Let's talk about my "trying to drink less coffee" journey
I thought I would share an update on my "trying to drink less coffee" journey. Well....I'm falling miserably! 🙀
A while back I had my hormone and cortisol tests run and found that my cortisol "stress hormone" totally tanks in the afternoon (probably after the caffeine has spiked and then crashed). Not only that but I also have higher levels of estrogen effecting my progesterone levels. I suspected that my excess caffeine (2-3 cups of coffee😬) intake in the morning was messing with my cortisol, thus causing my other steroid hormones to go a bit bonkers throughout the month. Estrogen needs to be able to detox through the liver during your cycle, and if it builds up, it can suppress your progesterone production. The Liver in Eastern Medicine is responsible for detoxing stress, and if there are high levels of stress it will "attack" other organ systems effecting things like mood, digestion, weight gain, breast tenderness, etc. 😡
Low progesterone can cause an increase in PMS symptoms, insomnia-especially right before your period, irritability, and anxiety. All of which I was having!
After a good 3 months of limited coffee and focusing on green tea or just no caffeine in the morning, I felt amazing! I wasn't getting breast tenderness (excess estrogen) and my PMS was very minimal (increased/balanced progesterone). 🌈
In this past month, I've been back on 2 cups a day. I'm around day 13 and having the WORST breast tenderness, moodiness, bloating, blah! Caffeine effects everyone so differently, but I'm really noticing how quickly it changes my body. "Everything in moderation, including moderation" right??? 🌟
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Cortisol Levels and Coffee
I really, really, REALLY love coffee. ☕️I love the ritual of a thick, warm beverage in the morning. 🌞 I recently had my own labs analyzed and my cortisol levels are totally out of whack. I have high levels of cortisol upon waking, and in the afternoon and into evening my levels totally crashed. I wondered if this had to do with my caffeine consumption, so I decided to take a break from coffee and switch to green tea. I’m already noticing so many benefits! I’m not crashing at all in the day and I have a great level of energy without that slump in the afternoon. My stomach is less upset, and I swear the dark circles under my eyes are vanishing! 🤩
My plan is to keep this up and re-test in the next 3-4 months to see if my cortisol levels have improved. I’ll keep you posted! I’m still enjoying my cup-o-joe on the weekends, but for now I’ll try to switch it up!