“Do we have to give up coffee?”
This is one of the most frequent questions we get from our newbie cleansers. And, unfortunately we have to be the bearer of bad news because after all this is a cleanse, and when we’re working on resetting the body’s system, part of this involves looking at what we’re dependent on for energy.
Although highly addictive, if you read any of the studies out there it quickly becomes confusing as to whether or not 1 cup of coffee a day will help prevent Alzheimer’s and colon cancer or if it’s the reason you can’t sleep, deal with anxiety, depression and even unwanted pounds.
We firmly believe that taking a break from your Americano is not only beneficial, but also extremely empowering. If you can kick your caffeine habit, what else is possible for you and your life?
We say it all the time because it’s so true: The foods you love and crave the most are often times the foods causing the most problems in your health.
Below are the top 7 reasons for replacing your beloved latte with a new non-caffeinated morning beverage. And, if you can’t even fathom a day without coffee, then consider it one more reason to take a break from it for a few weeks. Nudge, nudge!
We know this is a hot topic for many people and we want to hear from you. Try it for yourself and tell us what happens. Notice how you feel, that is, after you come off your initial “coffee hangover.” You might just feel like a million bucks and have more energy than you’ve had in a long time.
With caffeine-free kisses,
P.S. – Your caffeine addiction might show up in other forms like diet soda, energy drinks, or black tea, so don’t think you’re off the hook if you’re not a coffee drinker.
7 Reasons to Kick Your Coffee Habit
- Coffee is acid-forming. Highly acidic, coffee wrecks havoc on your gut, affecting the natural balance of your flora. 80% of our immune system is located in the gut, so you can imagine that when your digestive system out of whack, the rest of you is gonna be out of balance too. For optimal heath, we’re striving for an alkaline state, which means bye-bye acid forming drinks and foods.
- Coffee is full of chemicals. With all of our focus on the dirty dozen, we often lose sight of our favorite hot drinks, which are laden with nasty toxins. Coffee crops are sprayed heavily with pesticides, especially when imported from other countries.
- Coffee messes with your vanity. Yes, seriously! Most of us know that coffee is a diuretic, which means that it dehydrates the body. But did you know that dehydration could also lead to premature aging of the skin and kidneys. No thanks! We’d rather have vibrant glowing skin.
- Coffee leads to unwanted pounds. You’ve probably heard that coffee helps you lose weight. In reality, coffee spikes our blood sugar leading to higher levels of insulin in the body. After the spike in insulin, our blood sugar crashes and thus the nasty cycle begins. The blood sugar roller coaster and high levels of insulin send a signal to store excess sugar as fat. Avoiding the muffin top might be your motivation to ditch the coffee, but the way you feel when you kick the habit…priceless.
- Coffee strips your body of key vitamins. Maybe your thinking, “vitamins, schmitamins.” But here’s the deal, too much coffee depletes your supply of B vitamins, which is your natural source of energy. Caffeine also causes the body to dump other key nutrients like calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron. Have I made my case yet?
- Coffee can affect your mood. Instead of boosting your mood, caffeine actually produces stress hormones, which can trigger anxiety, irritability and insomnia. Most of us are already running around in a state of “fight or flight,” so ditching coffee is essential for helping us stay calm in our stressful lives.
- Coffee is void of nutrients. One of the key principles of the Conscious Cleanse is to focus on nutrient-dense food. Not only does coffee deplete the body of nutrients, it’s got nothing to give us in exchange short of a very temporary pick me up. Enough said! Coffee you’re fired!
If you liked this and would like learn more about the Conscious Cleanse, we invite you to join our online community! As a welcome-gift, we’ll send you our Green Smoothie eCookbook, a collection of more of our favorite easy smoothie recipes!
We also share new recipes, free live calls with us, and more healthy lifestyle tips, plus let you know when our next group cleanse is coming. Welcome! We’re so glad you’re here.
Does this include decaf coffee during the cleanse?
No decaf on the cleanse. It’s super acidic, oftentimes highly processed and still has a small amount of caffeine it. Use decaf to step down and off of the stronger stuff. Great question!
I’m on day 3 (pre-cleanse) without my morning java. It’s tough – and does feel like a hangover, but each day the head hurts less for a shorter period.
Had to take Advil day 1, but yesterday and today I’ve had a green smoothie and am able to manage the withdrawal. (My mantra for myself has become no whining :)
Coffee withdrawal can be super tough! Hang in there and be sure to drink tons of water to help flush it out faster. Maybe treat yourself to a hot Epsom salt bath and dunk your head under to help relieve the headache, too. I love your mantra, you’ve got this! :)
I recommend that you eat liver from pasture raised, free range cows. It replaces the vitanins and minerals that coffee takes away.
That’s not a bad idea when not cleansing, Jonathan. Thank you for your comment.
I’m the second day of my 3 day detox cleanse and I have to confess I had a cup yesterday and a 1/2 cup today. Otherwise have stayed completely on track- have I reversed the affects of my cleanse?
That’s ok Angela! You have absolutely not reversed the effects of the cleanse. Think about all of the healthy practices that you’ve incorporated into your life. A little bit of coffee won’t change the results of the cleanse for you. Ask yourself what you really needed when you drank the coffee. Try to find out what was driving that decision…were you tired, stressed, or sad? Use this as a learning opportunity! Most of all be gentle and kind with yourself. You’re doing great!!
Is there another hot drink( it’s a comfort thing for me)? That you use to get over the caffeine urge?
Hi Janice, Thank you for reaching out and great question. The “comfort” that the morning cup of joe offers is very common hurdle many struggle with. To answer your question, YES, we do offer another hot beverage in place of coffee. We’ve partnered with The Tea Spot for a Conscious Cleanse line of teas. These are all designed for the cleanser in mind. Most of them are herbal except we do offer one green tea for those who are scaling back their caffeine intake. You can find them here: http://bit.ly/ConsciousCleanseTea We hope you enjoy them! XO, Jo & Jules
My husband has nutritional deficiencies we are finding due to the terrible sciatic nerve pains that come and go. He used to be a binge alcohol drinker for a while and used to drink quite a bit of beer a very long time ago, for much of his life.
I think he has a severe B vitamin deficiency. I gave him one of my B complex capsules last night..he was complaining of the nerve pains and bone pains.
He loves pleasure and loves to drink coffee. He has cut way back on the caffeine. I am not sure if getting him decaf will help the situation and nutritional deficiencies.
Hi Marjoire, Thank you for reaching out. Vitamin B deficiencies are common with those who drink/drank alcohol heavily. So you may be on to something there. We can’t say whether decaf would be better. Decaf still contains caffeine as well as 2 other stimulants that regular contains as well. You may want to see a holistic physician who can run a nutrient panel and further investigate this. He may also try doing a cleanse with us. Our whole food cleanses are a great way to cleanse the body and boost nutrient levels. The next cleanse starts March 8 and you can find out more here: https://consciouscleanse.com/programs/.
this is great! a lot of people don’t understand the link between B-vitamims and you’re overall day-to-day happiness level. Magnesium also helps falicitate more bioabsorption of vitamin C which helps your body fight off sickness and other infections. Coffee is a killer.
Hi Tom, Thank you for your kind words! XO, J&J
How about drinking green tea? it has caffeine. Cocoa has caffeine. How much coffee is too much coffee? How about Green Coffee is that better to drink? Or blond roasted coffee?
Thank you.
Hi Anna, Great questions! Green tea does have caffeine, but significantly less than coffee. Unlike coffee, green tea is loaded with great antioxidants that are truly beneficial to us. Coffee also has two other stimulants besides caffeine that can cause jitters or other side effects in some. We can’t say much about green coffee or blond roasts. In talking to a barista we have found that green coffee and blonde roasts can have more caffeine but haven’t done much research into to those ourselves. Knowing how much coffee is too much is really individual. During our cleanse we recommend removing all caffeine for two weeks and then slowly introducing it back in. Many cleansers find that after detoxing from caffeine that they have more energy without than with it. Let us know if you try it. XO, J&J
Hello, with all the research I have been doing I’m finding very conflicting information with caffeine and B12. This article says it inhibits while another says it creates acid witch intern creates better absorption of B12. You do not want an alkaline state in your stomach as I read in this article. The stomach is an acidic place. It needs to be that way. Acid is what breaks down all of our nutrients so that they can be absorbed. I have low acid in my stomach therefore I cannot absorb B12 properly. I need to do things to increase my stomach acid. Which also leads to the other topic of heartburn. Heartburn is not caused by too much acid in the stomach. It is caused by too little acid in the stomach. Huge Money Maker for the pharmaceutical companies who pump us with Tums and Rolaids. People really need to do their research when reading various articles on the internet in order to find out what is true.
Hi Andrea, Great question. You do need acid in your stomach to be able to cause the chain of effects to cause vitamin B absorption. We do not recommend caffeine as the best way to do this. Taking a little bit of apple cider vinegar before meals, digestive enzymes, and/or bitters have shown to be better for increasing stomach acid which you’re correct will reduce heart burn in most people. XO, J&J
Love this post!!! I have read it at least 3 times. Lol
Hi Shawndee, So glad you enjoyed it! XO, J&J
Thank you for sharing this information! You are very correct regarding the potential loss of water soluble vitamins and (most notably) of minerals like magnesium and calcium. Also the is possible lactic acidosis that can occur from too much coffee along with increased cortisol; both of which can contribute to insomnia.
I’ve had better digestion in the past yet after years of poor sleep, poor diet, college and working full-time at a cafe (4 to 6 coffees per day, along with occasional binge drinking), All of course reek havoc on the microbiome.
Today (alcohol free) I eat magnesium rich foods and plenty of fibre yet I experience steatorrhea, IBS-C, bloating, lack of appetite, bouts of increased hunger (when tired) and poor sleep… plus I have dizzy spells and stomach cramps periodically. Coffee is a habit for sure, though I’ve limited it to 2 or 3 per day.
I’m not very well researched but I think that taking magnesium citrate may be worth trying. What are your thoughts on phytates? I do eat homemade granola (maple syrup only for sweetener) and I things like sprouted spelt-flour pizza, egg salad wraps (with spinach), vegetarian chili (beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, peppers, jalapenos, onions, coconut oil, avocado oil, pink salt, cayenne, spices, etc), and tempeh stir-fry with brown rice… The chili has given me not-so great cramping and gas.
I do have a better time with guacamole toast with sauerkraut salad and with salmon with caesar salad and mashed potatoes.
Being a pescetarian is challenging but I figure I should switch to things that are low FODMAP perhaps… That might be challenging for me however on such a plant-based diet. A kefir smoothie for breakfast may be better also. I consider myself healthy (100% organic whole-foods diet and purified water) yet I see others doing the complete opposite (a SAD diet) who appear far healthier than me. BTW – supplements I do take are B12, D3 & K2 and Concentrace drops (containing elemental magnesium which may not be as well absorbed… 50% or less on average from my understanding. Things in the future I may try (along with magnesium) are shilajit and chlorella powder.
I appreciate any thoughts and ideas/things to try out (disclaimer – for educational purposes and not medical advice) and I apologize for such a complex and vague question! To summarize, I’m curious about FODMAPS and possibly about opting for 1-2 cups of matcha tea as a placeholder to coffee for a period of time. Coffee can become highly addictive due to a feeling of dependency and a ritual aspect along with it’s amazing taste in my view. I’ll certainly try taking a break from ‘coffee breaks’ and see where it goes.
Hi Tyler, thanks for your comment! If you’re curious about giving the low FODMAP diet a try, we recommend discussing that with your doctor since it’s typically meant to be used for short-term treatment and symptom relief for IBS. And matcha is a fantastic replacement for coffee, and can be very helpful in weaning yourself off of coffee completely, if that’s your end goal. It tastes great, has more antioxidant benefits, and allows you to keep that morning ritual intact. Feel free to send us an email if you need have more questions for us at connect@consciouscleanse.com. XOXO, The Conscious Cleanse Team.