Caffeine
caffeine stresses the
adrenal glands, which can weaken the corresponding muscle groups on the same
neurological circuit. Caffeine can weaken the psoas muscle, also called the hip
flexor. In addition, by revving up our fight or flight response, caffeine
drains our healing Qi energy stores. If caffeine does not stimulate you, it’s a
sign that your stress-handling system is already exhausted and is now in the
danger zone. “I find that once I get my patients off caffeine for a month or
more,” says Kan, “they regain the ability to produce the proper neurochemicals
in response to caffeine. In other words, they start feeling jittery again
(adrenaline rush) whenever they consume caffeine.” Interestingly, caffeine is
the most common cross-reactor to gluten.
Lori Lipinski writes that . . .
Caffeine stimulates the adrenal glands,
leading eventually to adrenal exhaustion and symptoms like fatigue, lack of
physical endurance and stamina, impaired ability to deal with stress, depressed
immune system, allergic reactions, weight gain, low blood pressure, dizziness
and lightheadedness or blacking out when standing up. Caffeine also stimulates
the liver to release more sugar in the blood stream and further stresses the
body’s delicate sugar-regulating mechanism. Besides creating major hormonal
imbalances in the body, caffeine also impairs calcium absorption. This is a
major concern for children who consume a lot of soft drinks while their bones
are still developing.
When people indulge in caffeine at toxic
levels, the amount found in two to three cups of coffee or more, they can
experience anxiety, headaches, dehydration, tremors, heart palpitations and
nausea. The problem of caffeine overload is particularly harmful to
still-developing teenagers and people with heart conditions. More than half the
calls made to poison control centers regarding caffeine over indulgence were
made on behalf of young people under the age of nineteen. Regular sodas also
contain caffeine—a visit to Starbucks, a soft drink, an energy drink, a bar of
chocolate can all add up to a life-threatening jolt to the adrenal glands and a
trip to the emergency room.
The average American drinks over twentysix gallons of
coffee a year. Coffee contains caffeine and over three hundred other chemicals.
Cola drinks also contain caffeine along with a large dose of sugar or
aspartame. Caffeine is addictive, increasing homocysteine, dopamine, cortisol,
energy metabolism and norephinephrine, while reducing the blood flow in the
brain and decreasing serotonin levels.75
Caffeine causes insulin spikes and
increased blood sugar in diabetics or prediabetics. Caffeine will cause a small
rise in blood sugar after meals. It causes urinary excretion of calcium,
magnesium and potassium and thus affects brain metabolism. Caffeine is a stimulant
and a diuretic. At high doses it can worsen anxiety and trigger mania or
psychosis, confusion, headache, seeing flashes, psychomotor agitation and
depression.
Since
the adrenal glands, specifically the adrenal cortex (the outer portion of the
adrenal gland), produce protective cardiotonics, an important strategy in
protecting yourself against heart attack is to strengthen the ability of this
important gland to work properly.
Avoid
stimulants such as caffeine and related substances in coffee, tea and
chocolate. Caffeine causes the adrenal medulla (the inner part of the adrenal
gland) to produce adrenaline. In response, the adrenal cortex must produce a
host of corticoid hormones that bring the body back into homeostasis. Repeated
jolts of caffeine can lead to adrenal burnout, a situation in which the adrenal
cortex is unable to produce the myriad of protective and healing substance for
the body, including the cardiotonics.
[Jason] Christoff goes into some detail on one chemical which most
people are addicted to. Healthy plants do not suffer greatly from insects
because they have a natural insecticide. Coffee plants have this. It is called
caffeine. It may not kill anybody immediately but continuous accumulated
exposure will cause problems eventually. Human metabolism and energy increase
the same way with caffeine as with any low level poison in the system. This
raises a few questions which he didn’t address. If all healthy plants have some
form of natural insecticide, what are the implications for a healthy diet? Not
all plants have the same effect on human metabolism as coffee so is there
something else affecting us besides the insecticide component of caffeine? My
curiosity is not completely satisfied here but it is an interesting point.
Here is another equally troubling
invitation: “Drink coffee. . . and alcohol in moderation. . .we didn’t see any
effects on fertility at moderate levels of caffeine intake, which is the
equivalent of three to four cups of coffee a day.” The interested reader will
indeed find a number of sources documenting the adverse effects of caffeine, including
higher miscarriage rates (Bolumar et al.,1997, 145(4):324-34), increased blood
pressure, excessive urinary excretion of magnesium, potassium and calcium
(essential nutrients for maintaining a healthy pregnancy), to name a few. And
if none of these findings were convincing, when attempting to create a most
welcoming environment for new life, wouldn’t it make more sense to abstain from
ingesting a substance that leads to physical dependency serious enough to
result in withdrawal symptoms?
There has been recent interest in coffee and dark chocolate
as “exemplary foods” for their antioxidant content. Dr. Weil wrote an article
in Time Magazine advocating the consumption of seven or eight cups of coffee
for everyone. There is a fundamental flaw in this reasoning. Yes, they do
indeed provide antioxidants, but this benefit is overwhelmed in chocolate by
the added sugar (the chocolate bean is bitter and it is the addition of sugar
that provides its characteristic taste and makes it addictive) and the caffeine
in coffee. For this reason, they are not the best sources of antioxidants.
Caffeine excites brain cells to
function and consumes cellular energy, thus giving a false impression of “more
energy.” This consumption of cellular energy often occurs in a person whose
cells are already struggling to meet energy demands. I have seen hundreds of
patients for whom these commodities are the cause of their symptoms. Of course,
it depends on the individual sensitivity. I saw a polysymptomatic woman who
drank two cups of coffee a day. I asked her to stop. She said, “That is absurd,
my husband drinks seven cups and he is fine.” I said, “Well, you will never
know unless you try it,” and she did. During the next forty-eight hours an
extremely severe headache kept her in bed. The headache cleared and after that
her symptoms disappeared. I admit that this was unusual but since we never know
the individual biology, how many people suffer without anyone suggesting the
possibility? I have seen hundreds of patients with PMS and 90 percent were
addicted to chocolate and coffee. With withdrawal of the offending substances
and the addition of a few vitamins, the PMS invariably disappeared.
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