My Wellness River

For quite some time, I felt the need for a change. While I knew coffee wasn’t doing my body any favours, I didn’t fully acknowledge its negative impact until I started to experience noticeable discomfort. My digestion wasn’t great, and I often suffered from painful stomach cramps, bloating, and other digestive issues. By the end of the day, I felt utterly drained and fatigued.

Coffee had long been my beloved morning ritual. The aroma of a freshly brewed cup, sipped from my favourite mug in the dim light of early morning, gave me a comforting sense of magic, as if I were still piecing together fragments of a dream from the night before.

But you can only turn a blind eye on the signs for so long before the consequences catch up to you and make you feel worse. Eventually, I realised it was time to face the issue and make a change for the better and to form a new habit, more suitable for my health and wellbeing.

As a psychologist once put it, “You are addicted to something as long as you say, ‘I love it!’” So, why not redirect that love toward something else—like a soothing cup of tea?

The impact of coffee on the digestive system

Before switching, it’s important to understand how coffee affects your body, particularly your digestive system:

• Stimulant Effects: Coffee contains caffeine, a stimulant that increases stomach acid production and accelerates digestion. This can lead to faster bowel movements and, in some cases, diarrhoea.
• Acidity: The high acidity of coffee can irritate the stomach lining and intestines, which may cause digestive discomfort, especially for those with sensitive stomachs.
• Laxative Effects: Coffee can have a mild laxative effect, promoting more frequent and urgent bowel movements.
• Other Compounds: In addition to caffeine, coffee contains compounds like catechol’s and N-alkanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamides, which further increase stomach acid production and accelerate digestion.
• Potential Contaminants: Recent studies suggest that coffee beans may contain small traces of cockroach fragments, which might be concerning for those with allergies.
• Dairy and Sugar Additives: Adding milk or sugar to your coffee can also contribute to digestive issues, especially if you’re lactose intolerant or sensitive to sugar substitutes.

Beyond digestive problems, coffee can have other negative effects on your overall health

• Anxiety and Jitters: The caffeine in coffee can stimulate the nervous system, leading to feelings of anxiety, restlessness, and nervousness.
• Insomnia: Drinking coffee too late in the day, particularly after 2 p.m., can interfere with sleep patterns due to the stimulating effects of caffeine.
• Increased Heart Rate: Some people may experience an elevated heart rate or palpitations after drinking coffee.
• Addiction and Withdrawal: Regular coffee consumption can lead to caffeine dependence. When you stop, withdrawal symptoms like headaches, fatigue, and irritability may occur.
• Bone Health: Excessive coffee consumption can interfere with calcium absorption, potentially leading to a decrease in bone density, especially if your diet is low in calcium.
• Increased Blood Pressure: Caffeine can temporarily raise blood pressure, which is a concern for individuals with hypertension or a family history of heart disease.
• Dehydration: Coffee has diuretic properties, which means it can lead to dehydration. To compensate, it’s important to drink plenty of water throughout the day.

Why tea might be a better alternative giving you the pleasure you seek

Switching to tea can offer a gentler, more stomach-friendly alternative to coffee, providing many of the same benefits without the drawbacks:

• Lower Acidity: Many teas, especially herbal varieties like ginger or peppermint, have a more neutral or lower acidity, making them easier on the digestive system than coffee.
• Gentler Stimulation: Tea, particularly green and herbal varieties, offers a milder stimulant effect with lower caffeine content, making it gentler on the stomach.
• Digestive Benefits from Herbs: Herbal teas like peppermint, ginger, fennel, and chamomile contain compounds that soothe the stomach, reduce bloating, and aid digestion. For example, peppermint tea can help relieve gas and bloating.
• Hydration: Tea is generally more hydrating than coffee, which helps support healthy digestion. While coffee’s diuretic effect leads to frequent urination, tea helps maintain hydration, which is crucial for optimal digestive function.
• Soothing Effects: Herbal teas such as chamomile, lemon balm, and liquorice root have calming properties that help relax the muscles in the digestive tract, reducing discomfort and cramping.

Check out this lovely tea pot I found out on amazon, for even better daily tea rituals .

In addition to being gentler on your stomach, tea offers several other health benefits:

• Lower Caffeine Content: While tea does contain caffeine, it’s generally in smaller amounts than coffee. This provides a more sustained energy boost without the jitters or crashes associated with coffee.
• Rich in Antioxidants: Many teas, including green, black, and herbal varieties, are packed with antioxidants that combat inflammation and support overall health.
• Variety of Flavors: Tea comes in numerous varieties—green, black, white, and herbal—each with its own unique flavour and health benefits. This variety allows you to experiment with different tastes, or even opt for caffeine-free options.
• Calming Effects: Teas like chamomile and lavender are known for their ability to reduce stress and improve sleep quality, in contrast to coffee, which can sometimes heighten anxiety for sensitive individuals.

This winter, I’ve been experimenting with different tea flavours, and I love the variety it offers. Tea never gets boring, especially during the colder months when a warm cup feels especially comforting.

And something I forgot to mention: tea is often more affordable than coffee, helping you to save some money. Isn’t it great?