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Caffeine Free For Optimum Health

Inflammatory Disorders & Coffee

Six Steps To Reduce Cortisol

How To Beat Adrenal Fatigue

Stress, Aging & Caffeine

Coffee, America’s Favorite Drug

Click below to download an audio interview with Stephen Cherniske.

Stephen is a master biochemist, best selling health author, and President of Univera Inc. a nutritional supplement manufacturer, who specializes in helping people build an abundant natural energy supply. In his groundbreaking book, Caffeine Blues, Stephen recommends a number of ways to quit coffee including drinking Teeccino. Get inspired by listening to Stephen and Caroline, founder of Teeccino, as they discuss the health benefits of being caffeine free.

Caffeine Free For Optimum Health

Author: Jeffrey Rose, Clinical Hypnotist and Nutritionist

Anyone in recovery desires several things. You want to remain free of the drug you had been using and you want to alleviate the negative physical and emotional conditions that were created by that addiction. Hopefully, you also want to lead a healthier life in general. In order to move along a new path in life in which you are becoming and staying healthier, you must not only stay free of your previous substance abuse, but you should live in a more wholesome manner, one that is not just, not unhealthy, but one that actively promotes good health. One important way to do this is to detoxify your body and keep it free of all harmful, toxic substances. To do this, you ought to eliminate certain habits to avoid these other substances, in addition to remaining free of the drug you were abusing. For this reason, knowledge of the effects of various foods and chemicals is essential to being able to find and stay on the path that leads you to better and better health.

Sometimes sociological conditions and peer influences can distort ones view of the real situation-health. A good example of this was cigarette smoking. Older movies are a good indication of the social norms at the time. Not only did most people start smoking in social situations, but the person who did not smoke was considered not really as much a part of the social group. Of course, now most people are fully aware that not only is nicotine very addicting, but the intake of the toxic smoke is extremely harmful and unwise, and it is morally wrong to make those around you inhale toxic second hand smoke. Today, things are different and it is the person who wants to smoke, who is a bit of an outsider, and who often finds themselves literally outside, when they have to smoke in another location, like outside a restaurant or even outside an apartment where they are a visitor.

Today, caffeine is an accepted drug, just like nicotine was many years ago. In fact, caffeine is the most widely used drug in the world. Some may feel that it is probably not as harmful as the toxic smoke that goes along with nicotine addiction and cigarette smoking. Nevertheless, there is no doubt, that caffeine is very harmful to the health of a person.

In the Western world, 8 out of 10 adults consume caffeine in some form. Presently many Americans are hooked on caffeine. Ninety percent consume it in one form or another every single day. Over half of them consume more than 300 milligrams of caffeine every day. It is in coffee, tea, soda, chocolate, and a variety of other things, and is our nation’s most popular drug.

Caffeine occurs naturally in some plants, including coffee beans, tea leaves, yerba mate, guarana and cocoa beans. Caffeine is really a biological poison used by plants as a defense against being harmed and injured by the other forms of life in their environment. The caffeine gives seeds and leaves a bitter taste, which discourages their consumption by insects and animals. If predators continue to eat a caffeine-containing plant, the caffeine can cause central nervous system disruptions and even lethal side effects. Most of them learn to leave the plant alone.

Though it is widely known that caffeine is an addictive and unhealthy drug, it is widely consumed and as much a part of American contemporary life as smoking was years ago. With the spread of and popularity of coffee bars, coffee, one of the main sources of caffeine in people’s diet, is more popular than ever. (Tea and hot chocolate, also consumed at these coffee bars contain significant caffeine, but not as much.)

Around one third of all coffee drinkers say they can’t do without it and are clearly addicted. Tolerance for caffeine for anyone drinking coffee can develop rapidly and lead to the desire to increase one’s consumption. Someone used to drinking six or seven cups of strong coffee a day will begin to experience withdrawal symptoms on waking and then every two to three hours after the last coffee drink.

If you are seeking optimum health, however, you should stop or at least severely curtail your coffee consumption. It is a drug and the last thing any of us needs is another addiction.

When most people think of caffeine they immediately think of coffee, and yet much of the caffeine that is ingested does not come from coffee at all. In fact, people who do not drink coffee may be ingesting quite a great deal of caffeine regularly. The fact is caffeine is an addictive additive in most commercial sodas and many over-the-counter drugs.

How Caffeine Hurts Your Health

Caffeine has many effects on the body and brain. For example, as your body becomes fatigued, adenosine is made in the brain, and binds to adenosine receptors. This causes drowsiness by slowing nerve cell activity. The result is that you will want to stop and rest. You will want to go to sleep. This is healthy for you need the rest. The adenosine also causes blood vessels to dilate in the brain, so more oxygen can reach the brain during sleep.

When caffeine is ingested and goes into the stomach, it quickly travels to the brain. Once there it binds to the adenosine nerve receptors. But instead of cellular activity slowing, this results in it speeding up. The cell can no longer bind with adenosine, because the caffeine is linked up with all of its available receptors. The usual effect of adenosine is blocked in this way and the cell begins accelerating its activity. In addition to this, because adenosine is shut out, the brain’s blood vessels begin to constrict. The increased neuron firing in the brain stimulates the pituitary gland. The pituitary signals the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline (epinephrine), the “fight or flight” hormone.

The longer-term effects of using caffeine tend to spiral down. Once the adrenaline wears off, you face even greater fatigue and possible feelings of depression. More caffeine is regularly consumed, and soon the body is jumping into elevated adrenaline levels all day long. You literally become jumpy and irritable too. Caffeine raises the blood pressure and increases the levels of various stress hormones, and for those very sensitive to it or consuming large quantities, it can cause heart palpitations and nervousness.

If sustained by regular coffee-drinking over a lifetime, these increases in blood pressure and heart rate will elevate the risk of stroke and heart disease. Heavy coffee drinkers, those having five or more cups per day, were two to three times more likely to have coronary heart disease than were nondrinkers.

Caffeine at a high level can eventually lead to exhaustion of the adrenal glands. Caffeine is a chemical stimulant that increases blood levels of the hormones produced by the adrenal glands. The adrenal hormones regulate stress response, blood pressure, blood sugar, mineral levels, immune activity, inflammation, and cell growth and repair. Long term caffeine consumption contributes to adrenal insufficiency, in which over 150 hormones produced by the adrenals or metabolized from adrenal hormones no longer function adequately.

One of the worst effects of caffeine is its stimulation of the adrenal glands to produce a larger amount of cortisol, the body’s foremost stress hormone. 200 mg of caffeine, the amount usually found in just 12 ounces of coffee, increases blood cortisol levels by 30% in one hour. And the cortisol in your blood can remain elevated for up to as long as 18 hours.

Moodiness, anxiety, and depression are all consequences of elevated cortisol’s long-term effects on serotonin and dopamine production. Although stress hormones cause a temporary increase in short term memory for up to 30 minutes, elevated cortisol reduces blood flow and glucose delivery to the brain and interferes with the brain cell’s ability to uptake glucose, thus eventually leading to poorer mental performance.

People who chronically stimulate their adrenal glands to overproduce cortisol alter their daily pattern of cortisol concentrations so that cortisol is low in the morning when they wake up instead of high. So they reach for a cup of coffee to artificially spike their cortisol levels up again. These same people experience huge cortisol surges at meals causing them to overeat. They have higher body fat, lower muscle mass, and reduced metabolism, so they burn fewer calories. They don’t sleep well at night because elevated cortisol levels keep them from entering the deep, rebuild and repair stage of sleep the body needs for recuperation.

High levels of cortisol will also compromise your immune system and interfere with your body’s ability to fight off pathogens.

Be aware that if you frequently drink coffee or have other sources of caffeine, and find that at end of the day you are regularly stressed out and exhausted, even depressed and worried, it could very well be the result of the caffeine generating large amounts of cortisol in your body.

The Under Appreciated Relationship Between Sodas and Caffeine Intake

Caffeine is much more addictive and much more of an actual drug than the general public is willing to fully admit to themselves. Yet, anyone who misses their regular coffee or sodas will tell you that they experience typical signs of substance withdrawal. These may include headaches and irritability, and the inability to function in their usual manner.

You may not know this, but every can of soda, except for specific non-caffeinated ones, contains about one quarter to one half of the caffeine in a cup of coffee. Diet sodas, you may be surprised to learn, contain even more added caffeine than the regular ones. This could be compensation by the soda companies, who are well aware of the psychological effects of their products on people, for the fact that diet sodas do not provide the stimulus of the high sugar content of the regular sodas. This extra caffeine is added specifically to create a drug effect, making the soda even more of a stimulant that keeps people coming back for more. This sells more soda but undermines the health of the consumer by using a harmful drug that is known to cause a physical and psychological dependence. Even though soda companies say that caffeine is put into their products for its taste, most people when tested cannot taste the difference between the same soda with or without caffeine.

The great popularity of caffeinated soft drinks is driven not so much by subtle taste effects as by the mood-altering and physical dependence of caffeine that drives their daily self-administration. Subjectively, people report that the caffeine in sodas gives them a “lift.” Temporally they feel less drowsy, less fatigued, and more capable of rapid and sustained intellectual effort.

A common example of trying to utilize this effect is when students who are trying to get by on an inadequate amount of sleep, eagerly purchase energy soft drinks containing a great deal of caffeine. These are drinks that contain, on average, 75 mg of caffeine, approximately double that of a regular size coffee. Ultimately, the caffeine masks their deep need for proper sleep. Unfortunately for them, studies show that students who use caffeine to study late into the night find their short-term memory is poorer on the next day’s exam.

If you are not intending to stay up late, the caffeine is very bad for your sleep. A few caffeinated sodas, or one strong cup of coffee, drunk 30-60 minutes before going to sleep can cause restlessness and difficulty falling asleep, increased body movements during sleep, a tendency to be more easily awakened by sudden noises, and an overall decreased quality of sleep.

Getting Caffeine Out of Your Life for Good

It is best if those in recovery lead the healthiest life possible and avoid all addictive drugs. To do this you should live a life free of all addictions, no matter how socially acceptable they presently are in society. Caffeine in all its forms in coffee and sodas, and many teas too, is one of the primary socially accepted addictive drugs that a person might incorrectly feel is not a serious problem. Yet it is now obvious from what you have been reading in this article that caffeine is a very unhealthy, addictive drug that creates a strong dependence, not just chemically, but psychologically and behaviorally too, and one which can lead to strong withdrawal symptoms.

Many unhealthy and sleep deprived people feel they cannot function without their regular morning coffee, and without an ongoing ingestion of caffeine during the day by either having more coffee, or by having caffeinated sodas, as they go through their workday. The truth is that a moderate caffeine user, whether it is in coffee, or another type of food, is a rare individual.

Caffeine is so addictive that most consumers of it end up consuming a lot of it. 90% of Americans consume caffeine every day. If they try to suddenly stop, they get terrible, splitting headaches as blood vessels in the brain dilate. So people are quickly driven back to taking more caffeine.

The best way to deal with substances of this nature is complete abstinence. People who use it generally are dependent on it to function in their day-to-day life because they have not been taking proper care of themselves. It is often a compensation for run down overall health because of poor nutrition, failure to stay fit, and most of all, inadequate sleeping regimes. Its use leads to more deterioration of a person’s health, and with its continued use, their health is liable to continue to deteriorate further and further.

Anyone who is seeking optimum health should stop drinking coffee and other forms of caffeine, such as caffeinated sodas and caffeine containing teas. Caffeine is a drug and the last thing any of us needs is the regular use of an addictive, physiologically deleterious, mind altering substance in our lives. If you are physically addicted, you’ll need to endure the withdrawal symptoms for several days while consuming caffeine-free alternatives.

It may be of interest to you to know more about why you get a headache when you skip your morning cup of caffeine. Caffeine acts as a powerful vasoconstrictor in the brain. That is, it constricts blood vessels, lowering oxygen flow to the brain because of the deceased circulation. When caffeine is no longer present the vessels dilate resulting in a sudden increase in circulation and oxygenation that results in headaches.

If you are physically addicted to caffeine, you’ll need to endure the withdrawal symptoms for several days. The most common caffeine withdrawal symptom is a throbbing headache, usually occurring within 18-24 hours after the last dose of caffeine. Other symptoms may include drowsiness, lethargy, irritability, nervousness, depression, and nausea. Sometimes people who are just reducing caffeine intake, report being irritable, unable to concentrate, nervous, restless, and feeling sleepy, as well as having a headache.

If you’re chronically tired as you gradually switch to caffeine free sodas and teas, herbal coffee, and other alternative beverages, try to sleep more each night, eat healthier foods, and exercise regularly. While withdrawal symptoms force millions of addicted people back to the caffeine habit and make them reluctant to give it up, the good news is that people can often avoid this pitfall by very slowly weaning themselves off caffeine over a two to three week period. There is a good chance you will be able to avoid the headaches and at the same time gradually adjust your body and mind to being less reliant on this stimulant. Cutting back by a half cup per day or having one or more less caffeinated sodas each day is a recommended pace.

Fortunately, for those in successful recovery from alcohol, which had caused hangovers and interfered with the important REM sleep, the powerful need for caffeine in the form of coffee in the morning no longer exists. If you find yourself needing a cup of something try to experiment with caffeine-free herbal teas and herbal coffee.

Some people might think of trying decaf during the weaning period. But it is important to keep in mind that most decaf, even some that say “naturally decaffeinated” on the container, has been made with solvents such as methylene chloride, and a significant amount of these toxic chemicals are left as a residue on the newly decaffeinated coffee making it unhealthy. Decaf coffee is also highly acidic and many feel that because of this, it is not health promoting. The best choice is a Swiss water processed decaf. Unfortunately, drinking only decaf coffee will not free you from caffeine addiction, and may end with your eventually desiring your regular coffee, or other sources of caffeine, like commercial sodas. The reason is that, contrary to what most people think, decaf still contains a small, but significant amount of caffeine.

One product I regularly recommend to my clients who love the taste of coffee, but who wish to improve their health by eliminating caffeine entirely from their life, is an herbal coffee called Teeccino. It comes in a variety of flavors, and most of my clients who try it find the taste of it quite satisfying and don’t miss their past caffeine-laden morning cup of coffee at all. It can be brewed in the same way as regular coffee is brewed, so that you don’t even have to change your morning routine.

For those freeing themselves from caffeine this way, it is recommended that you gradually reduce the percentage of your caffeine containing coffee over a two-three week period until you are drinking 100% caffeine-free herbal coffee. You should be able to avoid headaches and also gradually adjust your body to less reliance on stimulants.

The body’s reaction to the toxicity of caffeine can vary so greatly for different individuals that you have to discover how it was uniquely affecting you. Some pains and discomforts you would never have thought were caused by caffeine will disappear after you quit having coffee, caffeinated sodas and other forms of caffeine. You may experience improvements in your skin, digestion, sleep, mood, and energy among others. You might very well find that three months after getting caffeine completely out of your life, your energy stays steady all day long and you feel better than you’ve felt in years.

Jeffrey Rose, the founder and director of the Advanced Hypnosis Center is a Certified Master Hypnotist and a nutritionist. Mr. Rose has a degree in Psychology from New York University and is certified by both the National Guild of Hypnotists and the International Association of Counselors and Therapists. He has over 15 years of experience in conducting individual hypnosis sessions, delivering group sessions, and teaching workshops as well as corporate wellness programs in the New York area and throughout the country.

Inflammatory Disorders and Coffee

Author: Dr. Gloria Gilbère, N.D., D.A.Hom., Ph.D.

As a doctor, medical journalist and researcher I’m always looking for new nutritional products that will enhance the lives of my clients and readers.

It’s not often an avid coffee-connoisseur like myself will try a drink that is “supposed to taste and satisfy like coffee” – we want the “real deal” with all its taste and aroma.

Since recovering from my much publicized, life-threatening digestive disorder and the resulting fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and multiple allergic responses, I switched to what my research showed as a “healthy alternative” – water-processed, organically-grown decaffeinated coffee.

I was pretty proud of myself for making a healthy choice, until a colleague of mine suggested I read the health risks of decaffeinated coffee. After reading the extensive educational materials on the Teeccino website, being the detective that I am, I proceeded to further research the effects of consuming decaffeinated coffee. To my amazement, the founder of Teeccino was entirely correct about the health-depleting properties.

I then received samples of Teeccino and you can imagine my delight when not only was this health-enhancing herbal coffee delicious, but I started feeling more energized, not hyped.

The detective in me at work again, I sent Teeccino to several clients who are immuno-compromised and could use some energy (fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue clients). The first thing they all started reporting is that their inflammation and energy had improved. As the reports continued, I started researching the negative effects of coffee and caffeine on inflammatory disorders.

There it was… studies confirm that coffee (both regular and decaf ) consumption on inflammation marker concentrations were investigated in 3,042 randomly selected men and women. In all inflammatory markers, the consumption of coffee, as little as one cup a day, was associated with an increase in inflammatory markers. It was also observed that in the women who participated in the study, there was an increase in obesity in those who consumed more caffeine daily. I now had my answer as to why clients with inflammatory conditions felt some improvement when they stopped drinking decaf coffee!

Health sleuth at work again, I tested the results of Teeccino on a recent trip to Italy. Normally, I would experience some inflammation as a result of above average walking on uneven cobblestone streets and the stress of flying in a pressurized cabin for more than 15 hours. I took my Teeccino with me on the trip, had three cups on the flight over and back as well as three cups daily because the temperatures were extremely cold and it not only filled my taste buds but my soul. This was the first trip of over 50 that I have flown where I did not experience inflammation in my extremities and had the energy to keep up with a rigorous walking routine of over 14 miles of uneven pavement a day for 9 days. In addition, my daily elimination was not altered in the least during the entire trip, which can easily happen when traveling and out of a normal routine.

Take it from a health detective who leaves no nut, seed, stone or grain unturned to report health-enhancing nutritional and life-style aids to my clients and readers…….if you experience any condition associated with inflammation and or reduced stamina (heart disease, fibromyalgia, arthritis, chronic fatigue, digestive disorders, gout), consider making your favorite blend of Teeccino a part of your resolution to live a healthier life-style while enjoying a delicious cup of this unique herbal coffee, naturally.

Authors Note: My favorite blends are Java and Mocha……finally a habit worth craving because it also provides my body with health-enhancing benefits.

Dr. Gilbère is a traditional naturopath, homeopath and doctor of natural health. She is respected as an authoritative influence in the causes, effects and drug-free solutions for Leaky Gut Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue and Chemically Induced Immune System Disorders. She is author of “I was Poisoned by my body”, “Invisible Illnesses”, Nature’s Prescription Milk” and her latest release “Pain / Inflammation MATTERS”. She consults via telephone worldwide, and at her facility in northern Idaho. For details regarding consulting or health education vacations with Dr. Gilbère, and an archive of her articles, visit her website at www.drgloriagilbere.com

Reference:

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 80, No. 4, 862-867, Oct. 2004

Six Tips To Reduce The Stress Hormone, Cortisol

Author: Caroline MacDougall

Hearing all the reactions people have to coffee makes you wonder how can coffee have such a wide variety of effects on the body? After I began marketing Teeccino herbal coffee, our customers began telling me about their symptoms that were aggravated by coffee drinking. I began compiling a list that was astonishing in its range and diversity. I thought the reason coffee hadn’t been targeted for its health consequences, unlike tobacco, was that its effects couldn’t be specifically pinpointed like cancer of the lungs caused by smoking.

I was wrong. Stephen Cherniske in 1998 published his landmark book, Caffeine Blues, that attributed the effects of caffeine to its stimulation of the adrenal glands to produce cortisol, the body’s foremost stress hormone. After the publication of Caffeine Blues, studies about cortisol, its relationship to caffeine, and the long term consequences of elevated cortisol to one’s health proved Cherniske’s theories to be absolutely correct.

The subsequent publication of The Cortisol Connection by Shawn Talbott, Ph.D. provides an even stronger picture of what happens in the body when you live awash in cortisol.

“Fight or Flight”: The Body’s Stress Response

Both Cherniske and Talbott explain that cortisol is a necessary stress hormone designed to help you wake up in the morning and in emergencies, to cope with danger. A spike in cortisol triggers the release of amino acids from the muscles, glucose from the liver, and fatty acids into the blood stream so the body can access a tremendous amount of energy.

Sadly, since we lack the inclination in modern life to react to this surge by physically burning it up in intense physical activity, the elevated hormones continue to stimulate the release of even more stress hormones. Due to our sedentary lifestyle, we are usually drinking that cup of coffee while sitting at a desk, a meal, or in our car. When caffeine triggers a cortisol jolt, our state of stress surges in a day already filled with stressful events.

Aging and Catabolic Metabolism

Elevated stress hormones puts the body in what both Cherniske and Talbott call a “catabolic” state. This is the destructive phase of cell life that includes widespread tissue destruction, muscle loss, bone loss, immune system depression and even brain shrinkage! As the body ages, cortisol production increases and coupled with low levels of DHEA, testosterone and estrogen, the loss of cartilage, bone and muscle tissue is accelerated.

Many people find they can’t tolerate caffeine after they turn 40 like they used to when they were 20. At midlife, we first feel our aging bodies start to complain as DHEA production falls, cortisol rises, and suddenly, we no longer have the same energy or endurance we once took for granted.

Weight Gain, Heart Disease, and Diabetes

Chronic long-term exposure to stress hormones disrupts the body’s metabolism causing elevated blood sugar, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and increased body fat levels due to increased appetite. Stress stimulates cravings for sweet, calorie dense foods and salty, high carbohydrate snacks. The combination of high cortisol, low DHEA and low growth hormone production causes the body to store fat, lose muscle and slow the metabolic rate. No wonder diets like The Fat Flush Plan and The Rosedale Diet tell you to get off of caffeine in order to lose weight!

Stress makes you burn fewer calories and cortisol can actually reduce the body’s ability to release fat from its fat stores to use for energy. Instead, we become sugar burners and fat storers. Stress hormones cause increased body fat in the abdominal region, exactly where we don’t need or want it.

Chronic stress can lead the body to ignore the function of insulin. Insulin resistance develops when the cells fail to respond to insulin’s message to take in glucose from the blood stream. It is thought that elevated blood sugar due to stress and diet contributes to the development of insulin resistance.

When insulin fails to unlock our cells, the appetite is increased while the body’s ability to burn fat is decreased. This syndrome is part of the modern problem of rising rates of obesity and diabetes.

Impaired immune system

Cortisol shrinks the thymus gland – one of the key immune regulators in the body – and inhibits white blood cell activity and production. It can actually signal immune-system cells to shut down and die. Prolonged exposure can cause the same immune system cells to attack the body’s own tissue leading to autoimmune system diseases.

Initially the immune system may overreact causing allergies, asthma and various immune system disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease and fibromyalgia. Eventually, long-term exposure may lead to immune system suppression and far more serious diseases caused by the inactivation of our immune system protection.

Stress inhibits the production and activity of natural killer cells, known as NK cells, as much as 50%. NK cells are responsible for identifying and destroying cancer and virus cells. Even more scary, chronic stress can accelerate the growth of cancer cells in the body as well as block the body’s ability to fight cancer. It promotes the synthesis of new blood cells in tumors and accelerates the growth of some tumors.

Gastrointestinal Problems
We are all familiar with the heartburn caused by the high acidity of coffee. Moreover, caffeine, by elevating cortisol, causes energy to be taken away from the gastrointestinal tract, lowers the production of enzymes needed to digest food, and reduces the absorption of minerals and nutrients. High acidity coupled with low mineral levels can lead to the development of osteoporosis.

Additionally, cortisol inhibits the growth of beneficial microflora in the intestines. These essential bacteria support the immune system, create B vitamins, and increase the absorption of minerals like calcium, iron, and magnesium. A decrease in their population results in more colds, sore throats, headaches, diarrhea, upset stomachs and the overgrowth of harmful bacteria and fungus like candida.

Mood Swings and Depression
Moodiness, anxiety, and depression are all consequences of elevated cortisol’s long-term effects on seratonin and dopamine production. Although stress hormones cause a temporary increase in short term memory for up to 30 minutes, elevated cortisol reduces blood flow and glucose delivery to the brain and interferes with the brain cell’s ability to uptake glucose. It can even cause brain cells to actually shrink!

Studies show that students who study late on caffeine, thus elevating cortisol levels, find their short-term memory fails them on the next day’s exam.

Fatigue and Insomnia
Cortisol production is naturally high in the early morning around 8 AM because one of its beneficial functions is to help you rise and shine for the day. People who chronically stress their adrenal glands to overproduce cortisol alter their cortisol concentrations so that cortisol is low in the morning when they wake up instead of high.

Of course if you wake up feeling sluggish, most people will reach for a cup of coffee to artificially spike their cortisol levels up again. If you drink coffee later in the day, elevated cortisol can interfere with the body’s natural circadian rhythms. Coffee with meals can trigger cortisol surges that can cause overeating when blood sugar subsequently drops. High levels of cortisol can interfere with a good night’s sleep because it can keep you from entering Stage 3 and 4 sleep; the deep, rebuild and repair sleep your body needs for recovery.

Skin Aging and Wrinkling

Last but hardly least, is our appearance. Caffeine dehydrates the body. So do elevated cortisol levels. This leads to dehydrated skin and premature wrinkling. Dr. Nicholas Perricone in his best selling books, The Perricone Prescription and The Wrinkle Cure, is emphatic about quitting coffee to prevent skin aging. His patients revealed to him the consequences of elevated cortisol levels on skin aging and wrinkling through both dehydration and the decrease of collagen and elastin production.

Six Tips To Lowering Your Cortisol Production:

Cherniske and Talbott both emphasize the importance of increasing our “anabolic” metabolism, the rebuild, repair and rejuvenate cycle of cell life, to reverse the consequences of elevated stress hormones and aging. Cherniske likens the anabolic/catabolic metabolic model to a seesaw. You want to have the anabolic side of the seesaw up in the air and the catabolic, or breakdown and degeneration, side down as low as it can go.

Here are 6 tips that give you their top recommendations to decrease cortisol levels and thus catabolic metabolism while you increase anabolic metabolism and experience optimal health.

1. Eliminate caffeine from your diet. It’s the quickest way to reduce cortisol production and elevate the production of DHEA, the leading anabolic youth hormone. 200 mg of caffeine (one 12 oz mug of coffee) increases blood cortisol levels by 30% in one hour! Cortisol can remain elevated for up to 18 hours in the blood. This is the easiest step to decrease your catabolic metabolism and increase your anabolic metabolism.

2. Sleep deeper and longer. The average 50 year old has nighttime cortisol levels more than 30 times higher than the average 30 year old. Try taking melatonin, a natural hormone produced at night that helps regulate sleep/wake cycles, before going to sleep to boost your own melatonin production that also decreases with age. You may not need it every night, but if you are waking up in the middle of the night or too early in the morning, melatonin can help you sleep deeper and lengthen your sleep cycle. If you get sleepy during the day even though you had plenty of rest, back off the melatonin for a while. It’s a sign you are getting too much.

3. Exercise regularly to build muscle mass and increase brain output of serotonin and dopamine, brain chemicals that reduce anxiety and depression. Cherniske recommends taking DHEA supplements to shorten the adaptation period when out-of-shape muscles and cardiovascular system discourage people from continuing to exercise before they get in shape. DHEA also accelerates the building of muscle mass and increases the feeling of being strong and energetic.

4. Keep your blood sugar stable. Avoid sugar in the diet and refined carbohydrates to keep from spiking your insulin production. Eat frequent small meals balanced in protein, complex carbohydrates and good fats like olive oil and flax seed oil. Diets rich in complex carbohydrates keep cortisol levels lower than low carbohydrate diets. Keep well hydrated – dehydration puts the body in stress and raises cortisol levels. Keep pure water by your bed and drink it when you first wake up and before you go to sleep.

5. Take anti-stress supplements like B vitamins, minerals like calcium, magnesium, chromium and zinc, and antioxidants like vitamin C, alpha lipoic acid, grapeseed extract, and Co Q 10. Adaptogen herbs like ginseng, astragalus, eleuthero, schizandra, Tulsi (holy basil) rhodiola and ashwagandha help the body cope with the side effects of stress and rebalance the metabolism. These supplement and herbs will not only lower cortisol levels but they will also help you decrease the effects of stress on the body by boosting the immune system.

6. Meditate or listen to relaxation tapes that promote the production of alpha (focused alertness) and theta (relaxed) brain waves. Avoid jolting alarm clocks that take you from delta waves (deep sleep) to beta waves (agitated and anxious) and stimulants like caffeine that promote beta waves while suppressing alpha and theta waves.

For a deeper exploration of the role of cortisol and the consequences of long-term elevation of stress hormones in the body, read The Cortisol Connection by Shawn Talbott, Ph.D. and The Metabolic Plan by Stephen Cherniske, M.S.

8 Tips for Overcoming Adrenal Exhaustion

Author: Caroline MacDougall

Everything in life needs to be in balance, doesn’t it? Too much or too little of anything can create problems. The same is true of cortisol, the stress hormone our adrenal glands produce. If you read my article Six Tips to Reduce the Stress Hormone, Cortisol, you know the health problems that result from keeping your body in a state of elevated cortisol.

On the other end of the scale, many people suffer from debilitating fatigue that comes from low cortisol levels; the ultimate result of chronic stress on the adrenal glands. If you or a loved one is on a downward spiral of decreasing energy, if you’re using caffeine and carbohydrates to keep going, if you’re gaining weight around the abdomen or feeling depressed and overwhelmed, you need to beat fatigue by rebuilding your adrenal glands.

Got a perfectly good night’s sleep, yet you still don’t feel refreshed? Hit a slump in the afternoon when everything feels like it’s all too much? Thoughts seem fuzzy; suffering from memory lapses? Libido low; little annoyances push you over the edge? All are symptoms of too little cortisol that point to exhausted adrenal glands.

Once again stress is the culprit. Just as stress creates elevated cortisol levels, low cortisol levels are the result of prolonged stress that finally exhausts the adrenals so they can no longer produce healthy levels of the hormones we need to feel good.

Your stress may be physical, emotional, environmental, infectious, or some combination of these, but from wherever it originates, your adrenal glands respond the same way. All day long, the adrenals adjust your body’s hormone levels to cope with the stress load. It is when the adrenals become unable to adjust the stress load, and when the overload goes on for too long, that adrenal fatigue sets in.

These small glands that sit on top of our kidneys produce an army of hormones that control our energy levels even when we’re asleep! Adrenal glands produce a healthy supply of cortisol, DHEA, estrogen, testosterone, and a host of other beneficial hormones that you need daily to feel your best.

Cortisol levels should fluctuate according to nature’s daily rhythms. When it’s time for sleep, cortisol levels are at their lowest. Between 6AM- 8AM, cortisol levels rapidly rise in preparation for waking up and feeling alert.

When stress drives up cortisol production throughout the day, our natural rhythm gets thwarted. Instead we have elevated cortisol at night keeping us from sleeping deeply and low cortisol in the morning making us groggy when we awake. Eventually, our adrenal glands just can’t keep up and fatigue sets in.

Adrenal exhaustion is not typically recognized and understood by the medical profession. Currently, there are no tests that can easily identify under-producing adrenals. Although fatigue is the number one complaint doctors hear daily, restoring adrenal health is not advice you’ll get from most standard physicians. Instead the focus is often on your symptoms without addressing the underlying cause. Or your complaints might be ignored altogether until your symptoms become a full-blown syndrome that they can finally identify as a disease.

Obviously, it would be wise to restore full adrenal functioning before the breakdown of your health occurs!

A number of factors can lead to adrenal exhaustion:

Cumulative Stress: Unrelieved stressful situations or a series of stressful events that may be unrelated but collectively accumulate can trigger adrenal exhaustion. Emotional distress combined with physical trauma can deplete the adrenal reserves.

Overwork: Long hours of “running on adrenal energy” without adequate sleep, nourishment, and relaxation ultimately fatigue the adrenals.

Infections: If you have suffered from an acute infection and can’t seem to recover your energy afterwards, adrenal exhaustion could be the culprit. Respiratory infections often precede the sudden onset of adrenal exhaustion.

Poor Diet: Inadequate amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables deprive the adrenals of the essential nutrients needed to function properly. Hydrogenated fats, rancid oils, and a lack of essential fatty acids weaken the adrenals. Blood sugar spikes from a diet too high in refined carbohydrates drain the adrenals.

Lack of adequate sleep: Reliance on caffeinated beverages to cheat the body of the sleep it requires eventually exhausts your adrenal reserves.

Allergies: People with food and environmental allergies usually suffer from weak adrenals due to the constant demand for cortisol that is required to balance the production of histamine and other inflammatory substances.

These health disorders are often associated with underlying adrenal exhaustion:

• Hypoglycemia

• Adult-onset diabetes

• PMS and difficulty during menopause

• Frequent colds and bronchitis, pneumonia and chronic respiratory infections

• Asthma

• Ischemic heart disease

• Rheumatoid arthritis and arthritic pain

• Allergies

• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, fibromyalgia, and other auto-immune disorders

• Alcoholism

• Depression and anxiety

How to Rebuild Your Adrenal health:

Think of your adrenal glands as your bank account. Energy is the currency. You need to store energy in order to rebuild your adrenals. If you are constantly drawing down your reserves and going into your energy overdraft, the adrenals will continue to be exhausted. Your goal is to have a wealth of energy that you continually replenish!

Follow these 8 tips to rebuild healthy adrenal glands:

Maintain Steady Blood Sugar: Eat only complex carbohydrates with balanced fat and protein in frequent small meals throughout the day. For breakfast, increase your protein intake and decrease starchy grains and sweet carbohydrates including fruits and juice. Try soy sausages, scrambled tofu, and whey protein shakes to give you some protein alternatives to eggs and meat.

Avoid All Stimulants Including Caffeine & Theobromine: Eliminate coffee including decaf, tea, colas, and chocolate. Don’t use stimulants as a crutch. Instead you need to let your body rest when you feel fatigued.

Take Nutritional Supplements: B vitamins including pantothenic acid, essential fatty acids like borage oil, flax seed oil or evening primrose oil, minerals including magnesium, zinc and chromium, anti-oxidants including Vitamin C, E, alpha lipoic acid, and grape seed extract, and natural adrenal hormones like DHEA and pregnenalone are all supplements that support your adrenals.

Reduce Alcohol Consumption: Drink alcoholic beverages only with meals high in protein and fat to help avoid blood sugar swings.

Identify Food Allergies: Adrenal exhaustion can be caused by hidden food allergies that chronically wear down the adrenals and may ultimately cause auto-immune disorders. Try a diet that eliminates common allergens such as milk, wheat, and corn to see if you feel better when you are not eating them. Your doctor can order allergy tests such as the Elisa/ACT test, two blood tests that covers a panel of 175 foods including delayed responses to the ingestion of an offending food. By eliminating the foods you are sensitive to, the burden placed on your adrenal glands will be dramatically lessened.

Sleep! Go to bed by 10:30PM before your adrenals pump out more cortisol for a late night second wind. Sleep late until 8 or 9AM because morning rests seems to be very helpful in restoring adrenal health. Take short naps when you feel fatigued during the day.

Exercise! In spite of being fatigued, exercise will build up your energy supply. Exercise actually helps your body normalize cortisol and blood sugar levels plus it re-oxygenates your brain and muscles.

Rebuild with Herbal Tonics: Tonic herbs help your body rebuild organs and glands. Adaptogenic herbs help you cope with stress. Take herbal tonics and adaptogens in extract form. Licorice root, ashwaganda, ginseng root, eleuthero, ginger, gingko, astragalus root, and schizandra berries are all recommended.

Follow these 8 tips and you will be well on your way to rebuilding your natural energy supply and restoring your adrenal glands to optimal health! For more in depth information about adrenal exhaustion, I highly recommend the book, Adrenal Fatigue, by James L. Wilson, N.D. Ph.D. You can also visit his website, http://www.adrenalfatigue.org/ where you can find information about tests to help determine if you are suffering from adrenal fatigue.

How To Beat Adrenal Fatigue

8 Tips for Overcoming Adrenal Exhaustion

Author: Caroline MacDougall

Everything in life needs to be in balance, doesn’t it? Too much or too little of anything can create problems. The same is true of cortisol, the stress hormone our adrenal glands produce. If you read my article Six Tips to Reduce the Stress Hormone, Cortisol, you know the health problems that result from keeping your body in a state of elevated cortisol.

On the other end of the scale, many people suffer from debilitating fatigue that comes from low cortisol levels; the ultimate result of chronic stress on the adrenal glands. If you or a loved one is on a downward spiral of decreasing energy, if you’re using caffeine and carbohydrates to keep going, if you’re gaining weight around the abdomen or feeling depressed and overwhelmed, you need to beat fatigue by rebuilding your adrenal glands.

Got a perfectly good night’s sleep, yet you still don’t feel refreshed? Hit a slump in the afternoon when everything feels like it’s all too much? Thoughts seem fuzzy; suffering from memory lapses? Libido low; little annoyances push you over the edge? All are symptoms of too little cortisol that point to exhausted adrenal glands.

Once again stress is the culprit. Just as stress creates elevated cortisol levels, low cortisol levels are the result of prolonged stress that finally exhausts the adrenals so they can no longer produce healthy levels of the hormones we need to feel good.

Your stress may be physical, emotional, environmental, infectious, or some combination of these, but from wherever it originates, your adrenal glands respond the same way. All day long, the adrenals adjust your body’s hormone levels to cope with the stress load. It is when the adrenals become unable to adjust the stress load, and when the overload goes on for too long, that adrenal fatigue sets in.

These small glands that sit on top of our kidneys produce an army of hormones that control our energy levels even when we’re asleep! Adrenal glands produce a healthy supply of cortisol, DHEA, estrogen, testosterone, and a host of other beneficial hormones that you need daily to feel your best.

Cortisol levels should fluctuate according to nature’s daily rhythms. When it’s time for sleep, cortisol levels are at their lowest. Between 6AM- 8AM, cortisol levels rapidly rise in preparation for waking up and feeling alert.

When stress drives up cortisol production throughout the day, our natural rhythm gets thwarted. Instead we have elevated cortisol at night keeping us from sleeping deeply and low cortisol in the morning making us groggy when we awake. Eventually, our adrenal glands just can’t keep up and fatigue sets in.

Adrenal exhaustion is not typically recognized and understood by the medical profession. Currently, there are no tests that can easily identify under-producing adrenals. Although fatigue is the number one complaint doctors hear daily, restoring adrenal health is not advice you’ll get from most standard physicians. Instead the focus is often on your symptoms without addressing the underlying cause. Or your complaints might be ignored altogether until your symptoms become a full-blown syndrome that they can finally identify as a disease.

Obviously, it would be wise to restore full adrenal functioning before the breakdown of your health occurs!

A number of factors can lead to adrenal exhaustion:

Cumulative Stress: Unrelieved stressful situations or a series of stressful events that may be unrelated but collectively accumulate can trigger adrenal exhaustion. Emotional distress combined with physical trauma can deplete the adrenal reserves.

Overwork: Long hours of “running on adrenal energy” without adequate sleep, nourishment, and relaxation ultimately fatigue the adrenals.

Infections: If you have suffered from an acute infection and can’t seem to recover your energy afterwards, adrenal exhaustion could be the culprit. Respiratory infections often precede the sudden onset of adrenal exhaustion.

Poor Diet: Inadequate amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables deprive the adrenals of the essential nutrients needed to function properly. Hydrogenated fats, rancid oils, and a lack of essential fatty acids weaken the adrenals. Blood sugar spikes from a diet too high in refined carbohydrates drain the adrenals.

Lack of adequate sleep: Reliance on caffeinated beverages to cheat the body of the sleep it requires eventually exhausts your adrenal reserves.

Allergies: People with food and environmental allergies usually suffer from weak adrenals due to the constant demand for cortisol that is required to balance the production of histamine and other inflammatory substances.

These health disorders are often associated with underlying adrenal exhaustion:

• Hypoglycemia

• Adult-onset diabetes

• PMS and difficulty during menopause

• Frequent colds and bronchitis, pneumonia and chronic respiratory infections

• Asthma

• Ischemic heart disease

• Rheumatoid arthritis and arthritic pain

• Allergies

• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, fibromyalgia, and other auto-immune disorders

• Alcoholism

• Depression and anxiety

How to Rebuild Your Adrenal health:

Think of your adrenal glands as your bank account. Energy is the currency. You need to store energy in order to rebuild your adrenals. If you are constantly drawing down your reserves and going into your energy overdraft, the adrenals will continue to be exhausted. Your goal is to have a wealth of energy that you continually replenish!

Follow these 8 tips to rebuild healthy adrenal glands:

Maintain Steady Blood Sugar: Eat only complex carbohydrates with balanced fat and protein in frequent small meals throughout the day. For breakfast, increase your protein intake and decrease starchy grains and sweet carbohydrates including fruits and juice. Try soy sausages, scrambled tofu, and whey protein shakes to give you some protein alternatives to eggs and meat.

Avoid All Stimulants Including Caffeine & Theobromine: Eliminate coffee including decaf, tea, colas, and chocolate. Don’t use stimulants as a crutch. Instead you need to let your body rest when you feel fatigued.

Take Nutritional Supplements: B vitamins including pantothenic acid, essential fatty acids like borage oil, flax seed oil or evening primrose oil, minerals including magnesium, zinc and chromium, anti-oxidants including Vitamin C, E, alpha lipoic acid, and grape seed extract, and natural adrenal hormones like DHEA and pregnenalone are all supplements that support your adrenals.

Reduce Alcohol Consumption: Drink alcoholic beverages only with meals high in protein and fat to help avoid blood sugar swings.

Identify Food Allergies: Adrenal exhaustion can be caused by hidden food allergies that chronically wear down the adrenals and may ultimately cause auto-immune disorders. Try a diet that eliminates common allergens such as milk, wheat, and corn to see if you feel better when you are not eating them. Your doctor can order allergy tests such as the Elisa/ACT test, two blood tests that covers a panel of 175 foods including delayed responses to the ingestion of an offending food. By eliminating the foods you are sensitive to, the burden placed on your adrenal glands will be dramatically lessened.

Sleep! Go to bed by 10:30PM before your adrenals pump out more cortisol for a late night second wind. Sleep late until 8 or 9AM because morning rests seems to be very helpful in restoring adrenal health. Take short naps when you feel fatigued during the day.

Exercise! In spite of being fatigued, exercise will build up your energy supply. Exercise actually helps your body normalize cortisol and blood sugar levels plus it re-oxygenates your brain and muscles.

Rebuild with Herbal Tonics: Tonic herbs help your body rebuild organs and glands. Adaptogenic herbs help you cope with stress. Take herbal tonics and adaptogens in extract form. Licorice root, ashwaganda, ginseng root, eleuthero, ginger, gingko, astragalus root, and schizandra berries are all recommended.

Follow these 8 tips and you will be well on your way to rebuilding your natural energy supply and restoring your adrenal glands to optimal health! For more in depth information about adrenal exhaustion, I highly recommend the book, Adrenal Fatigue, by James L. Wilson, N.D. Ph.D. You can also visit his website, http://www.adrenalfatigue.org/ where you can find information about tests to help determine if you are suffering from adrenal fatigue.

Stress, Aging and Caffeine

Author: Caroline MacDougall

It’s the common complaint you hear uttered by friends, family and co-workers throughout the day. “I just can’t get going without my cup of coffee!” What happened to the days of childhood when we used to bound out of bed with plenty of energy and we kept going at an energetic pace until night? Most people assume that age causes diminished energy supply, but lifestyle practices may lead to fatigue as well.

Caffeine elevates stress hormones

Although we hope to boost our energy levels when reaching for a cup of coffee, in truth we are actually inducing a state of stress. Caffeine drives the adrenal glands to produce stress hormones that can remain in the blood stream up to 18 hours after consumption. These hormones produce the “fight or flight” response that nature designed to help save our lives when every bit of energy is required to survive an impending disaster, such as an attack by a foe.

In today’s world, where we are more often sitting at a desk, driving in our car, or eating a meal, caffeine can put us into a chronic state of stress with no way to burn off the extra fuel and hormones. Caffeine-induced stress can produce mood swings and insomnia, increase muscle tension, impair digestion and nutrition, restrict blood circulation to the brain, elevate blood pressure, create blood sugar swings, and accelerate the heart rate. Yet the lines at the local coffee bar are still stretching out the door with people desperate for their next caffeine “fix”.

Caffeine addiction is rampant in our society. Caffeine is the only drug in our food supply that is not regulated, and there are no requirements for the quantity of caffeine to be labeled on foods or soft drinks. Most people don’t know that their coffee flavored ice cream or yogurt may be supplying a hefty dose of caffeine, just when they want to relax at the end of a hectic day. Mothers don’t suspect that the root beer and orange soda they are giving their children may also contain caffeine. Students studying late at night don’t realize that caffeine restricts the oxygen flow to their brain up to 30% and impairs memory retention. Under the guise of alertness, caffeine has fooled them into thinking they will be better prepared for their exams in the morning.

Caffeine lowers DHEA, the youth & longevity hormone

While the adrenals are busy pumping out cortisol to send energy to the muscles and divert energy from the digestive and immune systems, there is a very important hormone they aren’t making: DHEA. It turns out that the adrenals have to reduce their production of the most important anti-aging hormone your body requires for youth and longevity in order to produce the stress hormones that ultimately weaken your immune system and impair your health.

DHEA is the mother hormone for all the sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, and it also increases your brain’s seratonin levels naturally. So if you’ve been feeling down in the dumps and your lover no longer interests you, check out how much caffeine you are consuming daily in that coffee mug of yours!

How much caffeine is really in a coffee “cup”?

The caffeine industry created a nice deception to make you think you’re not drinking that much caffeine. It turns out that a cup of coffee is not your normal 8 oz cup, but a mere 5 oz cup. So when you read that a couple of cups of coffee a day shouldn’t be any problem to your health, think of one 10 oz mug because that is what they are actually talking about. When you add to that the statistics for caffeine content in a cup of coffee brewed at popular coffee bars, you’ll find out that you can expect up to 300 mg in that 10 oz cup, not the 150 mg you might find in a cup of coffee from your own coffee maker.

Decaf coffee drinkers who think they have switched to a healthier choice will be surprised to find out that a Stanford University study showed that decaf coffee raises the cholesterol higher and faster than regular coffee. A cup of decaf coffee still contains around 7 – 10 mg of caffeine. Plus, the beans chosen for decaf coffee have a higher acidic content than regular coffee to compensate for flavor loss during the decaffeination process. Think about the coffee you consume the next time you reach for the antacids.

Kicking the Caffeine Habit

With all this bad news about our favorite legal drug habit, you may be wondering what is alternatives exist. Stephen Cherniske M.S., the author of Caffeine Blues (Warner 1998), recommends switching to caffeine-free herbal coffee over a 2-week period. Herbal coffee, made from carob, chicory, barley, dates, figs and almonds, can be brewed right in your coffee maker. It contains significant amounts of potassium to give you a natural energy lift. Potassium is added to sports recovery beverages because it helps your muscles and brain recover from fatigue. Plus, chicory has high levels of inulin (a plant starch) that is food for your digestive flora. Inulin will help establish a healthy colony of bifidus bacteria in the colon where they create B vitamins, help you absorb your minerals like calcium and iron, and enhance your immune system. If you depend on caffeine to drive your elimination, bifidus bacteria will help you become regular without dependency on stimulants.

It is not as hard as you may think to ease yourself off of caffeine. If you use a two-week weaning program, by slowly reducing the amount of caffeine you consume daily, you can avoid withdrawal headaches and help your adrenal glands recover. You may be surprised to find in two to three months that you feel better than you’ve felt since you were a child and that, once again, you have an abundance of energy and enthusiasm for life!

Coffee, America’s Favorite Drug

Author: Michael Traub, ND

America’s favorite drug is grown right here on the Kona coast. In fact, this is the only place in the U.S. where it is grown. So it’s not pakalolo, alcohol or tobacco. You may have guessed it by now. That’s right. Kona coffee. Over half the population of the U.S. drinks at least two cups of coffee a day. 25% of coffee drinkers consume about five cups daily, and another 25% drink ten or more cups a day.

Coffee is not just a beverage, it’s a drug. Hundreds of thousands of law abiding citizens are physically addicted to coffee. But relax. This article is not out to persuade you to give up coffee. It is intended to help you become aware of how coffee affects you, how it can damage your health. After reading this, some of you may continue your coffee drinking habits. Others, however, may decide to make changes and move from addiction to conscious choice in determining your coffee consumption.

If you’re a coffee addict, I understand how you feel. It smells so good, it tastes so good and it gives you such a boost, at least for a while. I know that it is hard to give up, and that you may not want to. But maybe you will. Or maybe you’ll prefer to moderate your use and at least not drink it habitually.

It is the caffeine in coffee which makes it addictive, and which accounts for most of the known adverse effects of coffee. However, there are hundreds of other chemicals in coffee. Caffeine is a carcinogen, but coffee contains numerous other ones, created by the high heat of roasting, such as creosote, pymdine, tars and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The darker the roast, the greater the potential hazard. Studies linking coffee consumption with cancer are conflicting and inconclusive at this point, but there is a suggestion of a higher incidence of cancers of the pancreas, ovaries, bladder, and kidneys in coffee drinkers.

Caffeine raises adrenaline levels and heavy coffee consumption can lead to a state of adrenal gland exhaustion, where the adrenal glands are no longer able to adequately respond to stress by releasing enough adrenaline. Adrenal insufficiency can then lead to a host of other problems, including a weakened immune response, anxiety and panic attacks. Caffeine also interferes with adenosine, a brain chemical that normally has a calming effect, and raises the level of lactate, an biochemical known to produce panic attacks.

Caffeine also raises the production of the adrenal hormone cortisol, another stress hormone. Cortisol causes the blood vessels to constrict and the heart to pump harder, which leads to high blood pressure. Studies have shown that coffee seems to worsen the symptoms of persons with high blood pressure, and can nullify the effect of high blood pressure medications, making expensive drugs useless.

Some cold and sinus medicines contain phenylpropanolamine and ephedrine, which can increase blood pressure, to the point of causing strokes in research animals. Drinking coffee after using these medications can increase blood pressure even more, and significantly increase the risk of stroke.

Coffee should absolutely be avoided during pregnancy and breast feeding. Fetuses and newborns cannot metabolize caffeine in their livers, so it remains in their bodies for up to four days, stimulating their nervous system the entire time, causing irritability and sleeping difficulty. Animal studies have linked high blood levels of caffeine to premature birth, delivery complications, low birth weight and birth defects. Human studies have found an increase in the rate of miscarriages, stillbirths, breech births and low birth weight. Pregnant women are also three times slower to metabolize caffeine than nonpregnant women.

Research also indicates that women who drank more than one cup of coffee a day reduced their likelihood of conceiving by 50%, and men who drank two to three cups of coffee a day had an increased incidence of abnormally formed sperm. Having five cups a day appears to make sperm sluggish as well.

Several studies have linked caffeine consumption to a higher incidence of PMS symptoms including tension, irritability, anxiety, fatigue, sleep disturbance and breast tenderness. Research into whether cutting out coffee reduces or eliminates the lumps and pain of fibrocystic breasts has usually found that it does. Some of coffee’s components have a mild estrogen-like effect on the body. Since estrogen is responsible for premenstrual syndrome and breast tenderness, this may be one reason why coffee aggravates these conditions.

The caffeine, oils and acids in coffee irritate the stomach lining, which can cause excessive production of stomach acid and lead to a variety of digestive disorders. Decaf will also bring on a similar increase in stomach acid. Research has shown a definite link between coffee drinking and ulcers. Some anti-ulcer drugs, like cimetidine (Tagament), slow down the rate at which the body metabolizes caffeine. So not only does coffee increase the acid, but the drugs extend caffeine’s effects by keeping it circulating longer. Coffee affects the lower esophageal sphincter and thus contributes to the reflux of stomach acid into the throat (heartburn). Research has also shown that drinking coffee causes a significant loss of several vitamins and minerals, including vitamins B and C, calcium, iron, and zinc. Coffee, including decaf, contains significant amounts of Vitamin K which is an important factor for blood coagulation. People at high risk for blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks should avoid coffee and decaf for this reason.

It almost goes without saying that coffee decreases the quality of sleep and is one of the leading causes of sleep disturbance. Coffee drinkers are sleepier and groggier than non-coffee drinkers when they get up in the morning, causing them to depend on coffee to get them going. This grogginess may be the result of their entering caffeine withdrawal during the night, or that drinking coffee kept them from sleeping well in the first place, or both! A homeopathic dose of coffee, known as Coffea, is an effective remedy for insomnia.

Excessive coffee intake will also exacerbate the withdrawal symptoms when quitting smoking and make it all the more likely to fail to stay off cigarettes. Quitting coffee “cold turkey” can cause mild to severe headaches as well as nausea, anxiety, fatigue and depression, lasting for several days. One method to avoid this is to gradually decrease the amount of coffee you drink by 50% each day. Another way is to keep to your usual number of cups and gradually increase the amount of decaf until it reaches 100%. Eventually you’ll feel more awake and have a more even energy level throughout the day than when you were drinking coffee. A few weeks or months after quitting, most people come to realize that they feel much better without the coffee habit. Then most people can enjoy a cup of coffee on occasion when a boost is really needed, without triggering a recurrence of the craving that one feels when it is consumed regularly.

Dr Traub is a past president of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and the author of the book Essentials of Dermatological Diagnosis and Natural Therapeutics. He has his own web site, www.balancerestored.com Since 1986, Dr. Traub has been director of an integrated health care center (Ho‘o Lokahi) in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at Bastyr University, National College of Natural Medicine, Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, University of Bridgeport and the University of Minnesota.