I know I'm going to ruffle some feathers with this one. That's okay because I have to put my own feathers back into place routinely. I know the struggle well. Even with all my education and training, I still struggle. Over this past holiday season, coffee became a "necessary" part of my daily routine (mostly because it gave me the excuse to use egg nog as a creamer) and I got hooked. I could not fall asleep as well as I used to and woke up during the night even though I drank my coffee in the morning. Then I woke up about 2 weeks ago with heart palpitations that were stronger than normal and made me lose my breath. It scared me! I KNEW it was the coffee as I had been trying to convince myself to quit for about a month. Well, that was the clincher.

 So, this post is for me as much as it is for you, fellow caffeine addict! I LOVE coffee, the smell, the taste, the comfort mostly. But let me tell you, if you want to have true sustaining energy, something has to go....but before you click away from this page, give me a chance to explain.

First, let's talk about some of the benefits. I'm sure you've heard or read the stories of all the amazing benefits of drinking coffee (ususally citing studies funded by major coffee companys). Most importantly, the coffee buzz....(just kidding). There may be some moderate health benefits for those who love their morning cuppa joe. Coffee beans are a good source of antioxidants as well some important vitamins and minerals, such as, manganese, potassium, magnesium and a few B-vitamins. It gets the motor running, so to speak, by increaseing the epinephrine level in the body (as a secondary effect due to suppressing the "calming" neurotransmitter), which puts your body in a sympathetic mode (fight or flight). This is why you feel more alert after drinking coffee, at least for a few minutes.

But is this true energy? And do the benefits outweight the negative effects?

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Coffee strips your body of essential minerals (yes, even the ones that you just consumed in that very cup of coffee) and puts your body at risk for deficiences. One very important mineral is magnesium. Magnesium regulates overy 300 processes in your body and is crucial for cellular ATP production which is, ironically, your body's cellular energy producer, as well as other critical funtions too numerous to mention. Some symptoms of magnesium deficiency include: heart dysrhythmia, restless leg, insomnia, anxiety, muscle cramps/spasms, etc.

Coffee is hightly diuretic and replenishing your body of the hydration that was lost through caffeine is usually not consumed and requires 1.5 x as much water to make up what was lost. Just getting hydrated improves energy, joint health and integrety, celluar permeability for nutrient uptake, and on and on. A good baseline is your body weight in ounces divided by 2 for your daily intake of pure water (ex. 100lbs[100 oz] / 2 = 50 oz). Juice, soft drinks or other sports drinks don't count as they dehydrate even further. On another note, give your kids pure water instead of those nasty juice boxes. Even the 100% juice. Eat fruit in its whole form instead of setting your kids up for sugar related illnesses (but that's another topic).

Creating artificial energy by putting your body in a sympathetic state causes a cascade of biological dysfunction. We all know that stress negetively affects the body. It causes a dysregulation of cortisol, the belly-fat hormone. Cortisol also regulates sleep patterns as well as other hormone processes, so an increase of cortisol causes dysregulation of so many other hormones. Adrenal "fatigue" is a condition that many people are talking about. I'm not sure that adrenal fatigue should be the appropriate term but there is a definite correlation between habitual coffee consumption and adrenal conditions (think, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue). If you are trying to heal any kind of adrenal dysfunction, you can expect healing to be a much harder process, if not impossible, to overcome.

Coffee (as well as stress) also drastically reduces the production of stomach acid crucial for digesting your food. People often think that they have too much stomach acid when the opposite is true. Symptoms of so-called  "overproduction" are, more often than not, the result of too little digestive juices. We are a nation of overstressed, nutritionally challenged people with no stomach acid and, therefore, cannot digest and assimilate the food we need for true sustained energy, leading to a host of other nutritional deficiences that themselves lead to larger health issues and DIS-ease.

So, I'm on week 3 of no coffee and, honestly, the first three days were the worst while my body was learning how to function without its artificial stimulation. Now my sleep is amazing, my heart is getting back to normal and the muscle fatigue that was plaguing me is subsiding. My husband and I have come up with some really tasty alternatives and I'm truly not missing coffee. There is a very real emotional attachment to my morning ritual but changing my thinking and putting a few luxurious ingredients into these recipes has made the transition yummy, easy and enjoyable for both of us. Stay tuned for recipes!


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If you are the picture of health and imbibe with your morning organic, mold-free, full fat, raw grass-fed milk latte, then woohoo! But if you are wondering what your annoying symptoms are from and/or are dealing with some more significant health issues, coffee might just be one of the dietary rituals that you might want to consider switching. I know I will enjoy a hot steamy mug-a-moo latte with a friend from time to time and it will remain that, from time to time. I want so much to convey how great it is not to be ruled by my coffee addiction and enjoy real energy and mental clarity!