I cannot tell you how many years I was drinking coffee first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. You have to believe me that in my days, I used to drink about 8 cups per day. Don’t forget to add one teaspoon of sugar to each coffee and here you go. About 11 years ago, I managed to stop having sugar with my coffee which was a good start.
In the last few years, I only drank maybe 2 cups a day in the morning, but I felt that it was a habit I don’t want any longer.
I tried to stop twice and both times it came with horrible withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, feeling lethargic and by the evening I begged my husband to make me a cup of coffee. This alone should have flagged huge concerns regarding my horrible addiction!
This time, I did it more wisely and didn’t stop cold turkey, but every week I reduced the amount of coffee I used in quarters and replaced it with raw cacao. By the 4th week, I drank hot cacao in the morning. I did feel it a bit, like being a bit more tired earlier in the day but then I realized that this is not a bad thing. If we think about that, it’s my body asking to rest. What can be wrong here?
Now, after a few months with no coffee, I get to connect to my own natural rhythm without the coffee interfering and giving me a false sense of energy.
There are also health reasons to stop drinking coffee:
Caffeine can increase the development of benign breast cysts. For women with PCOS, endometriosis or gut sensitivity, coffee can increase the symptoms. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2079614/;
It increases infertility. This is an interesting link! A study links caffeine consumption with an increased risk of miscarriages by 74% or difficulties in conceiving;
It depletes your body of minerals and vitamins such as magnesium, vitamin B etc. Caffeine causes acidity in the body which is not good for our gut & health.