Coffee by itself does not usually cause health problems, even if consumed moderately it has benefits such as keeping us alert, improving physical performance, and providing some essential nutrients such as riboflavin, pantothenic acid, magnesium and niacin among others.

Conversely, excessive consumption of coffee can cause serious health damage. Drinking more than three cups a day is beginning to be considered off-limits. This is why many people would like to stop drinking it and are beginning to wonder how to stop consuming so much coffee . Let’s look at some tips.

4 tips to stop consuming so much coffee

Caffeine can be addictive, not only because of the sensation it gives when providing energy, but also because in high and prolonged consumption, the body gets used to its usual doses of coffee . For this reason, eliminating its consumption can produce withdrawal symptoms.

So let’s see how we can stop drinking so much coffee on a daily basis.

1. Making the decision and having an objective

Drinking more than three cups a day is already a warning to consider quitting coffee. In theory we shouldn’t consume more than 300 milligrams , so if your consumption is equal or higher and you’re starting to consider quitting coffee, it’s important to take the determination to start a plan and follow it until you’ve achieved it.

It is important to understand that one goal can be to stop consuming so much coffee, i.e. to minimize it, and another can be to eliminate coffee consumption completely. That is why we have to think about what we want to do in order to set a plan of action.

It may be that if coffee consumption exceeds 4 cups a day, a goal is to reduce it to two cups. Or if the goal is to eliminate it completely, it is advisable to have a real and achievable goal about the time in which you expect to be able to achieve it . A realistic time frame could be between 3 to 5 months depending on the amounts that are currently used.

This step to stop drinking so much coffee, is the first one that we must have very clear and then start planning the next suggestion to eliminate or decrease the excessive consumption of this drink.

2. Gradually decrease cups per day

Stopping drinking coffee brings with it a little inconvenience that you have to know how to solve: there is an abstinence syndrome . Headache, fatigue, anxiety and drowsiness are the most frequent symptoms when eliminating its consumption.

For this reason, stopping drinking coffee should be a gradual goal in proportion to the amount that is currently consumed and that you want to reach.

The exercise may be that if you currently consume 5 cups a day, you start by drinking 4 cups for 3 or 4 weeks, then reduce to 3 cups for 3 or weeks and so on until you reach your goal or no cup of coffee a day.

In this way, the caffeine that our body assimilates will gradually be reduced decreasing the withdrawal syndrome or even helping you not to feel it. If the high intake of coffee per day has been carried out for a prolonged period of time, then the body is already accustomed to caffeine, and between each cup of coffee there has not been a process within the body to discard it from the body, which means that it has not been functioning without caffeine for a long time.

If consumption is gradually reduced, the body will not suddenly suffer from this drop in caffeine and after a while the body will have become accustomed to being without it.

After making a plan of action and gradually reducing consumption, stopping drinking so much coffee will be easier than it seems at first.

3. Replace the coffee

When caffeine consumption is high, a good way to achieve a gradual decrease in daily intake is to replace it with a tea that contains caffeine and alternate with one that does not .

Black or green teas contain caffeine so they could be taken in the morning to replace coffee. Because they are hot and contain caffeine, they may help you get the same feeling of energy as a cup of coffee. The following drinks may be substituted for a caffeine-free tea such as chamomile, or perhaps one with orange blossoms or relaxing herbs to help reduce withdrawal.

A bitter chocolate or a cola are also good options to replace it. A cola has less caffeine than a cup of coffee, so it can be a great help in cutting down on the amount of coffee you drink throughout the day.

4. Carry out relaxing activities

Once we have started with the plan to stop drinking coffee and we start to feel the first symptoms of abstinence, we can resort to exercises or activities that allow us to keep in peace and that serve as a palliative to avoid relapses .

Walking, swimming, yoga, tai chi or meditation are some of the activities that can help perfectly because in addition to helping release toxins also serve to raise awareness of our body and the importance of their health and the benefits of leaving behind a habit that hurts us.

Meditation also works to alleviate the distress caused by leaving an addictive substance and with symptoms such as headache or drowsiness.

Bibliographic references:

  • Waller, J. M.; Bigger, M.; Hillocks, R. J. (2007). Coffee Pests, Diseases and Their Management. CABI.
  • Escobar, Germán. (2009). El sombrero en los cafetales:un sistema, una estrategia para la seguridad alimentaria.