My Love Affair With Coffee

“Joe” has been my constant companion and best friend for nearly 40 years, except during my four pregnancies when simple smells would send me running to the bathroom.  But “Joe” is an acidic friend who has been deceiving me all these years, he and his creamy buddy.

Every time I feel down, agitated, tired, or hungry I get my “Cup of Joe” and “Voila” – I feel fine. Between the caffeine and the cream my world would right itself. Then I met his cousin, “Cappuccino”, in Italy and another love affair began. I would sit at a café in Florence - smelling the rich aroma of coffee and savoring the smooth taste of frothed milk, sometimes with a touch of sweetener. What could be better?

But also while in Italy I was continuing to experience strange symptoms – leg cramps, extreme fatigue, inflammation, stuffiness. Something wasn’t right – my coffee and milk had betrayed me. I didn’t know it yet, but I was intolerant to milk and my “Joe” was pulling me down (my pH that is). The human body needs an alkaline environment (pH of 7.35) to survive and my “Joe” was an acidic relationship (bringing me to a pH of 5 or 6). It was hard to break. After all, I was in love. My body told me I had to break it off, but my emotions said, “No”. What would I do every morning without my “Cup of Joe”?

But I had finally had enough of the pain of this toxic relationship and I gradually stopped meeting with “Joe”. First I took out one of my morning cups, but kept the afternoon ones. Then I left off the lunch cup. Then I was down to one cup in the morning and one cup in late afternoon. Then I left off the afternoon cup. I literally cried when I realized that I wouldn’t be seeing “Joe” anymore. The first morning I didn’t meet with “Joe” I was depressed. I felt I was losing my best friend, like I was a traitor. And “Joe” didn’t want me to go either. He lingered in my head giving me a dull migraine the whole day. I did a lot of sleeping that day.

“How did you deal with the fatigue”, you ask? I was replacing “Joe” with my new love, “Juice”. You see “Joe” was giving me a false sense of alertness - one that would quickly leave, making me dependent, causing me to reach for another cup. But “Juice” was filled with nourishing vitamins, something my body was screaming for - for years. I was finally listening. Now a cool refreshing “Juice” with carrots or kale and apples; or beets, pineapple and cucumber come to my rescue. My alkaline system, now full of oxygen allows my cells to purr and do the job they were designed to do, to keep me alert, give me energy, and fight off disease, stuffiness, fatigue and inflammation. And no inflammation means no more pain.

 

I no longer need to abuse my body with the damaging effects of caffeine or milk.  Now when I’m tired and need a boost and “Joe” tries to nudge his way in, I turn my back and reach for my juicer.