After lunch pick-me-up

I remember very clearly Stephen Langley saying that (digesting) food should not make you tired. If you feel like taking a nap after lunch (or after any meal for that matter), then according to his findings, you may not eat the right kind of food for your Blood Type, or according to Xandria Williams (another of my most-renowned lecturers), your Metabolic type.
You may feel like finishing your meal with an espresso, or a double, or may be a latte, or cappuccino, and one or two sugar (or more!!!) to prevent that dip in energy that you know will come.
   
I have mentioned coffee and stress, and Cortisol, and the negative effects of Caffeine coupled with the effects of Cortisol. Both will increase your sensitivity to stress and invariably affect your blood sugar balance (by keeping you in a Sympathetic Mode); and probably, 2 hours after lunch you will reach for another coffee, caffeine-laden energy drink, a chocolate bar, or any other stimulants to get that bit of energy back.

Well, that is a fact and it is the subject of hundreds of medical papers.
 
But now, the other issue that I have not yet exposed is the role of caffeine itself. Caffeine is a molecule that acts like a magnet. It will affect serum mineral status (present in the blood), Vitamin C and B Vitamins, and many more, and this will affect what you can actually absorb from the food you have just eaten. This can actually be made worse if you have consumed a meal of low-nutrient density or Lectin-rich meal.
According to recent research, Lectins are considered as bad as Gluten, if not, in fact, a lot worse, for they cause the common symptoms of Gluten intolerance by binding to the gut wall which can damage it, preventing gut functions, including intestinal secretions; but like Caffeine they are also molecules acting like magnet and trap many nutrients and render them unassimilable by the body (e.g. Iron, Sodium).
 
Considering having a Lectin-rich diet and coffee after each meal will drastically reduce assimilation of nutrient, especially “essential” micronutrients such as mineral and vitamins.
But also considering that the mineral and vitamin status of most mass-produced food has drastically reduce over the last two decades, that many food-processing methods destroy such nutrients, and also cooking methods, it is already a difficult affair to get the recommended daily allowance, which everyone knows are just the basic to avoid deficiencies.
Choosing to eat the right kind of food, and avoiding Caffeine and Lectins as much as possible will massively help the assimilation of precious nutrients.

Why not wait at least two hours after a meal to have your coffee, and then consider it as a treat rather than as a weapon in a desperate fight against blood sugar imbalance, energy dips and cravings. 

Want to know more about Phytates and  Lectins. Read my article: Lectins