A couple of months ago, I shared some of the health benefits and concerns of drinking coffee. Since then, I've had a book to finish, and six weeks before I needed to send it over to the publisher, both of my girls came down this really bad cough that lasts six weeks. Oh fun. My nights became very, very interrupted.
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I decided that under the circumstances, that I should drink coffee to help myself stay awake and finish the project. At the time, it seemed to help. Compared to a serious coffee drinker, my intake was still fairly low, but it was a lot more coffee than I have ever consumed. (I only started drinking coffee in the last year or so.)
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So I was honestly grateful for coffee, because it helped me get through the last six weeks. But a few days after I sent in my book, I tried to go out for a jog. My knees literally felt like they had been transplanted from a 100-year-old woman. It was too painful to jog.?
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I still don?t understand what prompted the sudden change. My knees seem to be a kind of ?idiot light.? If I eat too much sugar, they get achy and sore, for example. But I hadn?t had sugar, so what was the deal? I happened to see on Facebook that someone mentioned they loved coffee but every time they drank it, it made their knees get really achy. A quick Google search turned up a couple of forums in which other people shared the same problem.?
I had been planning to take a coffee break anyway, and with my knees so sore, I decided to just do it! Day one off of coffee was not very fun. I got the typical headache, but more than that, I felt depressed and extremely fatigued. I almost gave in and drank coffee! But I decided I needed to give it at least three days. Day two was much better, and I took a nap. Day three, I was only a little tired (which I felt while I was on coffee anyway) and it seemed like my knees were starting to improve.
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Now it's day five ? only day five ? and I have noticed a big difference. My knees really don?t hurt at all. But more then that, I?ve really noticed that I feel happier and more even keeled without coffee. In those six weeks of drinking coffee ( several cups a day), I was really starting to feel sad and discouraged about different things. It may be true that for some people, there is a link between coffee and not getting depressed; it's also true that I feel an initial ?happy lift? after drinking coffee, but it doesn?t last for me. I feel so much happier without it. I have had insomnia issues since I was a preteen, and I think I sleep better if I don?t drink coffee at all (even in the morning). I even think my energy has overall improved without coffee!?
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In the end, the only thing I miss is the taste. After I give my coffee break a bit more time to catch on, I am going to test out a water-processed decaf, just because I like the taste. I am curious if it was simply the high caffeine content that bothered my knees or some other aspect of coffee.
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All in all, I am five days in and already thankful for a coffee-free life. I am not sure what the issues are with my knees. The coffee might just aggravate a deeper issue, but regardless, coffee doesn?t seem to be worth it for me.
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What about you? Do you drink coffee and would you be able to give it up??
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Source: http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/blogs/why-i-stopped-drinking-coffee
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