake was: They did not give it enough time. A week is not nearly enough to see any physical changes, and mental changes can be subtle or even subdued by other lifestyle choices (muffins). Their fourth mistake was: They clearly do not understand intermittent fasting. With intermittent fasting, you restrict the window you eat, not restrict the calories you eat. The point is to increase insulin sensitivity, not eat less. Lastly, They clearly do not understand the ketogenic diet. As I showed in my New Plan for 2017, my protein consumption is only about 20% of my calories. While 5% calories from carbohydrates may seem low to some people, leafy greens and bright vegetables with all their vitamins and phytonutrients are relatively low in carbohydrates. Despite the negative publicity, hopefully other listeners of this podcast have researched Bulletproof Coffee and come to their own conclusions about how important mold-free, mycotoxin free, coffee is.

If you found this information helpful, I would appreciate it if you clicked my Referral Link and checkout all the great Bulletproof products for yourself.

Stay well engineered,

Devon

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These statements or products referenced are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.