A Surprise at Breakfast

I was at the airport at 5:30 am to pick up a friend this morning and we headed to one of our favourite haunts for an early breakfast.

I don’t drink coffee anymore. I used to drink 8–10 cups a day when I was much younger, but now I drink green tea most of the time. This morning I felt like I needed a little “perk” — you know, when you need some extra get-up-and-go. Coffee does that.

Instead of regular coffee, I ordered a decaf. I watched it being poured. I drank it.

Around 11 a.m. I started to feel unwell. Gradually, I realized I was experiencing symptoms that had improved after starting a new remedy a couple of days earlier. The decaf coffee had antidoted my remedy.

Does Coffee Really Antidote Homeopathic Remedies?

Years ago, I was a stickler about avoiding coffee while taking homeopathic remedies. Over time, I loosened up a little. Some homeopaths reported that coffee did not seem to interfere with remedies, and I began allowing regular coffee drinkers to continue with one cup a day.

Today, my understanding is a little different.

Coffee Is a Medicine Too

Coffee is not just a beverage. It is also a substance in our homeopathic materia medica. Like every substance used in homeopathy, it has its own symptom picture.

Coffee can produce symptoms such as:

• Increased alertness
• Racing thoughts
• Nervousness and anxiety
• Restlessness
• Irritability
• Oversensitivity to noise, light, or other sensory impressions
• Difficulty falling asleep
• A mind that will not “shut off”
• Excitability and emotional reactivity

People who drink coffee regularly often stop noticing these effects. The body becomes accustomed to them. The symptoms become part of the background and are no longer recognized as being caused by the coffee itself.

Why One Cup May Not Be a Problem

This is why I no longer believe the issue is quite as simple as saying that one sip of coffee antidotes every remedy.

If a person regularly drinks one cup of coffee every day, their body has largely adapted to that amount. In many cases, that daily cup becomes part of their normal state and may not interfere with the action of the remedy.

When Coffee Can Antidote a Remedy

However, if that same person suddenly drinks two or three cups, or has coffee when they normally would not, they have introduced an additional medicinal stimulus.

The body now has to respond to the effects of that extra coffee. In my experience, it is often this additional amount that interferes with or antidotes the remedy.

The same principle applies to decaffeinated coffee. While it contains far less caffeine than regular coffee, it is not caffeine-free. More importantly, it is still coffee and still carries some of the medicinal properties of the substance itself.

For me, one cup of decaf was enough.

The Homeopathic Lesson

The lesson I took away from this experience is that coffee does antidote homeopathic remedies. The question is not simply whether a person drinks coffee or does not drink coffee.

The more important question is: what is normal for that individual?

Any increase beyond their usual level may be enough to interfere with the action of a remedy.

As homeopaths, we must remember that coffee is a medicine in its own right. Like any medicine, it can produce symptoms, alter symptoms, and sometimes antidote the action of a homeopathic remedy.