Going caffeine free

[Pete]

I'm getting older and some mildly bad habits are catching up with me.

I was never a big drinker but realized any amount of alcohol messed me up for a full day later, largely due to disrupted sleep. Also, all the latest research shows that no amount of alcohol is good for you, despite what we have been told most our lives. So, I completely stopped alcohol and I don't miss it much.

Now, I'm targeting caffeine.

Tea and coffee are about the only two things I don't like; just never acquired a taste for either. But about 20 years ago I started to drink diet soda in the mornings. Take a Diet Coke with me in the car for those long L.A. commutes, then have more during the day.

I knew this wasn't good for me but it's really about my only vice, and it's a minor one. I don't like energy drinks, and a Diet Coke has about 45 MG of caffeine, about half a cup of coffee or a Red Bull.

But...

I know it's not healthy and I don't need studies to tell me that. It's full of all kinds of chemicals and for me, it's really just a caffeine delivery system.

So, after a slow taper of several months, I just stopped buying diet soda altogether. I'm about a week in and I've been dealing with withdrawal symptoms from reduction, but they have been manageable. Now, I just feel low energy in the mornings but it seems I'm better in the afternoons, where I had always faded hard before.

There is a very extensive subreddit on getting rid of caffeine, which shouldn't be surprising because it wasn't that long ago there was no such thing as energy drinks or even drive-thru coffee places. Americans in particular seem to have a national caffeine addiction problem and now many are becoming aware of the consequences.


Have others cut caffeine from their diet?

I can tell you that I feel okay but also like I have low-grade depression. From what I've read, that can last a few months while your brain and body rewire from being overly stimulated (in bursts) for years on end. From the many personal accounts I've read, there are great long-term benefits.

[dankrutka]

I used to drink coffee throughout the day... often having 3-4 cups. I eventually realized that it wasn't helping with anything. I haven't quit, but I've cut back to a more moderate 1-2 cups. I know that I also should probably take occasional 2-3 day breaks from coffee so my body adjusts. However, I haven't considered quitting completely because I don't see big downsides to a cup a day. I get that diet pops have downsides. I just have black coffee without sugar or creamer. I'd love to hear the case for giving up coffee completely.

[Dob Hooligan]

Why would anyone want to live without dope, whores, alcohol, caffeine and fatty foods?

Gotta admit I never did smoke.

[Brett]

I am caffeine sensitive and try not to consume any past 4:00pm. I have switched (for the most part) to decaffeinated coffee and limit my consumption of caffeinated sodas. I will not consume caffeinated root beer. I remember seeing decaffeinated Dr. Pepper a long time ago and I have not currently seen it sold on store shelves.

[Pete]

I used to drink coffee throughout the day... often having 3-4 cups. I eventually realized that it wasn't helping with anything. I haven't quit, but I've cut back to a more moderate 1-2 cups. I know that I also should probably take occasional 2-3 day breaks from coffee so my body adjusts. However, I haven't considered quitting completely because I don't see big downsides to a cup a day. I get that diet pops have downsides. I just have black coffee without sugar or creamer. I'd love to hear the case for giving up coffee completely.

The main problem is that it is a drug, a stimulant, and it affects you in ways that you don't realize until you stop.

The immediate downside is that it causes you to be overly stimulated, then under-stimulated. Especially over time, it can lead to big troughs in the afternoons and parts of the evening. The typical high/crash cycle.

And like any drug, it's just not good for you. Bad for your brain, makes your heart beat too fast. It's basically speed.


Now that caffeine is so widely ingested in such high volumes over decades (this is really only in the last 20-30 years or so), the long-term effects are just now being seen and understood. There is a big movement -- especially from people over 35 -- to get completely off caffeine. And for most, it's incredibly hard to do so, which says a lot about the hold it takes of your body.

[goldenHurricane22]

I have cut caffeine out of, like, 95% of my life. I still eat chocolate, but I've never been huge on sugar, so that's more a special occasion thing. And in that same vein, I have had a coffee from time-to-time (never more than 1/month) for things such as catching up with a friend who's in town. Not being huge on sugar means I was a coffee-only guy, so never had to deal with soda/pop or energy drinks when I decided to cut my caffeine intake.

Main reasons for giving it up was sleeping issues, an inescapable feeling of anxiety when I consumed more cups of coffee than average, and withdrawal headaches if I went more than a day without having it (due to something like travel that changed my daily routine). Since I've been wanting to get back into more outdoors stuff like hiking trips, I didn't want to find myself feeling miserable on a trail because I didn't have coffee. It was a challenge getting through all the withdrawal symptoms once I went cold turkey. I did find that my desire for high coffee consumption had been more to have a hot beverage, particularly in the Winter months. I've since replaced that with caffeine-free herbal teas, which has helped give me something to sip on during working hours.

Biggest health thing I can definitively note was that my resting heart rate has decreased from ~70 bpm to ~60 bpm. Oh, and my blood pressure dropped. I do sleep better, but that probably has a dual cause of better sleep behavior (consistent sleep time, no electronic screen with me in the bed, etc.). Not sure if giving caffeine (or largely abstaining from it) is for everyone, but it has seemed to help me out a lot.

[Celebrator]

Good for you, Pete, push through the difficult periods and keep it up. The simpler we eat, the better. Period.

[dankrutka]

This thread made me curious to see what experts said. From what I can find, coffee seems to offer as many health benefits as drawbacks. Here’s from the chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health:

The overall evidence has been pretty convincing that coffee has been more healthful than harmful in terms of health outcomes…

And later in the article:

Hu said that moderate coffee intake—about 2–5 cups a day—is linked to a lower likelihood of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver and endometrial cancers, Parkinson’s disease, and depression. It’s even possible that people who drink coffee can reduce their risk of early death.

The Mayo Clinic says the same thing.

While this one is harder to believe, there’s a new study:

A new study suggests that drinking coffee can help reduce the risk of death in people who are inactive and may offset the negative impacts it has on your body.

What am I missing? Now, of course, everyone should pay attention to how their body reacts to coffee and make their own decisions. I’m going to cut down this week and try at least a few days without coffee just to see how it affects me. But I’m not finding strong evidence that coffee is bad for the health for most people.

[Pete]

^

Then drink decaf.

The reason you don't is because you -- like millions of others -- are addicted to caffeine.


Anytime you can't quit something without severe withdrawal symptoms, there is an obvious problem.

[dankrutka]

I can quit coffee without severe withdrawal symptoms though. I’ll do it this week just to verify.

But, yeah, I generally think it’s a good practice to take coffee breaks, but there doesn’t seem to be evidence that people in general should quit. But I’m glad you’re moving toward practices that work for you. That’s what it’s important for each of us.

[Pete]

^

To really rid your body of the effects of caffeine, you need to be off it for 3 months or more.

[Oklapatriot]

For what it's worth, when I told my Doctor I was cutting down on coffee he stated that the caffeine was much better for me than the nicotine. So, I cut the coffee down to 2 cups a day from six, and traded the tobacco pouches for nicotine pouches. I feel much better and don't have the evening tachycardia I was experiencing. The Doctor told me that it was the tobacco and not the nicotine that would cause cancer problems. Go figure....

[Roger S]

I'll never totally give up coffee but these days I mostly drink ground cacao (Crio Bru) in it's place and limit coffee to when I go out to eat breakfast or on Saturday morning I take the puppy for a ride and get a coffee and she gets treats.

I have noticed my sleep has improved not drinking coffee on a daily basis.

[Bunty]

For what it's worth, when I told my Doctor I was cutting down on coffee he stated that the caffeine was much better for me than the nicotine. So, I cut the coffee down to 2 cups a day from six, and traded the tobacco pouches for nicotine pouches. I feel much better and don't have the evening tachycardia I was experiencing. The Doctor told me that it was the tobacco and not the nicotine that would cause cancer problems. Go figure....

Go figure is right. The only people on my mother's and father's side of the family who lived well into their 80's and 90's didn't smoke or drink. That is how my parents lived, so my father died at 89 and my mother died at 96. They drank Maxwell House instant coffee several times a day.

I never took up smoking. I drink some but since older never for the purpose of getting cross-eyed drunk. Doing that is very unhealthy every time.

I only drink 2 or 3 cups of coffee a day. The key to enjoying life is exercising moderation without going overboard. I think my biggest failure at moderation is being too lazy to regularly exercise.

[Teo9969]

I won't doubt that caffeine is at best a net neutral on your health. One thing I'll say about it though that I think matters is that often people are consuming various types of beverages, whether filled with caffeine or alcohol, and ignoring drinking water and eating super hydrating foods (cucumbers, celery, tomatoes, etc). I think that the lower levels of hydration absolutely play a part in energy levels and how you feel overall.

I'm in my mid-30s. I've been trying to dramatically reduce my soda intake for the past 2 years with periods of moderate success and periods of exceptional failure.

When routinely consuming soda, I can definitely relate to the energy drops in the evenings vs. what I used to have. I've noticed that when abstaining, the first 5ish days are really hard from both an addictive, sometimes headache perspective, but also at the end of the day I'm crawling for the last few hours until bed. After those 5ish days I do notice things are better and that my energy levels stay really consistent throughout the day, especially if I stay hydrated and have eaten decently well.

At the end of the day, the nutrition in this country is just absolute trash so anything you can do to reduce the processed intake is good.

[G.Walker]

Drink more water, ok that's all...

[GaryOKC6]

I think it probably affects each person differently depending on your make up. I have been taking Adderall for over 30 years and drink coffee until around 2:00pm. The coffee affects me differently since I have adhd. I just checked and my resting heartbeat is 53 and my current heartbeat is 65. I have had this discussion with my doctor as well. she agreed that it affects everyone differently.

[traxx]

I like a glass of Scotch. But if I have more than a couple I get a headache and have to deal with it the next day.

I've got a problem with caffeine. I drink a cup of coffee most mornings. I'm fully aware that I should stop. Maybe some day I'll work up the willpower to stop. So far I just don't wanna.

[BoulderSooner]

This thread made me curious to see what experts said. From what I can find, coffee seems to offer as many health benefits as drawbacks. Here’s from the chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health:



And later in the article:



The Mayo Clinic says the same thing.

While this one is harder to believe, there’s a new study:



What am I missing? Now, of course, everyone should pay attention to how their body reacts to coffee and make their own decisions. I’m going to cut down this week and try at least a few days without coffee just to see how it affects me. But I’m not finding strong evidence that coffee is bad for the health for most people.

I don't think you are missing anything ..

[Tritoon]

I switched to kombucha (real, not ACV) and naked (or similar zero sugar added brands) fruit juice blends; along with massive amounts of water.

After I passed 40 I realized coffee and soda made me feel like crap. Once in a great while may have sugar free ice tea but even that leaves me feeling slightly off.

I'm real close to kicking alcohol out of my life. When I dread the weekends or long holiday weekends because I will feel moody and don't get a good night sleep until Wednesday the following week, it's just not worth it anymore.

[wunderkind]

Agree on reducing or completely eliminating alcohol (darn it cause I really like beer) but apparently as we age it is metabolized very poorly and, as Pete said, there’s really no amount that’s good. Disrupts sleep for sure. I’m down to one stiff cup of coffee in the morning but know I’m an addict, would love to quit that too. Will try the Crio Bru. Have to be careful looking at isolated cases for evidence though. Both my parents were healthy and died in their mid 80’s, daily consumers of both coffee and cocktails for as long as I remember. ��*♀️

[BoulderSooner]

Drink more water, ok that's all...

one of the single best things anyone can do to improve health .. drink lots of water ..

[Celebrator]

one of the single best things anyone can do to improve health .. drink lots of water ..

You know, I have never really been a big soda drinker, but when I was in college, I drank a fair amount of it--not daily, but close. Ever since graduating (24 years ago!) I pretty much have been on exclusively water--no coffee or alcohol for me ever. I love carbonation though, so I have been a big sparkling water fan, but I only drink three times a week or so and have it plain or with natural juice--most often lemon juice (terrific tasting, organic glass-bottled, Italian lemon juice at Costco, btw)--and I love it. Zero calories, good hydration, and you get the sparkle effervescence! The Soda Stream has been a very good investment for our family. I even got my young kids on sparkling water when they were little, so they like it and pretty much only drink it when they drink soda-they are in middle school now. Otherwise I drink filtered still water exclusively. On these hot days, I really like to add LMNT (which is an electrolyte powder) to my water once a day after my evening walk--way better for you than Gatorade or other sports drinks.

[Pete]

Surprisingly, I don't miss the taste of soda at all and therefore have not switched to caffeine-free versions. I just don't miss it.

I do miss the caffeine but I'm already starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. I miss the morning rush but that is offset by a much more even energy level throughout the rest of the day.

I'm also sleeping much better, and sleep is perhaps the most underrated aspect of health. You don't hear about it much because there isn't a lot of money to be made there, apart from the ridiculous number of new mattress options.

The combination of better rest and even energy distribution is starting to make a noticeable difference.

[dankrutka]

Update: So, I usually drink 1-2 cups of coffee everyday (it's the only caffeine I typically have), but per this conversation I decided to see how my body would respond to giving up coffee for a few days. I had a half cup of coffee on Sunday and I haven't had any caffeine since. I had more symptoms than I expected on Monday. I was pretty fatigued all day and eventually did get a headache, which I didn't expect. Definitely wasn't at my best all day. However, I am feeling great today. No fatigue or headaches thus far.

It's definitely a good experiment. I'm planning to go one more day without coffee. Going forward, I don't think I'll give up coffee because I already sleep well, feel good, and am pretty healthy. However, I am going to cut down on coffee some more so that I'm only having one cup on 4-5 days a week instead of every day. I may sub in some decaf on some days too. This is basically the same thing I've done with alcohol too. For me, I think moderation is key.