What I've learned in this short time frame is significant, but mostly I realized it was time to start looking at issues so objectively. The reality is if I want to keep drinking coffee, I can find dozens of articles with claims supporting the benefits of coffee. I needed to find and do what was best for me, and I needed to get off the fence about some issues that could be beneficial to my health and extend myself grace on others.
As such, many women I know are struggling for answers to complicated and painful health issues. I hope by writing about what has worked for me, it might be of use to someone! But mostly, I think we need to recognize that not everyone's body is the same. Our struggles certainly aren't the same, but our need for better health, better nutrition and inspiration is the tie that binds us! I hope to provide good, accurate information to fulfill all three of those needs.
The very first step I took long before I made any other decisions was prompted by some studies my husband was reading about coffee -- one of my favorite beverages. Actually, it was all I drank outside of water.
But then Dan discovered coffee was specifically linked to endometriosis, the most debilitating of my conditions that had me at the end of my rope and desperate for anything that would help me avoid surgery.
I'm not one to take someone's word for it (I blame the reporter in me...pray for my husband!), so I did some digging of my own. Here's what I found:
According to researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, women who have two or more cups of caffeinated coffee (or four cans of cola) per day were found to be twice as likely to develop endometriosis as other women.
Not only that, by caffeine was linked to worsening fibromyalgia symptoms by interrupting healthy sleep patterns (I had recently been suffering from insomnia) which is a big factor in minimizing the painful symptoms of fibromyalia, according to a Norwegian study published in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism.
Why stop there? Web MD says if used excessively, caffeine can be too stimulating and cause anxiety, sleep problems, muscle twitching, or abdominal pain. I have suffered from anxiety and problems caused from it since I was a child. I was recently caught in sleeplessness that was doing a number on my mind, not to mention my body. And I've suffered from abdominal pain since giving birth to my second child.
It seemed rather conclusive. Coffee was not my friend, even though I am rather fond of it!
Initially I switched to very diluted green tea, which I noticed right off the bat leaves a much thicker, harder to remove residue in my coffee pot. It made me a bit concerned about what it was doing to my insides, and I've never fully researched the benefits of green tea. I've only heard people say that green tea is "good for you." I have no idea if that's true. Eventually I got off the green tea, but I'll write about that later.
The one health problem I worried about most in giving up coffee was my migraines, which were leaving me in bed at least one and up to three days a month. With a migraine, I cannot read, talk or even watch television. Not exactly how I want to spend my time.
I had always assumed that coffee was "good" for my headaches.
According to Web MD, that is true. Caffeine is a common ingredient in many prescription and over-the-counter headache medications. Caffeine additives make pain relievers 40 percent more effective in treating headaches. Caffeine also helps the body absorb headache drugs more quickly, bringing faster relief. By adding caffeine and, in turn, taking less medication, you can reduce the risk for potential side effects and possible drug addiction.
But what I learned recently was that even though I no longer drink caffeine, it still works quite effectively if I have a headache. In fact, it may work better.
I had a migraine just a few weeks ago, after giving up all caffeine and making lots of other changes. Ibuprofen wasn't working, and I didn't have my migraine medicine with me. I was on my way to a date night with my husband to see a Cardinals game, and I really, really did not want a migraine to interfere.
We stopped at a gas station and I bought a 12-ounce can of Coke. I drank it fast with a second dose of ibuprofen. Since I never drink caffeine, I think it definitely made the caffeine more effective. Headache was gone within minutes!
I did have a three-day headache when I stopped drinking green tea, and it was a pretty rough three days, but I combined it with a 30-day cleanse. By day four of the cleanse, I felt so much better.
More on the cleanse coming up in another blog post....
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