Breaking your caffeine habit.

Caffeine can be a hard habit to break, but it’s worth it. Although caffeine is a naturally occurring substance, the FDA considers it a drug! Caffeine is highly addictive and has some adverse health effects like digestive issues, abnormal hearty rhythm, high blood pressure, and anxiety. Caffeine is also very dehydrating. From an ayurvedic perspective caffeine increases the dry, and changeable (think jumpy, jittery, nervousness) quality of vata, and its highly acidic nature aggravates fiery pitta.

Abruptly eliminating your morning cup of joe or your afternoon soda can lead to an unpleasant headache which can result in resorting back your your caffeine habit just to help ease the pain. Instead of quitting cold turkey try gradually cutting back over the next several days. If you are a coffee drinker try going half-caf or switch to a less caffeinated hot tea (remember, even decaf has a small dose of caffeine). If you drink soda try having just half the regular amount of soda. And remember to drink plenty of water throughout the day.

Still need an energy boost? Take a walk in the sunshine, breathe deep, or take a short yoga break.

Can’t quit the habit before the first day of the cleanse? Don’t let that stop you from moving forward. Do your best to cut back, make sure you start your day with warm water rather than hot coffee, and counter caffeine’s dehydrating effects with plenty of water and hydrating teas like Alakananda Ma’s Rehydration Tea from Banyan Botanicals.