Grabbing a cup of coffee from your favorite joint every morning may be a typical thing for most people today. Not only does it help you start your day off on a high, but it also boosts your energy levels significantly. Coffee is, without a doubt, one of the most loved beverages, but did you know that you can slowly get addicted to it? If you find yourself not being able to do without coffee, then addiction has definitely kicked in. While there are some health benefits associated with caffeine, do not overdo. As it goes, too much of something is poisonous. Too much caffeine can lead to sleep deprivation, heart issues, stomach upset, and migraines, to mention a few.
If you have been a coffee drinker for the longest time and are struggling to reduce your dependence on it, this read is for you. Here are two main ways you can kill the addiction;
Try weaning gradually
The first, which might also be the best way to deal with the addiction, is by slowly weaning yourself off caffeine. This will help you avoid withdrawal symptoms which might be challenging, especially if your dependence was too high. There are various ways you can gradually wean yourself off, and below are some of them;
- Reduce your coffee consumption
If you were used to drinking coffee 4 or five times a day, you could gradually reduce your intake. You can choose to have a cup or two in a day instead.
- Try out decaf coffee
Decaf coffee is coffee that has less amounts of caffeine. The coffee beans are washed in solvents such as Ethyl Acetate to help remove the caffeine. The beans are then roasted and ground, resulting in about 0-7mg of caffeine per cup. This amount of caffeine is significantly less compared to the between 70-140mg caffeine per cup in usual coffee. However, note that the smell and taste of the decaf coffee might be slightly different if you were used to the strong smell and bitter taste of the regular coffee.
- Mix regular coffee and decaf
To give you a taste of the regular coffee, you can try mixing up the regular coffee and the decaf coffee. While doing so, try as much as possible to have more amounts of decaf coffee compared to regular coffee.
Cut it off all at once
The other way that you can kill the caffeine addiction is by going cold turkey- cutting it off all at once. Here you will focus on drinking other drinks that do not contain any caffeine and eating healthier foods. Some of the things that you can do include;
- Double your water intake- you can try to make the water more flavorful by infusing it with fruit, mint, or cucumber.
- Drink green tea
- Eat a balanced diet
- Exercise more frequently
Killing caffeine addiction may be challenging, but using the tips mentioned above, you can overcome it.
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