Natural Health: I'm finding it difficult to cut down on my coffee intake

Plus: natural ways of dealing with itching and flaking behind the ears

The coffee-drinking culture revolves around being productive, driven, and doing it all. By contrast, the tea culture is of sitting down, relaxing, and unwinding, even though regular tea from the Camellia sinensis plant also contains caffeine.

I’m trying to reduce my coffee intake — currently, about five cups a day. However, I’m finding it difficult as I rely on caffeine to get through the day. Is there a natural drink I could take to give me a similar energy boost?

The coffee-drinking culture revolves around being productive, driven, and doing it all. By contrast, the tea culture is of sitting down, relaxing, and unwinding, even though regular tea from the Camellia sinensis plant also contains caffeine.

A tea from South America called Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) has long been used to stimulate the mind, increase concentration, and ease depressive moods without interfering with sleep.

Yerba mate is widely used by students preparing for exams to aid understanding, recall, and clear thinking while soothing nerves and balancing the immune system.

I prefer to mix yerba mate with other herbs — peppermint, spearmint, citrus, cinnamon, basil (or tulsi/holy basil), and clove buds — to offset the slightly bitter undertones of this herbal tea and add health benefits.

Medicinal mushroom blends are a more nourishing and hearty coffee substitute for hot beverages. Chaga, lion’s mane, and turkey tail are other excellent substitutes. Reishi is quite bitter, so if you are craving the bitterness of the coffee bean, this may be a good addition for you.

Daily medicinal mushroom brews will nourish your adrenals and support your immune system and brain rather than overtaxing or depleting your body. If you can find dual-extracted blends (usually extracted into water and alcohol to draw out a more complete profile of the active constituents), then this is ideal for a full-bodied tonic.

Medicinal mushrooms combine well with coffee, so you can introduce them into your daily coffee routine and gradually shift the balance to have more mushrooms and less coffee until you reach the daily coffee level that works for you.

The skin behind my ears is dry and flaky, and sometimes it’s itchy. I’ve tried using an antiseptic cream, but it hasn’t helped. What would you recommend?

An overgrowth of the yeast Pityrosporum ovale can cause caking and itching on the scalp and skin.

Sugar contributes to this issue by overfeeding the yeast (and bacteria) naturally found on our skin and in our bodies, causing it to multiply out of control.

Cutting back or eliminating processed sugar from the diet is one of the most effective measures to tackle this yeast,

You may find that taking a probiotic supplement helps ease your symptoms by balancing the beneficial bacteria in your gut and skin.

Intestinal issues are closely linked with skin health, as is our immune health.

The other simple suggestion is to dry behind your ears thoroughly following a shower or bath.

Using a natural salve or balm will also help to nourish and heal the area.

A calendula preparation would be ideal since it will prevent inflammation and support immune function, which is often a factor in skin conditions that seem to linger.

• NOTE: The information contained in this column is not a substitute for medical advice. Always consult a doctor.