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Discover if eliminating coffee from your diet can help reduce anxiety, how to make the switch, and find out if Macha is a better alternative.
Let me start by saying I did not want to stop drinking coffee. I resisted for months. I kept hearing about how coffee was hard on your stomach and increased anxiety (blah blah blah), but I just didn’t want to let go of it.
I loved making coffee, I loved adding creamer, and I loved drinking it. I felt like it was a little bit of happiness in a cup.
But about halfway through the cup, I’d be in the bathroom. I would blame it on something I ate. Then about a half-hour, after I finished, anxiety would creep in, and I would blame that on poor sleep!
I was in denial.
I held my identity as a coffee drinker much too tight, affecting my health.
But my then health coach ran some tests and said that the compounds in coffee were most likely hurting my gut. I finally gave in and made the switch.
Why Can Coffee Make You Feel Anxious?
1. Coffee contains caffeine
Everyone’s body is different, so how much each individual can tolerate varies.
The average 8 oz cup of coffee contains 95mg of caffeine, which is enough to cause similar experiences during a panic attack; racing heart, sweaty palms, and heart palpitations.
So if you’re like me and notice any of these symptoms shortly after enjoying a cup of joe, it might be time to cut down on the amount you drink, wean off entirely, or try something different.
Here’s a helpful article that breaks down the amount of caffeine by coffee type.
2. Coffee can be inflammatory
If you struggle with ongoing stomach issues may be better off removing coffee altogether. It can add more inflammation and make symptoms worse, according to Bustle.com.
For some people, it helps ‘move things along,’ but for others (like myself), it MOVES THINGS ALONG! Everyone move out of my way while I have cramps and an anxiety attack in the bathroom.
It’s hard to tell precisely why coffee can cause such stomach problems. Still, according to Golden Ratio, “when coffee reaches the stomach, it makes the stomach ramp up stomach acid production and secretes more gastric acid. This can lead to heartburn, indigestion, acid reflux, and general stomach upset.”
3. It could be the Milk or Creamers in your coffee causing an issue
Sometimes it isn’t the coffee that makes you feel sick to your stomach. Sometimes it’s the deliciousness you add to the coffee.
Cow’s milk can cause digestive issues that mimic some of the same problems we blame on coffee. According to NIDDK, it’s estimated that 68% of people worldwide cannot tolerate lactose, the sugar found in milk.
You can try a non-dairy creamer or drink it black to see if dairy is the culprit. Although, I feel like the fun of drinking stuff is the cream and sugar.
This is also probably a good thing to try before swapping because if you start drinking tea with dairy products, and dairy is the issue, you’ll also feel sick with tea.
And that’s just discouraging.
4. It could be Artificial Sweeteners are pretending to do right by you.
Artificial sweeteners have no calories and lots of sweetness, but they are unsafe, as the companies who produce them claim.
Big shocker! (note the sarcasm)
According to The Healthy Home Economist, “Consuming sucralose alters the amount and quality of beneficial gut flora.”
This is a big no-no for people with anxiety because our gut health directly contributes to our mental health.
If you’re unsure what to drink instead, you can get a ‘healthier’ sugar like raw turbinado sugar or sugar in the raw.
You can omit sugar altogether and use local raw honey or a little maple syrup.
How to Wean off Coffee and make the switch
I desperately wanted to start feeling better and live my life, so I started weaning myself off coffee. (yes, I was not excited about it, but it was worth a shot)
1. Wean off slowly
First, I added half-decaf to the pot, 3/4, half and half, then when it was only 25% caffeinated coffee, I stopped there. This takes a little focus, and you want to remember how many scoops each, but it’s a gentle method if you’re concerned about getting headaches from caffeine withdrawal.
2. Drink Less
After I got to about 75% decaf, I started drinking less and less until one-day, coffee became so uneventful I just forgot to make it at all.
And you know what- I don’t think you’ll be shocked- I felt great without coffee! Less anxiety, and my stomach felt more settled than it had in a long time. Hmmm…. sometimes it pays to take advice. (Maybe I don’t know it all!)
Cold Turkey That Joe
You might feel you can’t deal with baby steps and want to swap immediately. That’s what my husband did; he was happy with the switch. He swapped his coffee for Macha, and that was that!
(Update: My husband returned to drinking coffee but has Macha on the weekends as an afternoon pick-me-up.) I like this method because he gets the benefits of Macha, but he’s not being extreme. He found what works best for him.
Why Drink Macha Tea Instead?
I actually never even heard of Macha until about a year ago. I decided to try it because a few health influencers I follow on Instagram boasted about it; my dietitian recommended it because you get a little caffeine without the jitters. My health coach recommended it for the L-theanine. So, since a few people I trusted and respected recommended it, I decided to give it a try.
What is Macha?
“Macha is a kind of green tea made by harvesting young tea leaves, which are shade-grown and destemmed. The tea leaves are then ground into a vibrant, green powder, which is whisked into hot water to make matcha tea,” according to the leader of Macha, Encha Macha.
You can get Encha Macha here; out of all the brands I tried, this was the best tasting, and their process is top-notch.
How does Macha Lower Stress?
1. The L-theanine in Macha creates a calming effect.
L-theanine is an amino acid that is not produced by our bodies on its own. It helps balance the hormones which affect mood, sleep, emotions, and cortisol. When our hormones are in balance, then our entire body follows, according to Medical News Today.
And balanced hormones help us feel refreshed when we wake up instead of exhausted, relaxed at night instead of wired, and have an overall content disposition.
It helps to be proactive about things that will help calm our nervous system to lower anxiety.
2. It’s high in antioxidants.
“Antioxidants are molecules that neutralize free radicals, unstable molecules that can harm your cells,” according to Healthline.com. When we have too many free radicals in our bodies, it makes it more difficult to fight off diseases like cancer.
It’s a valuable addition to a healthy diet, but antioxidants are especially important for people struggling with gut health and not absorbing as many nutrients as they need.
Drinking Macha is a really simple way to add antioxidants to your diet when you’re struggling to figure out what foods you can safely eat.
3. Can it actually boost your immune system?
It might! Machautea.com explains that Macha assists with the production of T cells in our bodies that help lower inflammation. The root of many viruses and diseases has been linked to too much inflammation in the body.
So we hope that lowering inflammation can reduce the chance of illness.
How do you know if Macha is right for you?
You won’t know until you try!
And there’s nothing wrong with having both coffee and macha. The most important thing is that you’re listening to what is happening within your body and making changes accordingly.
For me, the health benefits made it worth the shift. Plus, coffee made me feel sick, and I enjoy drinking something hot in the morning. I’m glad I gave it a shot.
I was initially anxious about trying Macha because I didn’t know anyone who drank it. I’ve seen green tea in the supermarket, but Macha sounded a little out there.
I’m glad I let myself work through the discomfort of trying something new because I have more energy, and it helps calm me instead of having that internal shaking feeling.
You can get Encha Macha here to try it for yourself.
For BiWeekly tips with proven strategies, resources, and mindset shifts to help you finally break free from the draining and fruitless attempts to feel better, click here for Holistic Anxiety Resources.
