Breaking up with Joe

Now, I’m not a coffee addict. Of course not. Let’s just say I adore coffee. I take my affection for coffee back to when my two girls were very young. They were challenging and energetic, and it was such a peaceful break to be in the car, pick up a carry-out latte, and drive about peacefully while they were safely strapped in their car seats in the back...all of us content at once. Pretty rare in those days. 

Now that they are older, a fresh poured mug with half-and-half (not two-percent! Ick!) still makes me sigh with contentment. Even though those first few lattes after childbirth gave me a pleasant little caffeine kick, I never viewed the caffeine as the real draw. It didn’t seem to affect me much. Caffeine jitters were for amateurs. I could down a pot at night and sleep peacefully right afterward. 

But, although I always said that I’d rather give up any vice, any pleasure than give up my coffee, I began to get the sense that coffee was getting in the way of pleasure. On a mental level, I found myself really needed that cup of joe to be able to focus on my work. Just about every activity, driving, chatting with friends, writing, was better with a cup of coffee in hand.

And, physically, I began to suspect that my diet, while not bad by typical American standards, but be just a tad too acidic. While not all of these things are on my frequent menu, items such as wheat flour, sugar, meat, alcohol, processed foods and, yes, coffee, leave an acidic residue in the body. This lowers our overall body ph. Many typical items fall onto the acidic list, and if consumed regularly can leave us vulnerable to headaches, lethargy, frequent infections, joint and muscle pain, skin and digestive conditions, anxiety, and more.

I didn’t have most of these symptoms, so why was I concerned? I had some neck tension that was beginning to lead to periodic headaches. I had tension in my upper back. I frequently had restless legs, some joint pain, and every so often, leg cramps.

I’m not a doctor, but it just felt like an imbalance in my chemistry. I ordered some ph strips online. These can test either saliva or urine. I took several tests to be certain, but over and over, I fell into the “acidic” and sometimes the “highly acidic” category.

Well. That was the final step to convincing me. I had been trying to cut back on coffee, but I felt like a total coffee detox was in order.

So while I was ready to enter the race, what finally got me out of the gate was a chance visit to a small health food store.. There, on the shelves, was a can of a product called Cafix. A blend of barley, chicory, and fig, it describes itself as a “hot beverage”, and a substitute for coffee. 

I had read about chicory. Chicory is a tall plant with deep roots, and while many parts of it are edible and used as an herb, the roots have frequently been roasted and used as a substitute for coffee when coffee was scarce. It is added frequently to coffee blends (think New Orleans style coffee). 

I picked up a can and began my coffee “detox”. Cafix was just fine. It tasted like instant coffee to me. It has a heavier, thicker feel, perhaps a bit more bitter. A shake of cinnamon and some milk softened it and it hit the spot fine in the morning.

But while the mind was content with my solution, the body of course did not agree. The first day was fine. The second I began to get headachy, with flu-like symptoms. I had a cup of coffee. After that, when the headaches began, I popped an aspirin. I wasn’t trying to be a hero, after all, just coffee free. The next few days the muscle and bones aches began. I took another aspirin. When I awoke in the middle of the night with low back pain so bad I couldn’t sleep, I took a couple more.

After about a week, the symptoms went away. 

It has been about a month now since my daily coffee habit ended. I am not saying never to a cup of coffee, but I never want to “love” it so much (not addicted, remember) that I need to go through those symptoms again if I don’t have it. I want it to be my choice when to enjoy a steaming cup.

And, remember that my ph was the motivation for this detox to begin with. And in the a month of watching my diet closer and cutting out coffee, I am still acidic. I had a couple lovely moments where I tested in the “optimal” range, and I practically did a dance and taped the strips to the bathroom mirror for all to admire. But, the next day I was testing acidic again. Darn.

So, I am still working on it. But, in my mind, a big step has been made. I think my daily wake-up beverage will be my cup of chicory. In addition to replacing nasty acidic coffee, knocking back some chicory is believed to have benefits, from cleansing the blood, to improving liver health. I’ll raise my mug to that.