WHY I CUT COFFEE DURING PHASE (iii)

Coffee. Its the drug of choice for nearly 54% of Americans.

A $100 billion dollar industry that serves up 400+ million cups of coffee per day.

On average, I would say I have 1 cup of coffee every day. I make it at home when I can and am very conscious of where I get coffee when I am not in my kitchen. Good coffee is magic. It helps with brain function, memory and energy levels. It has antioxidants and is associated with all sorts of health benefits. Bad coffee, on the other hand, can negatively effect your daily routine because of the mycotoxins that are produced during the processing stages. I will talk about coffee quality in a different post!

Good quality coffee tends to agree with me most days but there are certain weeks where the negative symptoms of coffee sneak in.

COFFEE + Symptoms

The bad coffee beans hold mold and toxins that can have an immediate effect on insulin sensitivity and make you resist insulin upon over-consumption. Insulin resistance turns off your body's cycle to turn gluclose into energy so therefore people can be left with symptoms like increased hunger, tiredness, high blood sugar (cravings), fat storage, hormone imbalance, ect. So drinking 4+ cups of BAD coffee a day probably isn't the best idea.

Secondly, coffee gets your adrenaline pumping and causes your body to be more alert. It drains your adrenals and puts your body under a state of stress if you over consume. It increases your heart rate, dilates your pupils and increases sensitivity.

PHASE (iii) + COFFEE

At first, I had a hard time grasping why certain symptoms were present only during phase (iii). Symptoms like tiredness, muscles aches, irritability towards process foods and cravings of the "bad" salty foods. I decided to do some research on coffee and it's effect it has on the body every day, particularly during phase (iii) of a woman's cycle.

The number one thing I learned during my quest on cycles + coffee is that no matter if you have PCOS, fibroids, endometriosis, ovarian cysts or a hormone imbalance, coffee disrupts it all. Disrupting the NORMAL cyclical cycle (menstrual cycle) your body goes through can reak havoc on your hormones and add stress to your life in a major way. After all, we are trying to balance the hormone scale and thrive during each phase, not disrupt it. For me, eliminating caffeine during phase (iii) helps me fall asleep faster, in turn getting a full 8 hours of sleep each night for 13-15 days, doesn't make me moody or anxious and definitely helps me eliminate the cravings for processed sugar and gluten. When I do want a little caffeine but don't want to disrupt the stasis line that much, I reach for a matcha with hormone healing powders added in!

It's different for EVERY PERSON so listen to your body. If you are experiencing symptoms that you normally don't experience, try taking out coffee/caffeine. If you want to take it to the next level and take out intolerable symptoms altogether or simply just reset your body...((its really good for you to cleanse your body at least 2x a year)), no matter what phase or balanced journey you are on, I highly recommend trying the elimination diet. Learn more about it here! The Clean Program is a very well endorsed program to help you reset your body and start living that comfortable healthy life!

xx,

GL