Like many other "responsible adults," I strive to make my health a priority. I generally try to watch what I eat and stay physically active. However, I'm also an admitted coffee addict. When I lived in the States and worked in an office, I would typically have 2 or 3 cups a day. Here in Brazil, I'm a stay-at-home mom sometimes treading water in a sea of skipped naps and random night wakings. One day it dawned on me that my daily habit had increased to 6 or 7 cups per day [!].
Enter Google. I started researching the potential effects of caffeine on both me and my son [could the coffee be causing the aforementioned skipped naps and night wakings?!]
What I learned is that the jury is still out on the coffee issue. I found a lot of conflicting information, i.e. coffee is good for you but only if you drink it black/only if you drink it first thing in the morning/only if you drink it blended with coconut oil. On the flip side, coffee is toxic for your body/it's taxing your adrenal system and raising your body's cortisol levels/you might as well hook your baby up to a coffee IV since so much is already getting to him via your breast milk!! The most significant factor for me was the potential effect of Little Man's sleep. So I bid adieu to my dear friend coffee...
For about 2 months.
I get it. Caffeine consumption is definitely an issue today considering that people aren't only consuming a lot of coffee, but also energy drinks and caffeinated sodas on top of it. But when I broke down and reintroduced it, there seemed to be no effect on Little Man. The way I see it, I don't drink alcohol, I don't smoke. Coffee is my vice. But it actually brings me quite a bit of joy and gives me a few minutes every morning and afternoon to slow down and enjoy myself. And why deprive myself of that? Within reason, of course. I'm drawing a hard line at 2 to 3 cups a day.
How about you? Have you ever tried to kick your coffee habit? How long did you last?
Dear GringaMama, I too have dabbled in coffee abstention - but basically came to the same conclusion you did. I drink coffee, but in moderation - mostly because if I have too much I can get cranky and/or I can't sleep. But, I am always excited to read the "coffee is good for you" research - and really only pay attention to that side of the story. I have started drinking it with coconut oil and local honey - so I try to tell myself that that increases some of the positive benefits....and it tastes good too.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to try it with coconut oil when I read about it, but coconut oil is very expensive here! Maybe I'll sample some when I'm visiting you all in a couple months :)
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