Amanda Howard
Coffee is a great early morning energizer to start up your day right. Many people can’t function properly in the early morning without drinking coffee. Although coffee is a high energy booster, too much caffeine can cause harmful effects to your body. If you want to cut down on your coffee intake, then consider trying other coffee alternatives that also boosts your energy.
While coffee has a significant energizing effect, it can also harm your body if you drink too much.
It doesn’t mean that you won’t have an energizer when you need it. There are other coffee alternatives for a daily boost of energy if you don’t prefer coffee or can’t add coffee to your diet. Some of these coffee alternatives are also healthier compared to coffee.
Matcha Tea
Matcha tea comes from ground young tea leaves and is usually in the form of green powder. Studies have linked matcha green tea to a variety of health benefits, like helping to prevent heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer, and even encouraging weight loss. It’s a great coffee substitute for a daily boost of energy, which has the same effect coffee does minus the jittery feeling you get in coffee.
Matcha tea also contains caffeine, and it also has L-theanine. L-theanine is an amino acid that helps relieve stress and relaxes people. It also minimizes the effects caffeine has on our bodies.
A study about L-theanine suggests that L-theanine improves the effectiveness of certain chemotherapy drugs.
A small dosage of L-theanine (250 mg to 400 mg) helps improve your overall sleep quality.
Matcha tea is an excellent alternative to coffee for a daily boost of energy. The combination of caffeine and L-theanine balances out the jittery and restlessness you get when you drink coffee.
You can also drink pure teas like green tea and black tea, or herbal teas like peppermint tea which also has similar effects to Matcha tea. Generally, tea bags will contain more caffeine than loose leaf tea, so keep that in mind as you are picking out which tea to drink in the morning. Overall, tea is a great alternative that is packed with health benefits and energizes you.
Green Smoothies
Vegetables are a powerhouse when it comes to health benefits and boosts your energy at the same time. A smoothie is also a better alternative rather than consuming vegetables in solid form. Experts recommend drinking 3 cups of vegetables daily for a healthy lifestyle.
If you want to try a green smoothie, pick vegetables that contain less sugar, fewer calories, and a lot of antioxidants. A great start would be kale, broccoli, and spinach, which reduces blood pressure and prevents heart disease. Drinking 300 ml of green smoothie daily can lower your LDL-cholesterol (bad cholesterol).
The green smoothie also helps you with weight loss, improves hydration and digestion, and gives you smooth skin. It also improves your mood and relieves you of depression. Overall, a green smoothie is a great coffee alternative that gives you a boost and energy and keeps your body healthy.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is an excellent alternative for coffee. It’s made from fermented apple, similar to how alcohol is made. Apple cider vinegar contains acetic acid, which is shown to affect insulin sensitivity and blood sugar levels positively.
It can also kill most types of harmful bacteria and can be used to preserve food. Apple cider vinegar contains amino acids and antioxidants that help give you the boost of energy and replenish your body. It can also help you lose belly fat.
Taking too much apple cider vinegar can cause adverse effects like tooth enamel erosion. It’s best taken at 1-2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and mixed it in a large glass of water to reduce its acidic effect.
Yerba Mate
Yerba mate comes from the leaves and twigs of the Yerba Mate plant that grows in the South American region. Yerba mate has similar effects of coffee but minus the caffeine. It contains the alkaloid theobromine, which can also be found in chocolate, and gives you a boost of energy without the side effects that caffeine in coffee gives you.
Yerba mate also contains antioxidants that help cleanse your body and prevent harmful diseases. Yerba mate is a growing popular coffee alternative, especially for millennials.
Cacao
Cacao is mostly associated with chocolates, which are harmful when taken in excess—Cacao, when unprocessed, is healthy.
Cacao contains polyphenols that are antioxidants that help detoxify your body and prevent most types of cancer and diseases. It also contains flavonoids that have anti-inflammatory effects.
Mixing cacao with warm milk can give the same flavor as what coffee does to your body. Cacao may also improve your overall mood and relaxes your muscles for a great start in the morning.
Unprocessed cocoa tastes bitter and is processed with alkaline to reduce the bitterness. This cuts about 60% of the health benefits you get from unprocessed cocoa. If you want a good cup of cocoa, use unprocessed cocoa and mixed it with milk for a great cup of a coffee alternative that will boost your energy.
Signs You’re Drinking Too Much Coffee
While coffee can be healthy, taking too much of it can lead to adverse effects. Health experts recommend a maximum of 400 mg of caffeine a day. If you’re unsure if you’re taking too much coffee, then these signs will tell you to stop visiting your favorite coffee shop and cut down on caffeine intake:
- Sleeping Late – The effects of caffeine on your body can last for up to 4-6 hours. Drinking coffee late in the afternoon or in the evening could lead you to sleep late at night.
- Low on energy – Taking too much coffee can lead to your body desensitizing to caffeine, and instead of giving you power will instead lower your energy levels.
- Weight gain – caffeine is known to increase the levels of cortisol in your body. Cortisol is known as the stress hormone, and high levels of it can cause a person to overeat, which leads to weight gain.
- Deficiency in minerals – Caffeine can affect how your body absorbs minerals. Caffeine has been known to affect the absorption of iron in our body. It also reduces the storage of minerals such as zinc, calcium, and magnesium that are helpful to your body.
Conclusion
Different coffee alternatives have better health benefits compared to coffee. It doesn’t mean that coffee is a wrong choice, but you should consume it not in excess. Caffeine can be harmful to our body when taken in excess; that’s why looking for coffee alternatives can help balance it out.
