I Thought Coffee Was Helping Me — Here’s What I Learned

I've been posting a lot more about food and nutrition lately on social media and I'm grateful for the feedback I got from a nutritionist who pointed out that my coffee alternative also spikes blood sugar. My statement was that coffee spikes blood sugar, and then I suggested an alternative: freshly squeezed orange juice. Could you guess which one spikes blood sugar more? (Yep: the juice!) So please keep in mind that it's important to have breakfast with the juice. This will bring your blood sugar down again. She also pointed out that coffee, when paired with fat or cream will not increase blood glucose levels. I agree, 100%.

Me enjoying a lovely cup of Rooibos tea. :)

I'm not villainizing coffee. I am well aware of its antioxidant benefits and I respect its place in society, in our culture or even in your diet. If you are a coffee drinker and it doesn't negatively affect your mood or energy levels, for sure, have it. However, if you are a coffee drinker and you're struggling to lose weight, to "feel like yourself again" and be calm and anxiety-free, read on.

I never drank coffee my whole life. A year ago I started drinking coffee because my mom and her partner were drinking it and I am living with them. I needed energy to focus and work consistently so that I can build my business back up after having been away for almost 5 years. I loved the ritual, I loved the taste, and oh my goodness, I will never get over how good coffee smells. It's such a great drink. Unfortunately, it wreaked havoc on my endocrine system and it messed with my weight. It was really difficult to keep the weight down even when I didn't eat that much, because coffee also suppresses hunger to a certain extent. I had energy fluctuations which affected my mood which made me more stressed out because I couldn't work sustainably. I also started getting head aches. I struggled to sleep at night and then woke up in the morning feeling like I need another cup of coffee otherwise I wouldn't make it through the day.

I kept blaming other factors in my diet because I was in denial that coffee could be that bad for me, but to be really honest, I knew it was the coffee. I just didn't want to admit it and give it up.

Finally, 6-7 months later, I was (wo)man-down. I had insane amounts of inflammation in my joints, my headaches persisted and I struggled to move my body properly due to the high level of inflammation in my body. "Caffeine can cause nutrient depletion of important nutrients, like vitamin B6, and interfere with nutrient absorption of essential minerals, including calcium, iron, magnesium, and B vitamins." - A paper by Food Science and Quality Management. I tried doing decaff despite reading that consuming coffee processed with the chemicals used to extract the caffeine might leave the beans being more harmful to the body than normal coffee. I think that just made matters worse. Finally, I had no choice but to give up my newly-found habit which I so badly wanted to convince myself is fine for me. Three months after I stopped drinking coffee and decaff, my body became alive again! I stopped ALL caffeine for this period, including cacao and caffeinated teas. My body couldn't be more thankful. I spent more time doing all the other things that gives me energy in the morning such as: energizing breathing techniques, drinking green juice or orange juice with Spirulina and simply going for my morning walk. None of these rituals and habits have ever failed me from feeling awake and healthily energized. The best part is that I now feel alert but super calm at the same time. The level of calmness I have been able to reach inside myself is unlike anything I've ever felt before. Sometimes, in meditation, it feels like I'm sitting at the bottom of the ocean: no internal noise, disturbance or movement as far as I can hear and feel. It's the deepest peace I've ever felt. And I know I wouldn't have been able to get there on coffee.

These small grounding rituals — like sipping rooibos from a cup I made myself — now bring me the kind of peace I used to chase with caffeine.

I've haven't gone back to caffeinated drinks for 5 months now and I've kept the cacao on an absolute minimal. I also just finished a detox with my Habit Building group and it's been extremely energizing and rejuvenating to all the systems in my body: endocrine, digestive, lymphatic as well as my blood circulatory system! I feel more alive and healthy than ever and I don't regret quitting coffee for one day. If you’ve ever wondered whether coffee might be messing with your energy, mood or weight, maybe it’s worth an honest experiment. Your body will always tell you the truth.