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Why I stopped drinking coffee
After drinking coffee for a year, I gave it up — with surprising results.
Thu, Aug 09 2012 at 4:06 PM
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Photo: Puuikibeach/Flickr
A couple of months ago, I asked you should we drink 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.
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.)
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.
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.
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 than 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!
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.
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.
What about you? Do you drink coffee and would you be able to give it up?
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I am not a Coffee fan. When I drink coffee in the night, I can't sleep and can't have a good motion in the following morning.
I'm facing the exact same problems with my knees! And I drink a lot of coffee.. :/
I was off coffee for years and recently got addicted to it, was drinking up to 4 cups a day sometime and my knees paid for it hugely. Got so painful i could hardly walk, struck only my right knee but anyway i am back off of coffee again. Also i tried regular coffee and decaf, the decaf was surprisingly worse! So it was the coffee not the caffeine.
Everyone reacts to foods in different ways. Therefore, its nearly impossible to make blanket statements about coffee, gluten, meat, dairy products, corn products, etc. Moderation and self awareness are beneficial and should be encouraged. Did coffee cause this woman's pain? Who knows. Most of the commentors here are not in a position to say one way or another.
I have similar issues with decaf. I know a body that is not in an alkaline state has disease and pain. Coffee, regular or decaf, is very acidic.
The caffeine seems to have many negative affects. It would be better to avoid it as much as possible.
Whew....I'm glad I drink espresso and not coffee!
d =
Thanks for sharing. I am beginning to stop caffeine starting tomorrow. I'll also be blogging about it here: http://stopcaffeine.blogspot.com If anyone would like to join me in this journey, please stop by and let's encourage each other!
I've experienced something similar: every time I read anecdotal evidence used to support basless claims, it makes my brain ache.
Actually, i drink coffee everyday, maybe 2-5 cups a day, but afterwards i drink plenty of water (2-3 liters per day) and no issues.
My experience is on brewed coffee (arabica) black only with sugar is having hard time sleeping( and a bit of joint pain) and the same response with softdrinks(coke to be specific), if i (drink a lot ~ 500 ml).
This is a really nice topic.
thanks!
...nice topic indeed! And above all really needed to discuss this issue. It's a real strong topic with world changing character, I'm serious about that!!!
If you think Coffee withdrawal is bad you should try giving up dairy products - Milk is so addictive it is said by ex smokers to be harder to quit that smoking !
Sounds like you have a psychosomatic illness. Anecdotal symptoms with no objective cause, and a viewpoint that basically wants to be sick from something.
Have you ever considered visiting an actual doctor? Or mental health professional?
There are so many kinds of coffee out there with so many different traits. I stay away from highly acidic kinds(strong after taste) like Colombian and other south american beans.
Author failed to mention if the coffee was taken black, with sugar r artificial sweetener or some dairy product. I believe diary products cause more problems than most people know.
Giving up coffee. Courageous. And I thought my skipping a bath was a story. I feel nothing but shame now.
Perhaps you should see a medical professional to find the real cause of your symptoms, something which coffee might agrevate but almost certainly did not cause.
I'm a long time coffee drinker and I did an experiment avoiding all caffeine sources for a year. The result - absolutely no difference at all in any perceptible way. I'm back to my normal healthy coffee consumption as should most everyone else.
LOL! Let this be a cautionary tale. Use your internal dialogue. It works when you filter every thought through it. If we don't stop wanting to have a witness for our lives (think Facebook, reality tv, hoarders, honey boo boos, etc.) the only thing that will be able to save us all will be a giant extra terrestial invasion.
I find that drinking coffee is, in a sense, like drinking beer: don't do it on an empty stomach. When I drink coffee without a full meal for it to wash down, I start to get jumpy & panicky: scones & donuts won't do it! But if I down with something more substantial, I'm fine, having all of that energy without the ill effects.
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