Drinks and Digestion

Goal Post #7

Last January I stopped drinking alcohol on work-nights and cut out both coffee and milk completely.  By the end of the month I’d lost five more pounds. Primarily this is because I'd finally started meeting my calorie goal - but that was much easier to do because even one glass of wine a night adds up. Those extra calories vanished from my day with almost zero effort.

Before that, between heartburn and stomach upset, my digestive system was a wreck. Stomach issues had become so frequent both of my sisters (who are nurses) asked if I had some kind of disorder. Before going to the doctor and possibly being misdiagnosed, I tried looking for the culprit in my diet.

Having no idea what food product was keeping my body in a daily state of gastrointestinal stress, I started with two primary suspects, coffee and milk. Things got better immediately. If cutting these items out hadn't helped, other foods, one at a time, would have been cut to try and determine what was to blame. Thankfully, giving up alcohol, coffee, and milk worked quickly at reducing heartburn and other digestive issues and, surprisingly, also led to much better sleep.     

Worried about crashing, I started drinking two-three glasses of green tea during the day instead of my usual one cup of coffee. Coupled with better sleep, this upped my energy to almost manic levels. Eventually I found balance by lowering my daily green tea intake. Virtually the only negative side-effect to giving up coffee has been a tendency towards mild constipation. While not the greatest, it's easy enough to remedy by drinking enough water and eating more fibrous vegetables. Obviously, I’ll take it over the alternative any day.

Three weeks into the ban I tried an experiment: a matcha latte with regular milk instead of soy. Everything stayed good, so milk came back into my life. Next, I tried the reverse: a single shot soy latte. That was a disaster. Coffee would have to stay out for the moment and possible forever.

What about wine? Currently, my working theory is daily alcohol consumption was causing my chronic heartburn. It was also clearly interfering with my sleep, but if I have a glass or three on weekends everything is fine. Maybe it was the accumulation of 1-2 glasses per night?

On weeknights when a glass of wine sounds appealing there are alternatives. Really good herbal tea can be great with or without honey (our favorite brands are Bigalow and Twinings). If sweeteners are a must, you might be surprised at how far half a teaspoon of honey goes in a light herbal tea or how drinkable quality tea can be unsweetened.

Not a tea drinker or in the mood for a cold beverage? Adding a splash or two (~2TBS) of fruit juice to sparkling soda water makes a light, refreshing alcohol-free cocktail. This is also an easy way to remove extra sugar calories from actual cocktails.   

When the day begs for a glass of wine I turn to alcohol-free stress relievers. There are a ton of bedtime yoga routines on youtube. Most are no more than twenty mins and can help get the stress out naturally. My favorites are 12 min bedtime yoga, 7 min bedtime yoga, and 1 pose

37th birthday celebrations
(posing makes me giggle)

If you are comfortable trying meditation, even 5mins can help. It can be as spiritual (or not) as you like, and finding what connects with you is an important part of the process. In a later post I'll discuss meditation more fully, but for now, hopefully these links are diverse enough to help you find a voice/method that works for you.

11 minutes male voice, headspace app 
7mins female voice, mindfulness 
5mins male voice, a little more spiritual than the others in this list 
5mins female voice, guided gratitude 
3mins male voice. short, sweet and effective.

If you're ready to dive in, here's a list of several different meditations.

Finally, it's the most time consuming option, but a hot bath helps even when not paired with a glass of wine.

When all else fails, I go ahead and have a glass anyway- the difference between one glass on one weeknight and five to ten glasses per week is huge.

In March, I started another habit that might be helping keep heartburn at bay. First thing every morning I drink 8 ounces of warm water with a dash of cayenne pepper and a splash or two of lemon juice. It's counter-intuitive, but diluted lemon juice may help maintain ph-balance in our gut. If we're out of lemons and lemon juice, I substitute raw apple cider vinegar for similar benefits.  

Cayenne pepper doesn't reduce heartburn but it increases blood flow, may help regulate bad cholesterol, and aids digestion. Almost a year earlier I'd tried adding this drink every morning but it didn't stick. Possibly because I was trying it as a get-thin-quick silver bullet and approaching any habit that way is unproductive.

In April a good friend introduced me to what I call the “mushroom mocha.” Substituting for coffee has been difficult beyond just missing the taste. Non-coffee drinks at coffee shops typically have way too much sugar (looking at you, pre-mixed chai lattes). So when she introduced me to powdered mushrooms, I was hooked.

Since then, every weekday morning I make two drinks to go. First, a homemade green tea matcha latte with ½ tsp. unsweetened matcha* powder, 8oz. water heated to 175 degrees, honey, and a splash of whole milk for creaminess. In our second tea shaker I combine 1 tsp. mushroom powder, 1 tsp. unsweetened cacao powder, a dash of turmeric, honey, and 8oz hot unsweetened almond or cashew milk.

If you are wondering why I didn't include the amount of honey in these drinks the answer is results may change over time. When I started making these drinks I used half a tablespoon of honey in each and have weaned myself down to half a teaspoon of honey in each. Depending on your taste buds, you might enjoy more or less honey.

My friend uses powdered coconut milk in her recipe. This is more portable because you can mix everything in a big batch then just add hot water to a couple scoopfuls. Using her idea as a baseline, I taste-tested powder ratios with different kinds of milk: whole, skim, soy, nut, powdered coconut, etc. Almond/cashew milks won in my house, so I encourage you to take the time to discover your favorite.

On weekends, Earl Grey, Spiced Chai, and Oolong teas are my go-to morning drinks. Oolong is a good substitute for coffee because it’s rich and earthy with less of the tangy flavor associated with other black teas. By itself or mixed with a scoop mushroom powder, half a teaspoon of honey and a dash of milk it’s super tasty. Nothing can be exactly like coffee but this makes abstaining easier.

*funny story about matcha powder: at first I didn't know there are different grades. When I found a bag of matcha powder super cheap at an Asian market, I bought it right away. Score! While this was a bargain, it's also cooking matcha and very bitter compared to drinking matcha. Currently I'm looking forward to the day when I can use even less honey sweetening my morning latte.