Dr. Jordan Park, RD
Contributing Writer, Nutrition
Jordan Park holds a PhD in nutritional sciences from the University of Illinois and is a registered dietitian in clinical practice. They write for Coffee Alternatives on the intersection of caffeine, gut health, hormones, and metabolism.
Jordan’s specialty is translating peer-reviewed research for a lay audience without dumbing it down — the assumption being that most readers are perfectly able to handle “the evidence is mixed” as an honest answer.
Strong views on wellness claims that don’t survive peer review; stronger views on how to counsel clients through caffeine changes during pregnancy and while managing anxiety disorders.
Jordan also keeps a small, not-very-secret hobby of trying every “coffee replacement” that hits the market, then writing skeptical one-paragraph notes in a Field Notes notebook. We have published exactly zero of them. (Yet.)
Articles by Dr.
Caffeine and exercise performance: does it actually help, and what happens when you quit?
Most of what you’ll read on this site is a case against leaning on caffeine — the wrecked afternoons, the tolerance treadmill, the sleep you don’t realize yo...
Does coffee dehydrate you? The caffeine-and-hydration question, honestly answered
“Coffee dehydrates you, so drink an extra glass of water for every cup.” You have almost certainly heard some version of that, probably delivered with total ...
Does caffeine raise blood pressure? What the research actually says about coffee and your heart
Every few months a headline reminds you that coffee raises your blood pressure, and every few months another one tells you coffee is good for your heart. Bot...
Is theobromine actually a stimulant? What carob, cocoa, and chocolate really do to you
Every few weeks someone forwards me the same claim, usually with an exclamation point: chocolate doesn’t have caffeine, it has theobromine, and theobromine i...
Does L-theanine actually take the edge off caffeine? What the research says
A reader emailed me a screenshot of a supplement label — caffeine and L-theanine, in a tidy 1:2 ratio — and asked the question I get more than almost any oth...
Is yerba mate safe during pregnancy? The three questions hiding inside that one
A patient in her second trimester asked me this one recently, and she asked it the way a lot of people do — already half-relieved, because a wellness article...
Coffee alternatives while breastfeeding: which ones are safe, and which deserve a second look
A patient brought her two-week-old to a visit recently and asked, almost apologetically, whether she had to give up her morning cup entirely now that she was...
Matcha vs coffee: the honest caffeine math, and when matcha is actually a downgrade
Of all the questions readers send me, “should I switch from coffee to matcha?” is the one I most consistently answer with another question: what part of coff...
Can you drink coffee alternatives while fasting? A category-by-category breakdown
Patients ask me a version of this question every week. They are on a 16:8 or an 18:6 schedule, they have figured out that plain coffee is fine, and they want...
Dandelion root coffee benefits: what the research supports, and what it doesn't
A patient asked me last week whether dandelion root coffee would “reset her liver” after a stressful work trip. I told her what I tell most people who ask me...
The best coffee alternative for anxiety: a dietitian's honest framework
About a third of the patients who come to me asking for “a nutrition plan” are really there because they’ve started to suspect that their coffee is hurting t...
Chicory coffee and IBS: what the FODMAP research says about your gut and your morning cup
I see the same question in clinic three or four times a month. A patient sits down, pulls out a bag of chicory coffee, and asks why something so frequently r...
Does chicory coffee raise blood sugar? What the inulin research actually shows
The question lands in my inbox at least once a week, usually from a reader who has just been diagnosed with prediabetes or who is tracking glucose with a con...
Can you drink mushroom coffee while pregnant?
When a pregnant client asks me whether they can drink mushroom coffee, there are really two questions tangled together: one about caffeine, and one about the...
Is chicory coffee safe during pregnancy?
This question comes up in my clinical practice more than almost any other coffee-alternative question. Pregnant clients have usually already cut caffeine (or...
How long does caffeine withdrawal last? A day-by-day timeline
One of the most common questions I get from clients cutting caffeine is the most practical one: how long is this going to last?