[ THE OTHER ADDICTION ] -- "Caffeine Madness" and What They Don't Want You To Know! The Follow Up Part II
source: Pixabay
The Challenge
A little over a month ago, I wrote about my Caffeine Addiction /Caffeine Madness and the symptoms I would experience when I would not drink coffee for a day. I challenged myself to cut my caffeine intake from over 4 cups of coffee per day down to 1 cup of coffee a day and this is the first follow up.
In the first post, I did state that there are life extending benefits to drinking coffee, when drinking about 1 cup of coffee per day, not 4 and definitely not more than that. As this study on Coffee and Mortality shows, drinking one cup of coffee a day is associated with a reduced risk of mortality from all causes, especially for women, so ladies drink up.
1 cup of coffee a day is even more beneficial for women
Source: flickr.com
Winding Down with Benefits
The problem was that I would drink 4 or more cups of coffee, and then if I would ever skip that daily dose, I would have symptoms as severe or worse than an alcohol hangover. I would have nausea, a migraine headache, cold sweats and other hang over like symptoms. So I decide to curb my intake in order to prevent these horrible reactions to not drinking coffee, while enjoying several benefits.
The Goal = 1 Cup of Coffee a Day ( 8 oz.)
Source: flickr
I have now worked myself down from 4 or more cups of coffee to about 2 cups of coffee per day. I have noticed both physical as well as financial benefits in cutting down my daily dosage of caffeine. One of the things that I learned while writing my last post about caffeine and coffee was that it was not healthy to drink coffee on an empty stomach. So if you are doing that you should stop, or eat something with your cup of coffee. Drinking coffee on an empty stomach can cause bloating, improper digestion and possibly even lead to cancer. I have since stopped drinking coffee on an empty stomach and can definitely say that I have noticed my digestion has improved. I never really had any stomach problems, but lets just say my restroom experiences are now "less explosive" or as a friend likes to say, "smooth moves." I did suffer a low grade headache or a dull thud for the first week that I cut down from 4+ to 2 cups a day, but I have since missed a day of coffee with slight but bearable "hang over" like symptoms which would not be the case before where I would be practically bedridden from the nausea caused by a severe migraine.
Source: Wikimedia
Now to look at the financial benefits of cutting down my caffeine intake, which mostly consists of visiting the many Starbucks around me within walking distance of which there are now 3. Drinking 4+ cups of coffee a day would require several visits, and it is usually my treat when accompanied. So now cutting my caffeine intake in half, I buy 1 Starbuck's Grande Coffee, which is the equivalent of 2 cups, and therefore I only visit the Starbucks store about once a day rather than 2 or more.
cutting down - 4 cups (2 Grandes) to 2 cups
| Sept 19 -25 | $74.95 |
|---|---|
| Sept 26 - Oct 2 | $48.50 |
| Oct 3 - Oct 9 | $39.95 |
| Oct 10 - Oct 16 | $50.65 |
| Oct 17 - Oct 23 | $49.95 |
Saving Money While Getting Healthier
As you can see, by the second week of cutting my intake of coffee you can actually see a 33% drop in my spending at Starbucks. I am actually getting healthier while getting fatter in the wallet. At this point I am drinking about 2 cups of coffee consistently or 1 Starbucks "Grande" size, which I drink slowly throughout my whole day (even cold). I am now getting ready to drop down to 1 cup of coffee a day, and hopefully with that will lead to more health benefits as well as more spending money for the holidays. I will post again once I am down to 1 cup of coffee per day, which won't be long from now and hopefully with a few more dollars in savings as well.
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
Full $teem Ahead!
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I am having 0 cups per day.
That will definitely save you some money @maarnio.
That is true. Still having tea though.
some teas do have caffeine, and some if not most are really good for you!
Thank you for providing such a good example! I am also trying to reduce my coffee intake and save money on this. Good luck with this!
You are welcome @olivera-despina
If it is going to be only one cup today can it be a humunga one?
Yet it has to be far better than coke as some friends do.. with minimum 4 per day... and me in the health industry, not being able to coax them out of it.
@kyusho unfortunately 1 cup is 8 ounces only. And yes, soda is really bad on several fronts. Maybe rather than try to get them to cut it cold turkey, have them wean themselves off as I am with coffee. I know if you showed them pictures of either blind or amputee diabetic pictures they might start thinking twice about all that sugar.
My usual morning dose of coffee is a 16oz expresso which is high in caffeine followed up by another 2 16oz cups later in the day. My question is will cutting down from my current intake to a one 16 oz expresso and instead of coffee later in the day I replace that with tea be statistically healthier?
Well, from the study on Coffee and mortality 1- 3 cups a day showed the best results. And depending on the tea, it could most definitely be healthier.
full $teem ahead!
Your title scared me. I thought for sure there'd be a brawl. But you handled it well. :)
Some folks read "coffee" and think that their huge cinnamon pumpkin spice latte with whipped cream and about five pounds of sugar qualifies. Then when they feel bad, they blame the caffeine instead of the sugar buzz. Of course, it works nicely because you get a huge sugar buzz then, if it's Star$$$, you get the caffeine buzz to keep you from crashing too hard. That must be good for the body... I'm sure of it.
You'll notice that you're not affected as much if you make your own rather than doing Star$$. Their caffeine numbers are crazy. A normal cup of a typical American drip coffee is around 120-140 mg of caffeine. A small Star$$$ coffee is at least that much, unless you get a decaf. If you get a large then you're getting more than a whopping 400mg. WhaaaHH!!!
Even their espressos are high on the list. A normal espresso is about 30mg per shot. Theirs is 75mg. You can check stats here.
Star$$ is the caffeine queen of coffee. I think Death Wish Coffee is the King. :)
So if you can get away from Star$$$, you'll be better off. It's not the best tasting coffee anyway.
Maybe there's a private ma-n-pa or boutique shop nearby you could use that is more particular about their product? Roasting your own is fun anyway, so perhaps give that a shot and just make your own coffees.
Also, some of us build up some substance that's in coffee, with adverse effects. I'm one of the few. Although I only have 2-4 shots a day, depending on the coffee I'm using, after a month or so I have to take a couple days off. I just start feeling sorta down and my digestion gets odd. I can't recall what the substance is, but ran across the explanation not long ago. Two to three days off, a mild headache the first day sometimes, and I'm good to go.
It might help that I make lattes too. The milk probably buffers the coffee a bit, but I'm not sure. NO SUGAR. A good latte doesn't need sugar to hide the flavor. ;o)
Time to go make one now, me thinks!
Thanks for the great info, @anotherjoe I only add 1 pack of sugar per cup as Sugar is another bad actor in the cancer equation. My goal is to get to 1 cup because I am one of the unfortunate ones that gets a bad withdrawal if I miss a day of coffee/caffeine. I figure 1 cup won't be enough caffeine to cause that should I miss my daily dose.
Great info. thanks @anotherjoe
haha, it's a hobby of mine. I can be a bit obsessive sometimes. :)
I switched to making it myself with a chemex. I joined the LA Coffee Club. The owners act as coffee curators and pick coffees to send the members each month/week. It's saved me a lot of money, and I enjoy the skill of making coffee. I also drink less because I have to make it myself.
Thanks for that info. @decimus I actually enjoy the power walk to and from the coffee shop, and it gets me out of my place. Things will get better once I get down to one cup and who knows, I might even cut that out, not sure. Thanks again.
For sure, I'll often start my day with a walk down to the local coffee shop to write. It's one of my favorite morning activities. I've just made sure that most of the coffee I make is made at home. Great article.