5 healthy coffee alternatives

Not everyone is a coffee lover, or can even tolerate it for that matter. Then there are those at the extreme end who can’t live without it. Either way, whether you love it, hate it or can’t tolerate it, you may be thinking about incorporating healthier alternatives into your routine that will also boost your energy.

Why would you want to stop drinking coffee in the first place?

Coffee undeniably does have beneficial effects, however, when consumed regularly and frequently, it can cause havoc to your health.

How?

It’s true that coffee boosts your energy and makes you feel alert. That’s why everyone is so addicted to it. However, the energy boost it causes comes with an energy crash, which as a result leaves you wanting to reach out for more, to help you feel more energetic again. These highs and lows affect your blood sugar levels, leaving you craving sugar, as well as creating hormonal imbalances. In addition, coffee interferes with your stress hormones, such as cortisol, increasing stress, anxiety and tension. The rise of stress hormones causes your body to be in a ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ state that increases heart rate, blood pressure and tension levels. This can as a result also affect your mood, making you feel more irritable.

To top it all off, coffee also inhibits the absorption of essential minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc. Therefore, an excess consumption of coffee can lead to deficit in minerals that are crucial for your body.

So, if you’re someone who is looking to reduce their coffee intake or want to suppress it all in all, we’ve got some substitutes to replace your everyday caffeine kick.

First things first, if you’re used to drinking coffee everyday, you can’t expect the switch to be simple. Your organism will take some time to get used to the withdrawal and you may suffer from lack of energy and headaches at first. This is only temporary. Once you’ve combatted that phase, you’ll feel much more balanced energy wise.

Tip: For the regular coffee drinkers, it’s best to switch to green, black or red tea, to continue consuming caffeine and not suffer the sudden side effects of withdrawing coffee from the system.

Matcha latte

Matcha has probably become one of the most popular superfoods recently because of its distinct taste and superfood qualities. This highly concentrated supercharged green tea is a potent antioxidant that boosts energy (without the slump), immunity and speeds up metabolism!

Turmeric latte

The famous golden latte might not include any caffeine, but its anti-inflammatory and immune boosting properties make you feel more balanced and vital.

Chai tea

For those who aren’t familiar with chai, it is a blend of black tea, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves, providing soothing effects, balancing energy levels.

Lemon water

This may be the least obvious coffee replacement, but warm lemon water with ginger first thing in the morning provides a kick, waking you up and boosting your metabolism.

Maca powder + cacao powder

These 2 superfoods are great energising ingredients you can add to your smoothies or porridge in the morning to add a nutritional and energy boost. They are both known for their energising properties, improving stamina and resistance.

If you decide to replace your classic coffee for these healthier alternatives, over time, you’ll notice that you don’t actually need coffee to survive. These delicious replacements will keep you going and will do your body wonders!