It stuck home to me recently how easy it is to become dependent on a particular substance. I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately about the problems caused by caffeine, sugar and preserved foods and making an effort to change the buying and eating habits in our household.
That meant cutting out caffeine. I thought never thought I was caffeine dependent, until I went off it. True I had a cup or two of coffee a day and a couple of cups of tea at breakfast, but given the weak strength I drink my black tea and milk coffee I figured it was harmless. Of course the other source of caffeine is cola soft drinks like Cocoa Cola and Pepsi Max.
So the first few days after I went off coffee, tea and caffeine related products, was pretty horrendous with headaches. Fortunately I am pretty determined (or stubborn if you like) by nature so I persisted. Mainly because it came to me that if I was having so much trouble not having it, then to have it could not be good for me. I didn’t want to be dependent.
So I drink plenty of water, herbal teas and decaffeinated tea and coffee and you know what? I feel so much better in myself. An added bonus is that I m sleeping better and that parts of the body that used to ache no longer do. Surely incentive to stick with it.
We have also been trying to cut down sugar intake and so have been watching what we eat, trying to stick with fresh produce instead of processed foods. The amount of sugar even in tinned vegetables, in mueslis and cereal, even in cottage cheese is incredible. Start taking note of label and you will see exactly what I mean. It’s all these little bits of sugar manufacturers add in that are the trouble.
So yesterday when shopping our trolley looked very healthy with fresh vegetables, rice pasta, herbal teas and no coffee or caffeine soft drinks.
That’s not to say I won’t have the occasional cup of coffee if I am out, but I will never go back to being dependent and having to have it every day. It’s simply not worth it.
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