Over the past couple of months, I’ve decided to dig in and make the kinds of nutritional and lifestyle changes that I ask my clients to make.  After almost a year of travel with my doTERRA business, my health habits had gone off the rails, to say the least.

A weekend away in Montreal with my husband in June was my last hoorah.  I drank more sangria that weekend than I have in my entire life, knowing that Monday was coming.

My first order of business was to get my hormones into balance, which I’ll cover in another post.

Today, I wanted to talk about my most recent “sacrifice,” COFFEE.

I’ve given up coffee many times in the past.  I didn’t drink it during any of my pregnancies and over the years have gone without for a few months at a time.  It’s not that coffee is all bad, it’s just that it’s not great for me.  The adrenals are a bit of a buzzword right now.  Speak with any natural wellness provider and they’ll likely ask about your adrenal health.  With the rapid pace of my life, and running being my sport of choice, along with the abuse (STRESS and poor diet) I had given my body over the previous 2 years, I knew that mine needed some gentle love. The adrenals do not love caffeine.  So, about 3 weeks ago, I packed up my coffee maker and that was it.

Not quite it.

You see, I missed the ritual of sitting here, writing, or getting my work done in the wee hours of the morning without my cup of joe.  There’s just something about it.   Every few days, I’d drag the machine out from the garage, make a cup, and pack it back up.  It was getting ridiculous.                          

While visiting a health food store (which is a favourite past-time) I smelled an open jar of roasted chicory root. I was hooked.  WOW.  Have you smelled this stuff?  It really does smell a bit like coffee but with a nutty, almost chocolatey undertone.  Seriously.  I bought a bag of it and was blown away by the taste of the stuff.

Using a tea strainer, I make a cup each morning, much like you’d make a cup of instant coffee.

The aroma alone is heavenly.

The health benefits of chicory root are significant, to say the least.  From the sunflower and daisy family of plants, humans have used chicory root therapeutically for at least 1000 years.

It provides liver support, can calm an upset stomach and the nerves, supports the detoxification processes of the body, and you can use it as complimentary therapy for osteoarthritis and gout. Chicory even offers cardiovascular benefits by regulating the heartbeat.  It’s useful in balancing blood sugar levels in diabetics.

Chicory has anti-inflammatory properties and as such, the crushed leaves can be used to make a poultice for any kind of skin inflammation or to use in wound healing. It also contains small amounts of almost every essential vitamin and is a good source of inulin which is a type of fibre and also a prebiotic. It supports building good bacteria in the colon and helps to prevent constipation. Chicory is known to support lower cholesterol levels.

All that without the caffeine!!!

My adrenals and I are very happy these days AND I’m not sneaking the coffee maker back into the house!

WIN!