The Advantages Of Quitting Coffee

A cup of coffee may be the first thing on your mind when you wake up in the morning. If so, you’re not alone. In 2000, according to the Coffee Research Institute, 54 percent of American adults drank coffee every day, and 25 percent drank coffee occasionally. Many people drink coffee for the stimulant effect of caffeine, its best-known component, but coffee contains a number of other substances that can affect your health. If you stop drinking coffee, you may experience both positive and negative effects.

Caffeine Withdrawal

Many of the benefits of quitting coffee are related to caffeine intake and its effect on the body. People who regularly ingest caffeine tend to build up a tolerance to caffeine's effects. If you normally drink caffeinated coffee and stop suddenly, you may experience caffeine withdrawal. Drowsiness, irritability, nausea, vomiting and headaches can all result from the abrupt cessation of caffeine.

Health Benefits

There may be some positives to balance the negatives of caffeine withdrawal; high caffeine intake can decrease your bone mass and may interfere with calcium absorption. Over the long term, high caffeine intake can lead to osteoporosis. Some gender-related issues are associated with stopping coffee. Caffeine may make the pain of fibrocystic breast disease worse, so if you have this condition and stop drinking caffeinated coffee, you may feel better.

Decreasing Risk of Miscarriage and Prostate Cancer

A study in the March 2008 “American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology” reported a link between caffeine and miscarriage. A caffeine intake of more than 200 mg/day increased the risk of miscarriage compared to a caffeine intake of less than 200 mg/day. Research reported in the June 2011 “Journal of the National Cancer Institute” noted that men who drank six or more cups of coffee a day had a lower risk for prostate cancer; the effect was related to compounds in coffee other than caffeine.

Coffee and Chronic Disease

Coffee is a complex beverage, and different compounds in the brew may affect the body in different ways. According to an article in the 2006 “Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition,” coffee may help prevent some chronic diseases and has been found to provide protection against Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and liver disease. However, several cardiovascular risk factors, such as blood pressure, can be negatively affected by coffee consumption. Quitting coffee could improve your blood pressure.

Considerations and Warnings

If you stop drinking coffee, you may decrease your risks of some diseases but lose the benefits of coffee consumption that protect you in the case of other diseases. You may want to consult a health care professional to determine if stopping coffee would be beneficial in your personal health situation. If you do decide to forgo that cup of coffee, consider tapering rather than stopping suddenly, as tapering will lessen the chances of caffeine withdrawal.