Caffeine
Sensitivity
Approximately
20% of the population is caffeine sensitive.
Even just a few milligrams of caffeine will
set off an immediate reaction. People who
have no problem drinking coffee all day long
simply can't understand how dramatically
caffeine sensitive people respond to the
slightest bit of caffeine. If you're caffeine
sensitive, you may have any number of
reactions to caffeine, but the most common
ones are:
- Feelings
of anxiety, nervousness and irritability
- Rapid
speech
- The
jitters
- Sleeplessness
even though the caffeine was consumed many
hours before
- Incessant
thinking and restlessness that interferes
with relaxing
Other
extreme forms of caffeine sensitivity may
cause unique symptoms such as:
- Obsessive
compulsive behaviour
- Paranoia
- Phobias
- Skin
rashes and other allergic symptoms
- Muscular
pain and tension including neck and back
pain
If you
suspect you are caffeine sensitive, the best
test is to completely eliminate caffeine from
your diet. If the symptoms that are bothering
you disappear, you're among the 20% who learn
to avoid caffeinated beverages and coffee
flavoured foods.
Weight
Loss
A number of
diets such as The Fat Flush Plan by Ann
Louise Gittleman, The Rosedale Diet by Ron
Rosedale, M.D., and The Perricone
Prescription by Nicholas Perricone, M.D.
advise their followers to quit caffeine to
help their weight loss process. There are
documented scientific reasons that support
the premise that caffeine interferes with
weight loss programs. Contact
us
for a professional paper on the effects of
coffee and caffeine on weightloss. A quick
summary of the paper's main points
follows:
Caffeine
elevates stress hormones. People tend to eat
when feeling stressed and this thwarts their
diet goals.
Caffeine
triggers hypoglycemia and increases appetite.
Weight loss diets are designed to achieve
stable blood sugar without insulin spikes.
Caffeine raises blood sugar, which can result
in subsequent low blood sugar that drives
people to eat high fat, refined carbohydrate
foods to get a quick energy boost.
Caffeine
aggravates Insulin Resistance Syndrome.
Obesity, high blood pressure, elevated
cholesterol and cellular insensitivity to
insulin are part of a syndrome that can lead
to the development of Type 2 diabetes.
Caffeine contributes to insulin resistance
and impairs glucose tolerance. 41 million
Americans are considered to be pre-diabetic
and are advised to adapt healthy lifestyle
and dietary habits to avoid progressing to
type 2 diabetes.
Health
Crisis
Many people
decide to become caffeine-free after visiting
a health care professional who advises them
to quit coffee to improve their health.
Health conditions that are aggravated by
caffeine include:
- Heart
disease including high blood pressure,
high cholesterol and high inflammatory
indicators like homocysteine
- Acid
reflux and GERD
- Women's
health problems such as PMS, menopausal
symptoms, infertility, fibrocystic
breasts, and osteoporosis
- Diabetes
and Insulin Resistance Syndrome
- Irritable
Bowel Syndrome, Crohn's Disease and
Colitis
- Interstitial
Cystitis
- Sleeplessness
and fatigue
- Stress
- Mood
disorders and depression
- Migraine
headaches
Pregnancy
and Nursing
Caffeine
crosses the placental barrier and affects
foetal development. Caffeine also can
decrease fertility, which can be crucial for
couples with infertility problems. Caffeine
is rapidly incorporated into breast milk and
can be detected in breast milk even days
after the mother has ingested it. Health care
professionals advise pregnant and nursing
women to avoid caffeine to protect their
babies' health.
Ageing
and Stress
Many
people's tolerance for caffeine changes as
they turn 40 or 50. The adrenal glands'
production of DHEA, the hormone responsible
for anabolic metabolism or rebuild and repair
activity as well as the production of sex
hormones, declines sharply after the age of
40. The production of cortisol, the primary
stress hormone, increases inversely to the
decline of DHEA. Elevated levels of cortisol
accelerate ageing symptoms including skin
wrinkling, loss of muscle and increased fat
gain, and feelings of anxiety and stress.
People who want to slow the ageing process,
boost their DHEA production, and decrease
their stress are advised to eliminate
caffeine from their diet.
Sleep
and Mood Disturbance
Caffeine
can interfere with sleep either by causing
insomnia or by shortening the duration and
depth of sleep. People metabolize caffeine at
different rates and the sleep of some people
can still be affected even though they last
consumed caffeine 8 - 12 hours before sleep.
Women on birth control pills and people
taking pharmaceutical drugs metabolize
caffeine much more slowly because caffeine
and drugs both have to be detoxified in the
liver. Anyone experiencing sleep problems
should try eliminating caffeine from their
diet as part of a program to restore restful
sleep.
Anxiety,
nervousness, irritability, and impatience can
all be aggravated by caffeine. Depression can
result as a withdrawal symptom from an
absence of caffeine in caffeine addicted
individuals. People can be unaware of the
effect of caffeine on their mood until family
members of co-workers complain of their
caffeine driven behavior. People with mood
disturbances may find that nutritional and
herbal support during caffeine weaning will
help rebalance their brain chemistry and
relieve the symptoms of depression.
The
Pursuit of Optimal Health
The
ultimate reasons to live a caffeine-free life
is to pursue optimal health. Ingesting a drug
on a habitual daily basis simply doesn't
support that goal. Drugs are invaluable when
they are needed to produce a result or
relieve a symptom as quickly as possible.
Caffeine is a great stimulant when you need
it on an occasional basis. Driving late at
night or instantly achieving alertness when
sleep deprived are both excellent times to
use caffeine as a drug. Opening the bronchial
passages during an asthmatic attack is
another good time to use caffeine for its
short-term effect on the bronchia. However,
health problems arise when caffeine becomes a
crutch for maintaining a stress driven
lifestyle on a daily basis. Bodies need a
balance of rest and activity along with
superior nutrition in order to maintain
optimal health. The habitual consumption of
caffeine thwarts the goal of optimal health
and therefore, health educators and longevity
specialists recommend that you reduce or
eliminate caffeine from your diet in order to
rebuild and maintain optimal health.
If any of
the following articles are of interest
contact
us
or phone 1800 225500.
- The
Health Benefits of Being Caffeine-free
with Teeccino Herbal Coffee.
- Coffee
and Heart Health: What You Should
Know!
- Effects
of Caffeine and Coffee on Women's Health;
Fertility, Menopause, Breast and Uterine
Health.
- Effects
of Caffeine and Coffee on
Ageing
- Effects
of Caffeine and Coffee on Interstitial
Cystitis and Cystitis
- Effects
of Caffeine and Coffee on Cardiovascular
Diseases including High Blood Pressure,
Arrhythmias and High
Cholesterol
- Effect
of Decaffeinated Coffee on
Health
- The
Effect of Caffeine and Coffee on Weight
Loss
- Effects
of Caffeine and Coffee on Diabetes,
Insulin Resistance Syndrome and
Hypoglycemia