Talk to me about coffee.

[SusieQ]

I'm attempting to go 100% raw after having been about 80% for about one year. I have never had a desire to kick my coffee habit, but I drink A LOT of coffee each day. Like, 12 cups. I know it's acidic, but other than that please educate me. How is it harming my health. Let me say that it does not interfere with my sleep, make me anxious, or bother me in any other way that I'm aware of.

For those of you who have given it up completely, what benefits can I expect if I do kick the habit? What changes in my body will I notice, aside from the yucky ones during the initial withdrawl? I haven't had a cup all day and am feeling the withdrawl symptoms pretty badly. Please give me some motivation to really want to give up the java.

Thanks!

[Aleesha Sattva]

here's a few threads for ya:

one (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=52229)

two (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=50315)

three (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=32290)

and four (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=19410)

There's more threads about it, but this should get your started with some info!

[islesgirl]

I'm attempting to go 100% raw after having been about 80% for about one year. I have never had a desire to kick my coffee habit, but I drink A LOT of coffee each day. Like, 12 cups. I know it's acidic, but other than that please educate me. How is it harming my health. Let me say that it does not interfere with my sleep, make me anxious, or bother me in any other way that I'm aware of.

For those of you who have given it up completely, what benefits can I expect if I do kick the habit? What changes in my body will I notice, aside from the yucky ones during the initial withdrawl? I haven't had a cup all day and am feeling the withdrawl symptoms pretty badly. Please give me some motivation to really want to give up the java.

Thanks!

Holy moly, SusieQ!! I think if I'd had 5 cups a day -forget about 12! - I'd have been dead a long time ago. I know how hard it is to give up just 1 cup a day though. I have been struggling with it for years. It is about the only thing I wish I'd never had to give up. I am going to read Aleesha's links too. You must be young and extremely healthy otherwise for your body to have been able to endure such a tremendous onslaught of caffeine. Wow!

[Raw Angel Mom]

It seems you may have to go cold turkey, have a plan and quit. If you would have control, i would suggest to have it black after a large meal, but for what i read, you are highly addicted and it needs to be threated as an addiction.

Consider to replace this with a herbal coffee. I love the teccino. First quite no substitution and when there is a time where you really need the comfort of a coffee go with the herbal coffee.

Learn to feel the unplaisant emotions. Addiction gets created after three needs are meet. Find them and do something else to meet those needs.

Coffee eats up the calcium of your bone and AGE YOU.

[SusieQ]

Thank you for those links, Aleesha. That was very helpful. And, yes, RawAngelMom, I'm highly addicted. This is day two of no caffeine, and I feel like I'm drowning in fatigue. My head quit throbbing this morning and the pain has been reduced to a dull but steady ache. It's a struggle to do almost everything, but the detox symptoms are actually motivating me. If I feel this terrible without coffee for 36 hours it makes me wonder if there are other things going on inside my body that I was unaware of. I wonder if I'll feel stronger after the detox. I have really dry skin and hair; will that improve since coffee is suce a diuretic?

Gotta go take a nap now.

[RawKnitster]

Let me say that it does not interfere with my sleep, make me anxious, or bother me in any other way that I'm aware of.


Thanks!

Hi Susie,

The key words in that sentence are "that I'm aware of". The only way to be aware of what coffee is doing to you is to kick the habit, then have a cup. Then you would definitely notice all the side effects. But, I don't recommend that any more than I would recommend someone who stopped smoking have a cigarette.

Coffee is an addiction. The fact that it has bad withdrawal symptoms tells us that. The good news is the symptoms only last a couple days, in your case (12 cups a day) it may take a couple more days.

I do recommend quitting once only. If you keep quitting over and over then you will continue to suffer withdrawal symptoms each time you quit. Do it once and get it over with.

I was a coffee/latte lover. I thought I would never get over my love affair with the bean. I was wrong. I can no more drink coffee now than I could drink ______ (you fill in the blank).

Find a substitute for your coffee fix. I used a chai rooibos tea, with honey and almond milk. Gradually I lost interest in adding the honey and almond milk. Eventually I didn't even need to have it daily. Now I make a cup with honey and almond milk every few weeks, at times when I want to feel special.

Find your substitute. It doesn't need to taste like coffee, but it does need to taste good, be hot, and fill the need for the coffee ritual. After about 3 weeks the coffee habit will be broken for good. And you will be so happy you did it! :D