Before making changes to your diet, it’s important to assess your individual needs and circumstances before following trendy fads or trendy ingredients. For instance, 26 million Americans regularly drink decaf coffee for reasons other than simply avoiding caffeine; these could include wanting to reduce blood pressure, avoid caffeine later in the day, avoid sleep disruptions, or comply with health conditions that necessitate monitoring caffeine intake. Alternatively, caffeine might just not provide you with what you desire: perhaps its jitters or energy boost aren’t appealing; whatever your reasons might be;

Decaf coffee contains fewer calories and is often more cost-effective and readily available than its caffeinated counterpart. Studies indicate that decaf coffee offers similar antioxidant and nutritional content as regular coffee; therefore you won’t miss any advantages by switching. Some studies indicate that decaffeination processes alter beneficial compounds present in coffee beans such as cafestol which is known to lower nonalcoholic fatty liver disease risk (NAFLD).

Recent debate surrounding the use of methylene chloride to remove caffeine from decaf coffee has raised serious concerns over its safety. Methylene chloride exposure, typically used as paint stripper, has been linked with cancer and other serious health conditions in humans and animals, though experts do agree it poses risks to decaf drinkers.

As part of the decaffeination process, caffeine and other chemicals are removed from coffee beans; however, trace amounts of methylene chloride remain. Unfortunately, every trace cannot be completely eliminated; luckily however, very small doses are usually enough to cause harmful reactions in most people, according to Taylor Wallace, PhD, founder of food science and nutrition consulting firm Think Healthy Group. Methylene chloride exposure has been known to cause drowsiness, dizziness and eye, skin, liver damage at high concentrations – but in each cup there’s only about 0.001%!

While herbal tea, turmeric tea and moringa drinks offer caffeine-free energy boosts, these options won’t provide as sustained of an energy boost as traditional decaf coffee does. These alternatives tend to provide more of a natural boost from vitamins and minerals like magnesium potassium or zinc than caffeine itself.

Prior to making any dietary changes, always check with a healthcare professional first. Caffeine may affect many medical conditions and medications; therefore, your healthcare provider can assess your individual needs in recommending how much caffeine should be added into your daily regimen. A balanced diet including both regular and decaf coffee can help you feel your best while encouraging a positive relationship between body and mind.