In last week’s blog I discussed the negative effects of caffeine and coffee and why it is in your best interest to stay away from it. What I didn’t do is provide you with any alternatives. Getting off coffee cold turkey is brutal. So to be successful, you will need a plan.

The hardest part about getting off coffee is the withdrawal symptoms. Here are my suggestions to make the transition as smooth as possible. First and foremost, you must hydrate. Drink at least six to eight glasses of filtered water daily. Instead of coffee in the morning, take some warm water with freshly-squeezed lemon juice. It will alkalize your gut and help prevent headaches.

Make a point of exercising daily to ward off any fatigue. It doesn’t have to be super strenuous. A 30 minute walk after dinner is more than sufficient. The idea is to increase blood flow.

A lot of people substitute coffee for real food.  When you do this, you are letting your blood sugar get too low. You need to consistently feed your body protein throughout the day. A piece of cheese, a handful of nuts or seeds will easily do the trick. If you find that you are irritable the first few days and have trouble sleeping, supplement with calcium and magnesium citrate before you go to bed (250 mg of each).

Learn to slow down. This might be the hardest one of all, especially if you are a hard driving Type A personality. Withdrawal can be stressful and research has shown that yoga, tai chi and other meditation techniques will help calm an over-stressed system while boosting the immune system. Don’t ignore this one.

There are numerous substitutes for coffee; I like green tea. It has a lot less caffeine than a cup of coffee but enough to give you a boost without the coffee jitters. It’s also loaded with antioxidants and potent disease fighters.

Wheat grass tea is a natural energizer. It is used in a lot of greens drink supplements because it is loaded with nutrients. Some people like the taste and others don’t. Regardless, it is easy to digest and it is absorbed rapidly into your system, making it a great natural energy supplement.

Have you heard of Yerba mate? Probably not. This is another herbal tea with numerous health benefits. Yerba mate tastes great hot or cold and it is loaded with antioxidant properties. It can also accelerate weight loss as it is known to speed up the metabolism.

If you are just not a tea person and you can’t live without the taste of coffee, there is always decaf. If it were me I would look into a caffeine-free herbal coffee. Herbal coffee alternatives are quite common with people who have removed regular coffee from their diets because they taste very much like coffee but are caffeine free. There are a number of different kinds and they mix well with water if you are a black coffee person, or you can mix them with milk, sugar or honey. I like this one the best: http://www.dandyblend.com/