Are you a java junkie wanting to scale back your two-pots-a-day coffee habit? Brace yourself — it may be harder than you think.
In fact, withdrawing from caffeine is a certified disorder. Since 2013 the American Psychiatric Association has included caffeine withdrawal in its annual “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.”
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That’s probably not a surprise to coffee lovers. Anyone in the habit of ingesting several cups of coffee in the morning who has tried to stop will attest to the chaotic disarray of their mental state.
Heavy coffee drinkers who try to stop drinking coffee cold turkey often suffer from severe headaches, depression, drowsiness and fatigue.
A better way to go is to enjoy your coffee — in moderation.
One big benefit of drinking coffee is caffeine’s ability to improve your insulin sensitivity, thereby significantly lowering your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Coffee is also associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, depression, stroke, cancer, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, cirrhosis and premature or cardiovascular death. Drinking green tea is known to produce the same results.
Coffee helps with weight management by stimulating brown fat activity, thus aiding in the reduction of that annoying “belly fat.”
The best way to get these benefits is to make sure your coffee is organic and shade-grown and drink it black or with added coconut oil or MCT oil.
Pregnant women, however, should not consume caffeinated drinks. Caffeine has been linked to low birth weights, heart problems and behavioral problems later in life.
Organic, black coffee is also a much healthier option for you than soda or energy drinks. While the antioxidants in black, organic coffee have significant health benefits, common energy drinks not only are a combination of over 300 mg of caffeine and other metabolic agents, but work to disrupt sleep, alter heart function and interfere with arterial function.
The combination of caffeine with other ingredients in energy drinks are in much higher concentrations than natural food or plants and may enhance the effects of caffeine and could result in emergency room treatment or even death.
If you want to decrease the amount of coffee you are drinking without suffering side effects, start by drinking more water while slowly decreasing the amount of coffee you are drinking.
You can realize the benefits of coffee by drinking just two to three cups of black, organic coffee daily.