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Coffee- Friend or Foe?
Health | January 16, 2019
A while ago I published a post about the side effects of caffeine, and why I’ve broken up with coffee. While I’m glad that some people appreciated the information, I am aware that some people are still confused or even shocked that I would target something that is so commonly consumed. And I understand where they’re coming from! The world of nutrition is always changing; it’s hard to keep up. One day’s tonic is another day’s poison. And coffee is a crowd-favorite when it comes to waking up and staying energized. But the thing is, not everyone is going to respond the same way to coffee (and caffeine for that matter).
Reality check- there are many superfoods, each coming with their own benefits. Similarly, there are many kinds of people out there! Different ethnicities, genetics, lifestyles, ages, and of course, food tolerances (as well as intolerances). Take dairy. Foods such as yogurt and kefir are amazing for gut health. They also provide micronutrients like calcium and macronutrients like protein. Sounds good, right? Well, not everyone can digest either of those two. Does that mean no one on this Earth should ever be allowed to consume them? No! The same goes for other foods like shellfish and peanut butter. There are legitimate allergies to both of these foods, but just because some people cannot eat them doesn’t mean no one can.
It’s up to a matter of bio-individuality. That means your body’s unique makeup. Everything from your genetics to your lifestyle dictates how well your body responds to different foods and diets. And one of the ways of getting to know your bio-individuality is by testing how well you do with and without certain foods. You may find that after cutting something out for a while you actually feel much better than before. Take note of how your mental and physical health adapts to the subtle changes that come from avoiding that specific food. Are you more irritable, or relaxed? Does your stomach feel bloated and sick? How about your complexion? Ladies, what about your menstrual cycle- does that in any way correspond to any foods you’ve eaten?
Sometimes we don’t know we have an issue or that we can feel better than ever until we’ve experimented with cutting out certain foods and slowly introducing them back into our diet. (By the way, this is called an Elimination Diet, and it’s amazing for solving tricky issues with digestion, hormones, and determining what works and what doesn’t work for your body. I talked about this in my recent Live Session.)
So while you might think you’re eating and drinking the healthiest foods, there may in fact be a hidden culprit behind little or big problems- just like how caffeine was for me.
Speaking of which, let me expand more on what caffeine was doing to me. This is how it affected the body of Zuzka Light, not you or your neighbor. Your experience is obviously going to differ from my own. But if there’s a chance that we both have similar responses, then please read on.
I’ve always loved drinking coffee and was a vocal advocate for its health benefits. (Which are valid- read an older, pre-coffee-breakup post here.) But it wasn’t until I took a random break from it that I started to see the signs that it was for the best. See, for about three weeks, I didn’t touch a single cup. Jesse wasn’t drinking it, and I wanted to be supportive. And it was during that time that I became aware of how coffee had been affecting me. I noticed that I wasn’t urinating in the evenings as often as before, which had always been annoying- I’d have to go to the bathroom nearly five times before finally falling asleep. And here I thought it was because I was drinking too much water for dinner! Once I stopped drinking coffee, this problem went away completely after those initial few weeks.
Here are a couple more things that happened after ditching coffee.
I used to always have this one pimple that would show up out of nowhere on my chin. It would always happen once a month. After I stopped drinking coffee, its unwelcome visits came to an end. And sure, it could have been due to hormones (all the ladies out there understand!). But I know for a fact that it was the coffee because it was the only significant change that I had made to my diet.
Something else that was happening was being able to fall asleep. Before, I had many problems getting myself to sleep. Now? It’s less frequent. Not only that, but I feel more hydrated throughout the day. I’m not irritated, either.
Once I stopped drinking coffee (as well as caffeinated beverages like black tea), all of these changes became permanent. There’s no placebo here. I’ve since made the decision to stop drinking coffee and caffeine because all of these benefits are worth it to me.
So what do I drink now? My go-to drinks are herbal, non-caffeinated teas. If you’re subscribed to my newsletter, you’ll know that I’m a fan of ginger tea, Fairy Blends, and sometimes, I’ll indulge in a bit of matcha tea, too.
(Granted, there is some caffeine in matcha, but I don’t feel any of the jitters. It turns out, the amino acid L-theanine in matcha cancels out the side effects of caffeine. But if you’re highly sensitive to even the tiniest amount of caffeine, then consider avoiding matcha entirely.)
So there you have it, everyone. My quick follow up on my break up with coffee. Am I saying I’ll never touch even a drop of caffeine either? At the moment, I don’t have any desire to. But just like I had slowly adapted towards this change, there’s a chance I might revisit it. For now though, I’ll stick to my herbal teas. Making this change has helped me to better understand myself and my body, too. If you think that coffee might have a similar effect on you, then experiment and see how well you can do without it for a few weeks. If not, no worries- we’re all different. And that’s perfectly ok! At the end of the day, we’re all just doing our best to take care of our health.
Let me know if you’ve ever done something similar in the comments below!
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Private Member |
That’s understandable. I’m thinking of switching to decaf considering I’ve been over consuming coffee as of late.
Private Member |
I like coffee for the taste of it and I’ve noticed that having a cup after noon affects my sleep. I’ve been on and off for coffee for a while and noticed that if I get a “coffee crash”, it’s on the next day. So I switched to organic decaf coffee when I have it. Drink organic because coffee is one of the most heavily pesticide sprayed crops in the world. I’ve also heard that in organic decaf they use safer method removing caffeine that with non-organic-decaf to which they use chemicals to remove caffeine.
Private Member |
I bought decaf yesterday, and will use it to easily transition out of the caffeine one, and then just stop. I dont want the days in a row of headaches, they really suck.
But, just like Z, I have the pee problem too lol (i do drink a lot of water though), and have difficult time falling asleep.
The main reason I want to stop having caffeine though is because it is an addiction (it probably is for most people but they don’t know or want to admit hehe), and I want to be energized naturally, not with the help of a stimulant.
Private Member |
ellijay, ga, united states
I soooo appreciate your approach to nutrition! There are just WAY too many people out there who seem to push “if it doesn’t work for me, it doesn’t work for ANYone”!
I’ve been playing with cutting back on caffeine lately, myself (I go through off and on phases) Though, I love black tea way too much to cut it out completely. So I’m having my one cup of black tea in the morning (50 mg caffeine), then any other tea is either decaf or naturally caffeine free (and I only drink coffee for flavor, so I opt for organic swiss water decaf).
I really wish I liked more herbal teas. There are a few I like, but I’m not fond of the flowery tasting ones at all. :-/ Zuzka, have you tried Dandelion Root tea? (one of the herbal ones I DO like…LOVE, even!) If you like the taste of coffee, but don’t want to opt for decaf and are instead going for herbal teas, it’s a pretty decent substitute! It has a coffee-ish flavor! I’m very interested in trying out mushroom powder teas of various types, too (cordyceps, chaga, etc). They’re naturally caffeine free AND are supposed to have the energy benefits. Does anyone here have any experience with those at all? I’m always looking for new hot drinks to try (especially in the winter!!)…I’m not sure what the flavor on those would be like, but it SOUNDS like it would have more of an earthy flavor as opposed to a flowery flavor, which would be RIGHT up my alley! 🙂 Anyone else have any non-flowery (black-tea-ish tasting or coffee-ish tasting) herbal tea recommendations? (Red Raspberry Leaf is one I like. Nettle is nice, but it’s awfully…green…tasting. I have to be in the mood.)
Private Member |
Great post! Every time I’ve seen someone mention they’ve stopped drinking coffee, they’ve always gotten attacked by coffee addicts, as if the person is lying about how they’ve seen improvements in themselves. It’s as if they’ve attacked each person who drinks coffee personally. It’s pretty ignorant (and annoying to read, as well.) Rarely do people say – “Hmmm…, maybe I should try that, too, and see how it affects me!”
I didn’t touch coffee at all until I hit 30, and it was a peer pressure thing – everyone at work was always getting on me for being the odd man out, and saying how could I live without it. I just drank water – it was easy. At first, I hated the taste, but eventually figured out that I was a coffee snob – I liked organic, whole beans, freshly ground, etc. Still, it was a ridiculous ordeal that I added to my life, and I was only drinking one cup a day, in the morning.
Anyway, my husband and I were working out a lot and we came across this book called “Caffeine Blues: Wake Up to the Hidden Dangers of America’s #1 Drug”. It convinced us to stop. My husband and I had a headache for a week – it was AWFUL! Who knew my body had such an addiction?! Addiction = BAD. We only drank ONE cup a day. WTH?! I also used to have to pee a lot, which was quite annoying – I almost thought I had some kind of problem! This went away. My stamina also got better, etc.
The elimination diet is such a great way to figure out what might be causing your body harm. Sometimes it reveals things that you don’t want to readily accept – things that you LOVE eating or drinking.
I have a friend who is physically strong, works out a ton, but laments that she’s not getting toned. She’s Italian, loves eating pasta, and refuses to give it up. It’s a choice.
Coffee was something that I was willing to give up to feel better. I didn’t need to replace it with anything, either (does there need to be a like for like replacement?). I just drink water, like I did before, only now, I actually get hydrated. 🙂
Private Member |
belgrade, serbia
Whenever I quit coffee my eyes look brighter bigger clearer and more alive! I have less bags under my eyes and I have more solid deep sleeps. When I start drinking coffee again, I get constipated, dry skin, fatigued more often, and irritable. I love the smell and taste of coffee but since it is irritating to the gut I figured why even drink it. Once you get over the initial hump of breaking the habit and addiction, you will actually feel so good about yourself that the energy your running on is the real you!! 🙂
Private Member |
hailey, id
I’ve been off coffee since just before your last post in early December – so almost 2 months come 1/26.
I feel so much more ‘even’ and ‘calm’ without the anxiety and rapid thoughts .. or lack of them..
My eyes are more skin-toned in the curve of my nose next to my eyes .. not dark like they were!
I also ‘turn off’ and go to sleep way faster, and wake up less groggy!
My go-to is about 3/4-1 tsp of matcha with 4 cups of boiled water, about 1/4 tsp of grated ginger, and a couple slices of lemon – for the day. 1 Cup first thing in the am, and the rest in my thermos and sip.. But, If I can’t drink it all, I put it in the fridge and may have it in the next day, or I pour it into my houseplants..
Private Member |
I agree that caffeine has some bad side effects. I’ve been trying to quit for a while now but have only been able to cut down. Any suggestions on how to quit 100%. Cold turkey?!?!?!
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
You have to have a strong reason “why” that will motivate you to quit. I loved coffee, and couldn’t even imagine that I would not have my bulletproof coffee in the morning, but when I realized that coffee was the reason for my breakouts, frequent peeing and sleep issues, it became a no brainer. If I just read about bad side effects that coffee might have on you, then I wouldn’t have made the decision. So, does drinking coffee impacting you in any negative way? Maybe it’s making you dehydrated which dries up your skin? Do you get breakouts that might be related to caffeine? Do you get irritated a lot? What if you didn’t have any of these side effects anymore? How would your life improve?
Private Member |
Is it just the caffeine that does this? What if I switch to decaf coffee? Is it the diuretic effect of coffee in general that causes dehydration or is it only with caffeinated coffee? I have considered ditching the coffee but like you, I can’t imagine not having my bulletproof coffee every morning. So, trying to decide whether to switch to decaf or just quit it completely. I appreciate any advice Z and you warriors might have for me.