First they came for one week out of each month of our coffee intake. Then they came for the first two hours after waking before having our first cup each day. And now? Now they’re coming for our coffee drinking entirely, or at least by a significant margin. I don’t know about you, but this latest suggestion is the sugar packet that’s breaking this camel’s back! Real Simple consulted an array of MDs, RDNs, PhDs, and nutrition experts, and sure, at first they lull us in touting the merits of coffee — it’s rich in nutrients and polyphenols and antioxidants! — but then one by one they tick off how each benefit can also be a detriment. What is life but a series of double-edged swords, I ask you?! But fine, hear out the experts:

For a better night’s sleep & less anxious day: “The caffeine found in coffee blocks adenosine receptors, and adenosine promotes sleep,” says Edwina Clark, RD, a registered dietitian. “Therefore, cutting out caffeine can help improve sleep for some.” … The same instant boost of energy we rely on caffeine to provide us with can also cause some people to experience a spike in anxiety. “Anxiety can come with a load of health issues, from poor heart health, to high blood pressure, to improper sleep cycles,” [Laura Purdy, MD] explains. By avoiding the caffeine in coffee, we can also avoid, or at least reduce, our levels of anxiety.

An end to energy crashes: Quitting coffee can result in fewer fluctuations in the amount of energy you have throughout the day, [Shoshana Ungerleider, MD] points out. “When you stop drinking coffee, the body’s dependence on caffeine diminishes, leading to more consistent energy levels without the crashes associated with caffeine withdrawal,” she explains. Also, because the lack of caffeine may lead to improved sleep quality, it improves your chances of waking up feeling refreshed.

Listen to your gut: “Caffeine can stimulate gastric acid secretion and exacerbate symptoms of acid reflux and irritable bowel syndrome,” says Barbara Kovalenko, RDN and nutrition consultant at Lasta. … If your stomach and digestive system isn’t the same after drinking coffee, giving it up can help things get back to normal. This is because “caffeine can irritate the stomach lining and increase acid production, leading to symptoms in susceptible individuals,” Ungerleider explains.

It’s a psychoactive drug, man: Because drinking coffee is such a normal part of everyday life, it can be easy to forget that caffeine is a drug — the most consumed psychoactive drug in the world, no less. And, like some of the other substances that affect our nervous system, such as antidepressants and other psychiatric medications, our body doesn’t respond well to quitting caffeine completely and suddenly. … In order to avoid experiencing the unpleasant effects of withdrawal, [Lina Begdache PhD, RDN] recommends weaning yourself off coffee over the course of a few days. “Quitting cold turkey will lead to withdrawal symptoms ranging from headache, fatigue, decreased energy and alertness, to drowsiness, depressed mood, and difficulty concentrating,” she says.

Try tea: Don’t forget that coffee is not the only caffeinated beverage in town. “If you want to quit coffee, but can’t live without caffeine, try swapping your coffee for caffeinated teas, such as black tea, green teas, or matcha,” Clark says. “Caffeinated teas typically provide far less caffeine than coffee, but it may be enough to avoid a caffeine withdrawal headache.”

Replace the ritual… with tea! If you typically operate on autopilot in the mornings, you may find yourself reaching for your favorite mug — and maybe even pouring yourself a cup of coffee — without thinking twice about it. This can be especially challenging if you usually take a few minutes for yourself while drinking your morning coffee, before tackling the rest of the day. One possible solution is continuing your routine with something other than caffeinated coffee in your mug. “Coffee alternatives like herbal teas or decaffeinated coffee can satisfy the ritual of drinking a warm beverage without the caffeine,” Ungerleider says.

[From Real Simple]

While I still protest the clearly political and frankly anti-economy smear campaign being waged against coffee, I confess that I intellectually understand the arguments they make here. (Well, everything except for the over-the-top push at the end for tea. Was this article sponsored by Bigelow? Or Snapple?) Naturally what helps wake you up would also keep you from sleep; what amplifies your alertness can also overstimulate the system. There’s a balance to that. As my mother likes to say to me (usually as a preface to commenting on a habit of mine she doesn’t care for), knowledge is power. Armed with these experts’ suggestions, we can weigh the needs of each day (do I need to perk up or is getting to sleep more important?) and make a decision accordingly… like deciding to keep drinking coffee! No, no, I jest. Kind of. Look, in one of the multiverses out there I actually get to be the Dunkin’ Donuts heiress — I gotta toe the coffee line! So, are there benefits to cutting coffee? Of course. Do I care? Of course (not).

Photos credit: IMAGO/Eckehard Schulz / Avalon, Kristina Paukshtite and Brigitte Tohm on Pexels, Christian Erfurt on Unsplash