Dangers of Caffeine Addiction

"Everything is poison, there is poison in everything. Only the dose makes a thing not a poison"- Paracelsus 

Ok, so maybe you are reading this blog because you yourself have a Coffee, or caffeine addiction/habit. Maybe there is some part of you that already knows how bad caffeine is for your body, but because you have such an emotional connection with your daily cup of coffee (or 6), you have ignored the deeper messages coming from within. Well if you stick with me for the rest of this blog, I may very well convince you to quit cold turkey tomorrow. If you don't quit cold turkey, maybe this blog will be an inspiration to plan out a "weaning off" plan, in order to regain your own natural energy levels. In any case, if we want health and harmony within our bodies, and minds, we HAVE to get off the caffeine roller-coaster.


The following exerpt is taken from http://www.naturalnews.com/012352_caffeine_coffee.html

"When you consume caffeine, the drug begins its effects by initiating uncontrolled neuron firing in your brain, according to Stephen Cherniske in his book, Caffeine Blues. This excess neuron activity triggers your pituitary gland to secrete a hormone that tells your adrenal glands to produce Adrenalin.

Adrenaline is what gives athletes that winning burst of energy and Good Samaritans the ability to rescue people by lifting cars. Adrenalin is also the source of our "fight-or-flight" response, which enabled our prehistoric ancestors to escape from saber-toothed tigers and other predators. By stimulating your adrenal glands to produce Adrenalin, caffeine puts your body in this "fight-or-flight" state, which is useless while you're just sitting at your desk. When this adrenal high wears off later, you feel the drop in terms of fatigue, irritability, headache or confusion. At this point, you may reach for another "hit" of caffeine, followed by another, and another and maybe even one more. If you constantly keep your body on a caffeine high, you're constantly keeping your body in "flight-or-flight" mode.

Cherniske explains your body's "perspective" of this constant state: "Imagine you lived in a country that was always under threat of attack. No matter where you went, there was a perpetual state of alert. Not only that, but your defenses were constantly being depleted and weakened. Does that sound stressful? Caffeine produces the same effect on your body, like fighting a war on multiple fronts at the same time." Cherniske calls your body's constant state of alert "caffeinism," which is characterized by fatigue, anxiety, mood swings, sleep disturbance, irritability and depression.

After prolonged "caffeinism," your body enters a state of adrenal exhaustion. Your caffeine consumption has simply pushed your adrenal glands so much that they've burned out. Ralph T. Golan, ND, describes this unfortunate state in his book, Herbal Defense: "Caffeine forces your glands to secrete when they don't have much left to give, and they have to keep digging deeper and deeper, making you more and more tired over time. And over the years, it takes more and more coffee to get the same result. Some people reach the point of drinking half a dozen or more cups of coffee to get the same result and it's barely keeping them awake. That's severe adrenal depletion."

In other words, caffeine affects your body just like any drug. You start taking it slowly, but as your body develops a tolerance to it, you need more and more to feel the same effects. Eventually, your body reaches a point where it can't be without it; otherwise, you will start to experience withdrawal symptoms."

There is a book out there in the world called "Caffeine Blues: Wake Up to the Hidden Dangers of America's #1 Drug": by Stephen Cherniske.  If this blog doesn't convince you to quit caffeine, maybe reading through his whole book will.          buy book on amazon

Here are some key points taken from the book Caffeine Blues:

• If you drink in-organic coffee, you are pretty much just drinking a cup full of chemicals, coffee is one of the most heavily sprayed crops on Earth.
• Caffeine causes blood sugar swings
• Caffeine increases blood sugar levels and hormone levels
• Sleep disturbance/fatigue can be caused by caffeine
• Impairs children’s growth
• Tiredness
• Loss of B-Vitamins
• Menopausal Hot Flashes and their intensity can be linked to caffeine consumption
• Raises the risk of osteoporosis because it causes the body to lose calcium
• Causes a marked constriction in veins, limiting oxygen and nutrients to vital organs/tissues
• Methyluric acid is one of the breakdown products of caffeine and this can add to the Uric Acid burden of the body, leading to kidney disease and other issues
• Inflammation
• Exhausts the Adrenal Glands…. Which then causes ALL sorts of problems from chronic fatigue, to autoimmune diseases…
• Impairs immunity and also accelerates aging
• Inhibits DNA repairs
• Coffee contributes to ulcer formation because of it’s harsh acids
• Coffee interferes with the digestion of proteins
• Caffeine along with (fake fats, hydrogenated oils, and refined sugars) is totally foreign to the digestive tract, and thus causes a variety of issues
• Coffee increases risk of heart attack
• Caffeine is linked to depression
• Caffeine lowers the stress threshold of pretty much everyone

AND the list literally goes on and on and on…

“Let's face it, remaining healthy and strong throughout life is a battle. Caffeine is the Trojan Horse. It looks like a gift but instead delivers adrenal stress, low blood sugar, mood and energy swings, fatigue, depression, malnutrition, and disturbed sleep."(p. 94 Caffeine Blues)

Through other sources we see that caffeine also:

* Increases breast tissue cysts likelihood

*could cause incontinence

* can cause insomnia if taken too close to bed

* can cause indigestion

*Caffeine can be linked to miscarriage

* causes more forceful heart contractions

* can lead to increased anxiety and depression

* increases the amount of sugary beverages consumed

Taken from: http://www.caffeineinformer.com/harmful-effects-of-caffeine

Like I quoted earlier in this blog, "only the dose makes a thing not a poison". If we were to enjoy Coffee or any heavily caffeinated drink in moderation or on the rare occasion, it won't wreck the body nearly as hard as if we were to consume it every day. In fact there are definitely POSITIVES in drinking caffeine. One of my personal favorite uses of Coffee is as an enema. Some of the benefits of allowing warm organic coffee to flow up your ass are: flushing yeasts, parasites, heavy metals and bacteria from the gut, removing toxins from the liver by stimulating flow of bile, and removing free-radicals from the blood stream, among other health inducing benefits. So like anything, too much of anything is not a good thing.

I recommend just taking a moment to revisit your addiction to caffeine. Check in with your body. Can you feel all of the slight or not so slight messages from your body letting you know you have crossed the line with your intake of caffeine? Beware of the mental justifications that will want to come up to assure you that "everything is fine". The emotional/psychological dependency on coffee may almost be stronger than our physical dependencies.... Coffee and caffeine are such a normal and accepted part of our culture, we hardly think twice about it. If you find yourself on this crazy roller-coaster of caffeine dependency and you wish to get off, here are a few links I suggest researching to help your transition to be as smooth as possible.

http://www.caffeineinformer.com/my-caffeine-detox

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-9165/how-to-quit-caffeine-in-one-week-painlessly.html

https://healthyeater.com/quit-caffeine-coffee

http://www.prevention.com/health/quit-caffeine


Happy journey!! Let me know what you decide to do, or where you are at with your caffeine relationship!