Tips for caffeine withdrawal and dealing with caffeine withdrawal symptoms. Help and treatment for caffeine withdrawal sufferers, and coping with caffeine usage.

One look at a line at the local Starbucks in the morning and you don’t need to be convinced of the huge amount of coffee consumption in the U.S. The National Coffee Association found in 2000 that 54% of the U.S. adult population drinks coffee daily. Guess there’s nothing like the first double espresso in the morning to clear the cobwebs from our heads so we can face the day.

But what are the effects relating to fitness? If that grande-no-foam-double-whipped-extra-shot-no-fat latte gives us the get-up-and-go to start our day at work, will it do the same if we’re headed to the gym?

Physiological Effects

The main ingredient in coffee that gives us that jolt is caffeine, a central nervous system stimulant. Caffeine is found naturally in coffee beans, tea leaves, and chocolate, and is a popular added ingredient in carbonated beverages and some over-the-counter medications such as cold remedies, diuretics, aspirin, and weight control aids. It is estimated that in the U.S., 75% of caffeine intake comes from coffee.

Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system by blocking adenosine, a neurotransmitter that normally causes a calming effect in the body. The resulting neural stimulation due to this blockage causes the adrenal glands to release adrenaline, the “fight or flight” hormone. Your heart rate increases, your pupils dilate, your muscles tighten up, and glucose is released into your blood stream for extra energy. Voila… you now have the caffeine buzz.

But wait…we’re not done yet. Caffeine also increases dopamine. Dopamine activates the pleasure in parts of the brain. It has been suspected that this also contributes to caffeine addiction.

Physiologically, caffeine makes us you feel alert, pumps adrenaline to give you energy and changes dopamine production to make you feel good. Another espresso, anyone?

Ergogenic Effects of Caffeine to Performance

In addition to various psychological and physiological benefits, numerous studies have documented caffeine’s ergogenic effect on athletic performance, particularly in regard to endurance. Studies show that caffeine ingestion prior to exercising extended endurance in moderately strenuous aerobic activity. Other studies researching caffeine consumption on elite distance runners and distance swimmers show increased performance times following caffeine consumption.

Despite effects on endurance, caffeine produced no effect on maximal muscular force in a study measuring voluntary and electrically stimulated muscle actions. However, the same study did show findings that suggest caffeine has an ergogenic effect on muscle during repetitive, low frequency stimulation.

Caffeine’s positive performance-enhancing effects have been well documented. So much so that the International Olympic Committee placed a ban leading to disqualification for an athlete with urinary limits exceeding 12 mg/mL. Roughly 600 to 800mg of caffeine, or 4 to 7 cups of coffee, consumed over a 30-minute period would be enough to exceed this level and cause disqualification. The National Collegiate Athletic Association has a similar limit, set at 15 mg/mL.

Coffee: A Pre-Workout Drink?

Before you make Starbucks part of your pre-workout warm-up in order to harness the effects of caffeine, be aware that simply downing a grande may not give you similar benefits found in these studies. A recent Canadian study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology compared the effect of coffee and caffeine on run time to exhaustion. A group of nine men took part in five trials. Sixty minutes before each run, the men took one of the following:

• A placebo
• Caffeine capsules
• De-caffeinated coffee with caffeine added
• Regular coffee

Performance times were up to 10 times longer in subjects using the caffeine capsules, with no differences in times among the other trials. Since the level of caffeine absorption was similar during the caffeine trials, researchers concluded something in the coffee itself that interferes with caffeine’s performance-enhancing effects. This makes sense considering that there are literally hundreds of compounds dissolved when coffee beans are roasted, ground and extracted. Results of this research suggest that if benefits of caffeine on endurance times are desired, caffeine capsules work better than coffee.

Caffeine and Creatine Supplementation

Although caffeine has been shown to increase endurance time, further research shows it may actually blunt the effect of creatine, a popular and well-researched compound known for its consistent ergogenic effects. In a study evaluating the effect of pre-exercise caffeine ingestion on both creatine stores and high-intensity exercise performance, caffeine totally counteracted any effects of creatine supplementation. It was suggested that individuals who creatine load should refrain from caffeine-containing foods and beverages if positive effects are desired.

The Downside of Caffeine

Despite coffee/caffeine’s positive effects on psychological states and performance, there are numerous documented risks that must considered when consuming caffeine, whether for performance-enhancing effects or simply as a part of daily dietary consumption.

Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and can produce restlessness, headaches, and irritability. Caffeine also elevates your heart rate and blood pressure. Over the long-term as your body gets used to caffeine, it requires higher amounts to get the same effects. Certainly, having your body in a state of hormonal emergency all day long isn’t very healthy.

Caffeine is also a diuretic and causes a loss of fluid, which then leads to a dehydrating effect. This is obviously not conducive to fitness activities such as resistance training, as fluid is needed for the transfer of nutrients to facilitate muscular growth. It is also important when considering the further loss of fluid while exercising in hot environments.

Perhaps the most important long-term problem is the effect of caffeine on sleep. The half-life of caffeine in the body is about 6 hours. If you drink a big cup of coffee with 200 mg of caffeine at 4PM, at 10PM you still have about 100mg in your body. By 4AM, you still have 50mg floating in your system. Even though you may be able to sleep, you may not be able to obtain the restful benefits of deep sleep. What’s worse, the cycle continues as you may use more and more caffeine in hopes of counteracting this deficit.

Caffeinated Conclusions…

Though caffeine has some benefits in relation to exercise performance, risks have been documented. Most problems seem evident with very high consumption. The American Heart Association says that moderate coffee drinking (one or two cups per day) does not seem to be harmful for most people. As with everything else, moderation is the key to healthy caffeine consumption. Further research is needed to clearly determine whether the performance-enhancing benefits of caffeine outweigh the potential risks.

About The Author

Jon Gestl, CSCS, is a Chicago personal trainer and fitness instructor who specializes in helping people get in shape in the privacy and convenience of their home or office. He is a United States National Aerobic Champion silver and bronze medalist and world-ranked sportaerobic competitor and editor of the fitness ezine “Inspired Informed and Inshape.” He can be contacted through his website at http://www.jongestl.com.

With the explosion on the market of 4hour+energyshots that contain little caffeine, I question the value of caffeine in weight loss products and energy pills in general. One major problem is that there are so many sources of caffeine in the diet, including coffee, chocolate, soda pop (diet and regular) and now just above every dietary supplement. Most pre-workout NO products contain some form of caffeine. Many unscrupulous supplement companies are disguising caffeine as “Methyl Xanthines” or simple “Xanthines” as a way to disguise the use of caffeine in their supplement. Things like “Chocamine” and Chocolate extract are primarily made up of caffeine and its derivatives. Finally herbal extracts like Guarana and certain tea extracts like Mate are used to disguise the caffeine content of dietary supplements. Picture this, you wake up in the morning and have large coffee at your favorite Char bucks. The Venti has 480mg of caffeine on average and this NOT using the espresso beans! So, 480 mg to start your day is a whopping dose of caffeine. Then let’s say you have a diet soda at 10 am and then another 20oz at lunch. That indulgence adds an extra 72mg per serving, so tack on another 144mg to your tally. You decide to hit the gym before your workout and take typical EXPLODE products from every supplement vendor in town. These pre- workout supplements have roughly 300mg per serving and often recommend that you take a double serving before working out, so add on another 600mg. Just an average day in the life of a bodybuilder is looking like over a GRAM of caffeine without even thinking about it (1,224 mg to be exact). Now ,if you add your caffeine based theromogenic on top of it, you could be ingesting another 600-800mg per day (most”stimulant”based thermogenics contain about 200mg of caffeine per serving in one of the forms mentioned above). So the average body builder is consuming 2000mg of caffeine per day! The recommended level that the Mayo Clinic recommends is two 12oz cans of diet soda per day max or about 90mg.

So, what?!? What is the big deal? Isn’t caffeine the most harmless thing that a bodybuilder can take? Caffeine doesn’t have side effects and it can give you a boost when you are down…right? I need that stimulant to get “going”! The cry of the desperate … Is caffeine even good in supplements and exercise? Effects of eight weeks of caffeine supplementations and endurance training on aerobics fitness and body composition. Malek MH, Housh TJ, Coburn JW, Beck TW, Schmidt RJ, Housh DJ, Johnson GO. University of Nebraska -Lincoln “These findings indicated that chronic use of the caffeine-containing supplement in the present study, in conjunction with aerobic training,provided no ergogenic effects as measured by VO(2)peak and TRE, and the supplement was of no benefit for altering body weight or body composition.” So, it is more than possible that caffeine does not add to the ergogenic effects in trained athletes and doesn’t help athletes lose weight. How about this study showing the negative effects on creative supplementation? Caffeine counterattacks the ergogenic action of muscle creative loading.Vandenberghe K, Gillis N, Van Leemputte M,, Van Hecke P,Vanstapel F,Hespel P. This study shows the caffeine reversed the benefit of creatine and muscle strength. Creatine showed an increase in muscle torque of 10-23% in the subjects studied. According to conclusion: “The data show that Creatine supplementation elevates muscle PhospoCreatine concentration and markedly improves performance during intense intermittent exercise. This ergogenic effect, however, is completely eliminated by caffeine intake.” So, here we have clear evidence that caffeine eliminates some of the key benefits of creatine supplementation, so why is it in your NO or Creatine Product?

Let’s talk about another big problem with the overuse of caffeine… type ll diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Why would this matter to the body builder? One big reason! Insulin is the second most important nutrient to the bodybuilder for building muscle and anything that blunts its effect isn’t really a good thing. Caffeine has been proven in many scientific studies to increase the risk of metabolic syndrome and type ll diabetes by blunting the effect of insulin in the bloodstream. In fact caffeine can be implicated in making diabetics fat! Reduced insulin sensitivity causes the body to release more insulin (hyper-insulinemia) which reduces the uptake of nutrients in the muscle cells (stay away from caffeine you’re your workouts) and potentiates the storage of energy as fat! So, in effect this caffeine over consumption might do WAY more harm than good and increase your chances of becoming obese, reducing your muscles ability to recover and taxing your adrenal system. There are reams of documents on pubmed that show how destructive caffeine is to your ability to metabolize sugar and the reduced effect of insulin in a hyper caffeinated environment. Professional bodybuilders take EXTRA insulin to increase their recovery and size, it is one of the most important nutrient systems that they can use to increase size and recovery. It is second only to anabolic steroids in making the professional bodybuilder ultra big. Why would anyone that wants a better physique take something that blunts the most anabolic hormone in the body next to testosterone? Why take 2,000mg of something that is PROVEN to reduce your recovery and ability to store nutrients? It is insanity, especially when you consider that caffeine has a very dubious effect on its ability to increase weight loss, with very little data showing it to be effective weight loss aid. Actually it seem that caffeine barely has a thermogenic effect and there are FAR better ways of getting a mental lift in the gym (although caffeine is very cheap, running about $8 per kilogram, which is why so many companies put it in their supplements to contrast.Yohimbine is about $1500 per kilogram).

Type ll Insulin resistance caused by caffeine WILL HAMPER YOUR ABILITY TO GAIN MUSCLE! Period! It is proven in multiple studies: “The present study in mice demonstrates that both models of diabetes impair regenerating muscle as well as uninjured muscles. Regenerating fast muscles are weaker, lighter and slower in diabetic compared with nondiabetic mice.” (Vignaud A) Meaning muscles regenerate more slowly in a insulin.

Glucose homeostasis have reduced skeletal muscle nNOSmicro protein content.”(-Bradeley, SJ) Insulin resistance is implicated in reduced mitochondria function in the muscle “In conclusion, the current data supports that muscle mitochondrial dysfunction in type 2 diabetes is not an intrinsic defect, but instead a functional defect related to impaired response to insulin.”(Asmann, YW). So, those energy drinks count on the Taurine and Sugar for their performance enhancing effect, not the caffeine. That is if you can trust the Mayo clinic about reduced mitochondrial activity in response to insulin resistance. According to Duke University, caffeine can also substantially raise your blood pressure, which is implicated in a whole host of diseases and complications. Additionally, high blood pressure has been linked to the worsening of metabolic syndrome, which is the body’s resistance to normal insulin function as described above. It seems that caffeine WORSENS the effect of raising blood pressure which causes damage and further reduces gains. What else in high blood pressure implicated in? According to the Mayo Clinic web site: “Excessive pressure on the artery walls can damage your vital organs. The higher your blood pressure and the longer it goes uncontrolled, the greater the damage. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to: Damage to your arteries .This can result in hardening and thickening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), which can lead to a heart attack or other complications. An enlarged bulging blood vessel (aneurysm) also is possible. Heart failure. To pump blood against the higher pressure in your vessels, your heart muscle thickens. Eventually, the thickened muscle may have a hard time pumping enough blood to meet your body’s needs, which can lead to heart failure. A blocked or ruptured blood vessel in your brain. This can lead to stroke. Weakened and narrowed blood vessels in your kidneys. This can prevent these organs from functioning normally. Thickened, narrowed or torn blood vessels in the eyes. This can result in vision loss. Metabolic syndrome .This syndrome is a cluster of disorders of your body’s metabolism-including elevated waist circumference, high triglycerides, and low- high density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol, high blood pressure and high insulin levels. If you have high blood pressure .you’re more likely to have other components of metabolic syndrome. The more components you have, the greater your risk of developing diabetes, heart disease or stroke.

Uncontrolled high blood pressure also may affect your ability to think, remember and learn. Cognitive impairment and dementia are more common in people who have high blood pressure. The average bodybuilder doesn’t need higher blood pressure. In fact heavy lifting has been shown to increase blood pressure up to a whopping 250/180 (he average healthy blood pressure is under 120/80) ,so an unnecessary boost in blood pressure from caffeine. Supplements can certainly use other forms of stimulation to boost the metabolic effect or increase focus and intensity.Yohimine for example has been shown by Pantox Laboratories in California to not raise blood pressure at moderate doses and makes an excellent replacement for caffeine in pre -workout nitric oxide drinks and powders to give the focus boosting effect. It also has a very good thermogenic effect without worsening insulin sensitivity. Also, many stimulant manufactures are using things other than caffeine to provide a boost in energy or even offsetting the dangers of caffeine with natural blood pressure reducing agents like Hawthorn Berry (*Search Hawthorn Berry Stimulants for a list) and natural insulin potentiators like Momordica (*search mormodica stimulants for a list) with their thermogenics.Searching the internet for caffeine free stimulants is a good place to start (*Search “caffeine free stimulants”) looking for such alternatives. These items are useful in eliminating the negative effects of caffeine with all of the positive benefits. They are included in many supplements the do not include caffeine. The problem is that most supplements are either stimulants with caffeine or are simply less affective non -stimulants versions, which do not provide the focus and thermogenic effect of stimulants. Considering the amount of caffeine in dietary sources, the average person consumes enough from their standard diet to add any thermogenic effect to a stimulant based fat burner (caffeine does help increase the effect of other fat burners) without overdoing it on the caffeine. So, if your stimulant and pre-workout Nitric-Oxide supplement contains caffeine, perhaps you should look for alternatives that contain other stimulants like yohimbine.They will give you same boost in the gym without the negatives. If you want a little extra caffeine, have a cup of coffee. Caffeine has also been shown at high doses to increase cholesterol levels (suicide for bodybuilders taking anti-estrogens to boost testosterone or people using anabolic steroids since a reduction in estrogen, even in males can cause altered lipid profiles) without showing much of a weight loss effect. High cholesterol is something that a bodybuilder should take very seriously, since the current class of pro-steroids on the market has a chance to alter lipid profiles greatly.

Caffeine is something that is damaging to the body builder who wants to build the most possible muscle, by reducing the sensitivity of insulin. Insulin is a key hormone in building muscle and recovery and its impairment will certainly hamper growth. Also, caffeine makes bodybuilders more susceptible to the dangers of high blood pressure and altered lipid profiles which can worsen the chances of sudden death when combined with anabolic steroids. Interestingly coffee is somewhat different since it has been discovered that coffee contains chlorogenic acid, which has been shown to increase the effect of insulin and reduce the metabolic syndrome effects of caffeine (studies found that drinking coffee did not have the same negative metabolic insulin reducing effect as standard supplements from Guarana or Caffeine Anhydrous). So, if you must have your “caffeine boost” then take it from coffee!!

Justin can Taylor a workout plan specifically for your fitness level, available time and goals. Contact me today for more detailed information on your body type or tips for building muscle and losing weight.
justin@usnutritionbazaar.com
Or check out my website for fat burning Nutritional supplements and and other fitness products.
http://www.usnutritionbazaar.com

Author: Justin O Mills
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Pressure cooker

People seeking to lose weight are typically anxious to hear about any trick to make weight loss easier. One way to help speed weight loss is to find ways to speed up the metabolism, so that more calories are burned in a day.

Research has shown that caffeine is effective at speeding up the metabolism, so that you burn more calories. According to the Mayo Clinic, caffeine stimulates many body functions, including the heart rate, central nervous system function and metabolism. In addition, caffeine may decrease the appetite short term. So, adding caffeine may be an effective way to jump start weight loss. There are some things to consider, however:

You may see no effect if you’re already a caffeine consumer. If caffeine is already a part of your daily diet, you would likely need very high doses of caffeine to increase your metabolism above the level at which it already functions. However, those who don’t regularly consume caffeine may see some benefit.

You must be careful where the caffeine comes from. If you start getting your caffeine from sugary sodas, you’ll likely gain weight rather than lose it. However, if you get your caffeine from coffee, tea and sodas without sugar, you may see some results.

You must consider your other health issues. If you already suffer from an irregular heart rate or high blood pressure, your doctor may have warned you to stay away from caffeine. If this is the case, caffeine may not be safe for you. Be sure to talk to your doctor before adding caffeine.

What if I’m Caffeine Sensitive?

Many people stay away from caffeine because they find that too much caffeine causes sleeplessness or jitters. For these people, supplementing with caffeine for weight loss might seem unreasonable. However, there’s one form of caffeine that seems to be tolerated well by those who are normally caffeine sensitive.

Green Tea May Be the Answer

Green tea may well be the best way to get your caffeine for weight loss. Though green tea does contain caffeine, it is in smaller amounts than many other beverages. In addition, the caffeine in green tea seems to be better tolerated by the caffeine sensitive than other caffeinated beverages. This is thought to be because of the anti-oxidants in green tea.

These anti-oxidants, in addition to making the caffeine less of a problem, also offer a myriad of health benefits. Green tea’s anti-oxidants have been shown to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease and some forms of cancer. So, even if you don’t lose weight from drinking green tea, it’s a healthy habit to add to your diet.

But, the best news is that in addition to being healthy and well tolerated by the caffeine sensitive, it may just be that green tea is the best way to get your caffeine for weight loss. This is because studies have shown that green tea is more effective in promoting weight loss than other caffeinated beverages. The combination of caffeine and green tea’s anti-oxidants appears to be more effective in promoting weight loss than caffeine alone.

One important study on this subject was reported by the Obesity Research Group. In this study, ninety overweight men and women were studied. First, the group was put on a low calorie diet for four weeks. The subjects were divided between low caffeine consumers and high caffeine consumers. At the end of the four week diet period, the subjects were placed on a weight maintenance program.

During this weight maintenance period, subjects either received a green tea/caffeine supplement or a placebo. Within the groups, both high caffeine consumers and low caffeine consumers were given the green tea/caffeine supplement. The weight maintenance period lasted for 3 months.

At the end of the study, the results were as follows:

o Caffeine consumers overall seemed to have higher satiety levels and lower leptin levels, which helped speed weight loss.

o During the weight loss period, caffeine consumers lost more weight than non-caffeine consumers.

o During the weight maintenance period, the low caffeine consumers who received the green tea/caffeine supplement kept off more weight than the low caffeine consumers who received the placebo. In fact, many of them continued to lose weight.

o During the weight maintenance period, the high caffeine consumers who received the green tea/caffeine supplement did not report a significantly higher success rate in keeping the weight off than those high caffeine consumers receiving the placebo.

While more research is needed to truly determine how green tea and caffeine can help with weight loss and maintenance, it does appear that consuming green tea and other forms of caffeine can help you lose weight. In particular, caffeine and green tea may be especially effective for those who don’t consume a great deal of caffeine on a regular basis. And, since green tea is a form of caffeine that is well tolerated by most caffeine sensitive people, green tea may be the best way to use caffeine as a weight loss aid.

You have nothing to lose by adding green tea to your diet. It’s healthy, refreshing and has no side effects. And even those who are sensitive to other forms of caffeine can usually drink green tea without experiencing unpleasant side effects. So, see if green tea can help you in your efforts to lose weight!

Jon M. Stout is Chairman of the Golden Moon Tea Company. For more information about tea, green tea and black tea go to http://www.goldenmoontea.com

Author: Jon Stout
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Here is another excellent article from a contributing author in regards to caffeine withdrawal anxiety and its side effects. Here at caffeine withdrawal .org we hope to provide our readers with up to date information and article in regards to caffeine and caffeine withdrawal symptoms

Caffeine Blues

By Stephanie Relfe

Okay, I know this article won’t be popular. Most of us are so addicted to Caffeine that we don’t want to know about it. I am writing this because when “Caffeine Blues” by Stephen Cherniske M.S.came out I just knew I had to read it. Several years ago I began to realise that coffee was much worse than we had been told, because I noticed that I got an arthritic pain in my wrist within ten to twenty minutes of a cappucino!

This book didn’t just tell me how bad coffee was – it told me how GOOD I would feel once I was totally caffeine free for two months. Somehow, this book sold me on giving it a try. And it was right! For example, I no longer have the drained feeling that I sometimes used to get in the mornings.

This is one of the best health books I have ever read. It is written by Stephen Cherniske who is a Clinical Nutritionist. “Caffeine Blues” is incredibly easy to read, and convincing. After reading it I realized that caffeine does NOT give us energy. In fact, it is a major CAUSE of LACK of energy. However, he explains that this drug is so powerful that one needs to go for three weeks to two months without any caffeine before one notices the difference. And how many of us have ever done that? Hardly anyone.

As Cherniske waded through the tons of information on caffeine, he began to see that consciously or unconsciously nearly every researcher starts from the assumption that caffeine is okay. Why? Probably because they themselves depended on caffeine.

Caffeine is in coffee, tea, chocolate, colas, chuppa-chups, many sodas, some drugs, most ‘energy’ drinks and guarana.

A 6 oz cup of:

Percolated coffee has about 120 mg of caffeine

Black tea has about 70 mg of caffeine

Green tea about 35 mg of caffeine

Leading colas 45 mg of caffeine

Mountain dew 54 mg of caffeine

Brewed decaf has 5 mg of caffeine

Milk chocolate has 6 mg per ounce

Baking chocolate has 35 mg per ounce.

Caffeine is produced by more than eighty species of plants. The reason may well be survival. As it turns out, caffeine is a biological poison used by plants as a pesticide.

Caffeine is considered harmless simply because it is so widely used.

There is a brochure available in hospitals and other medical related areas: “What you should know about caffeine” published by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) in Washington DC. After many phone calls Cherniske finally got a list of ’supporters’ of the IFIC. The list included Pepsi, Coca-Cola, M&M, Nutrasweet, Nestle and Hershey – all of whom have caffeine in their drinks and foods. ‘Partners’ of the IFIC included groups such as the National Association of Pediatric Nurses and the Children’s Advertising Review Unit of the Council of Better Business Bureau Inc. This brochure says that “Caffeine is normally excreted within several hours after consumption”. In fact, only 1% is excreted. The remaining 99% has to be detoxified by the liver.

It can take up to 12 hours to detoxify a single cup of coffee.

Many studies regarding coffee and hypertension were flawed, because the test studies came off coffee for only one or two weeks. It takes many more weeks than this for stress hormone levels of the body to return to normal.

The ‘half-life’ of a drug is the time it takes the body to remove one half of the dose. Caffeine is a drug. The half-life of a single dose of caffeine ranges from three to TWELVE hours.

Caffeine puts your body into stress. A single 250 milligram dose of caffeine (the equivalent of about 2.5 six ounce cups of coffee) has been shown to increase levels of the stress hormone epinephrine (adrenaline) by over 200%.

Caffeine triggers a classic fight-or-flight reaction. The fight-or-flight response was designed for events that happened only occasionally (such as a lion chasing you). Now, we put our body in fight-or-flight every day with caffeine!!! Since we are in society, we don’t respond in a fight-or-flight way. Instead, other things may happen. For example, sugar and fat get dumped unused in the bloodstream. The sugar creates more stress. The fat clogs the arteries. The digestive system slows or shuts down.

Not only is caffeine addictive, it also encourages other addictions to substances like nicotine.

Caffeine does not give you energy. It stimulates your nervous system and adrenals. That’s not energy, that’s stress. Imagine going to a bank for a loan. The loan officer agrees to your loan. But as you leave the bank you notice the fine print – the loan has to be repaid at 75% interest! The ‘energy’ that you think you get from caffeine is really just a loan from the adrenals and liver, and the interest you have to pay is very high.

Stress is a major factor in disorders such as anxiety, insomnia, depression, ulcers, rheumatoid arthritis, headache, hypoglycemia, asthma, herpes, hypertension and heart disease. And yet hospitals provide coffee and tea, which put your body into stress!!!

DHEA is our vitality hormone. Decreased levels of DHEA is a cause of aging. Caffeine consumption leads to DHEA deficiency.

Caffeine lowers the stress threshold in virtually everyone. That is, if you have had caffeine, it will be easier for you to suffer from emotional stress. (Therefore, when research is done that is designed to show how safe caffeine is, any test subject who is under significant stress is removed from the study).

Caffeine is implicated in ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome: GABA is produced in the intestinal tract, where it calms anxiety and stress. Caffeine disrupts the normal metabolism of GABA.

Caffeine disrupts sleep. Deep sleep is CRITICAL to good health. When there’s caffeine in your bloodstream, you are unlikely to experience deep sleep at all!

Caffeine AT ANY TIME of the day can cause sleep problems, especially if you are under stress.

Malnutrition is one of the most well-defined effects of habitual caffeine intake.

A single cup of coffee can reduce iron absorption from a meal by as much as 75%.

People do not develop a tolerance to the anxiety-producing effects of caffeine. Rather, people simply become accustomed to the feelings of stress, irritability and aggressiveness produced by the drug.

Caffeine contributes to depression in well-defined ways. This is particularly due to the withdrawal effect, which can cause headache, depression and fatigue, even in light users (p. 111). Cherniske reported that 90% of people who came to him who suffered from depression and gave up caffeine completely for 2 months reported that their depression went away!

If you are a coffee (or tea or cola) drinker, you may be thinking, “Well, I drink coffee and I’m not depressed.” It’s necessary to state that everyone is different, and also that depression can be subtle. Throughout the book, Cherniske suggests that you will never know the full effect the drug is having on you until you experience what life is like caffeine free (which takes two months to do). Over the years, Cherniske has heard similar responses from hundreds of clients: “Wow, I never realized that caffeine made me so (select one: anxious, depressed, irritable).”

Students the world over use caffeine not only to stay awake, but also they believe the drug will improve their performance on exams. Solid research, however, illustrates that as little as 100 milligrams of caffeine (one cup of coffee, two cups of cola) can cause a significant DECREASE in recall and reasoning.

When people are relaxed and given caffeine, caffeine does not raise blood pressure significantly. But how many people are relaxed? When people are stressed and given caffeine, blood pressure is raised significantly.

Women who consume more than 24 ounces of coffee (6 moderate cups) per day had almost twice the risk of heart attack compared to non-coffee drinkers. Moderate coffee drinkers with high cholesterol had more than seven times the risk of heart attack, while heavy coffee drinkers had eighteen times the risk of non-coffee drinkers!

Caffeine depletes your supplies of thiamin and other B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and zinc.

Caffeine increases calcium loss and risk of osteoporosis.

In one large study, the risk for hip fracture for those women who consumed the most caffeine was 300% greater than it was for the group that consumed little or no caffeine.

Take the Challenge! Most people have no idea what life would be like without the background of caffeine and stress hormones coursing through their veins. Even if you’re only having a few cups a coffee, chances are your personality is affected in ways that may be too subtle for you to associate with caffeine. I want to encourage you to conduct a trial period without caffeine. You owe it to yourself.

Don’t’ go ‘cold turkey’. To avoid headaches etc. when giving up caffeine, Cherniske recommends taking up to six weeks to come off it. Drink the same NUMBER of cups, but each week reduce the strength or amount in each cup.

There is lots more information in this very easy-to-read and highly interesting book. 440 pages. Read this book and you won’t need to spend so much on supplements!

Copyright ©: Stephanie Relfe – 2001

Permission is granted to use this article in whole or part if you acknowledge the author and quote and link to www.relfe.com.

Stephanie Relfe was born in Sydney, Australia. She now lives in the USA with her husband and son. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Sydney University. She is a professional Kinesiologist.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephanie_Relfe
http://EzineArticles.com/?Caffeine-Blues&id=171779

We hope that you enjoyed this article about caffeine and some of its effects. Caffeine can cause some terrible side-effects, so be careful not to overdo it. Stay well…Team at caffeine withdrawal.

and you drink one or two cups of caffeinated coffee? I have gotten so sick after drinking a cup of regular coffee or diet soda after being without caffeine for a long time. Any help out there?

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