Why say NO to caffeine?

[michaelhobson]

This is inspired by the coffee thread. I'm adding tons more raw fruit and veggies to my diet lately, so I'm leaving this in the raw thread. Also people in this thread seem to be much more health conscious/educated.

 

So, why NO caffeine? I'm too lazy to do the research myself.

[Odidnetne]

Because it stimulates your heart?

[michaelhobson]

Because it stimulates your heart?

 

So does running.

[Odidnetne]

Because it stimulates your heart?

 

So does running.

 

That does too, so does DDR then, especially when you run around like a crackhead like some dork I know who plays it.

 

I limit my caffeine though, I have like a cup or two of green tea every couple weeks (that cup of tea I had at your New Year's Party was like the first cup of tea I had in over a month).

[michaelhobson]

Because it stimulates your heart?

 

So does running.

 

That does too, so does DDR then, especially when you run around like a crackhead like some dork I know who plays it.

 

I limit my caffeine though, I have like a cup or two of green tea every couple weeks (that cup of tea I had at your New Year's Party was like the first cup of tea I had in over a month).

 

No worries Ed, there is no caffeine in the African Red, it's an herbal.

[Odidnetne]

Because it stimulates your heart?

 

So does running.

 

That does too, so does DDR then, especially when you run around like a crackhead like some dork I know who plays it.

 

I limit my caffeine though, I have like a cup or two of green tea every couple weeks (that cup of tea I had at your New Year's Party was like the first cup of tea I had in over a month).

 

No worries Ed, there is no caffeine in the African Red, it's an herbal.

 

Yeah, but unlike people who I work with, caffeine doesn't rule my life.

[Gaia]

Caffeine is a stimulant. It will override any warning your body might be sending you to relax or take it easy cause something is going on with the body.

I also heard of the adrenals can be exhausted with so much caffeine over so many years, leading up to chronic fatigue syndrome. It is a stress factor cause.

Some info:

www.relfe.com/caffeine.html

[andesuma]

Caffeine borrows "energy" from your adrenal glands,

also stimulates the parasympathetic to put your body into a constant

Fight or Flight mode.

The exact response military troops have in a time of war.

 

This can only go on for so long before your body becomes

permanently fatigued/exhausted.

 

 

It is a drug, that's why you build up a tolerance to it.

And experience withdrawal symptoms.

 

 

It also releases a number of stress hormones in the body.

(like cortisone)

 

 

Among other things...

Caffeine disrupts natural sleep patterns, it messes with your bodies

natural rhythm, can cause severe headaches, depression, fatigue,

irritability, mood swings, etc.

 

 

Those are the main things I know...

 

 

 

however.., if your caffeine consumption of choice comes from coffee.

I urge you to think about the ethical & moral implications of that decision.

Unless it is fair trade, you have no guarantee those farmers and workers

are being paid for anything. Even if it is fair trade, corporations

will do anything to save a dollar.

You need to be very picky about who you purchase your coffee from.

 

 

& not only that, but that coffee is SO processed, usually with

the involvement of chemicals, that harm the environment and thus yourself

also, it's travelled nearly 3,000 miles just to be up north!!

That alone, is why I don't consume it, think about the pollution involved...

 

 

 

Anyhow, it's all a personal choice, but overall, coffee does more harm

than good(for all those involved in it's making).

[Aaron]

I'm not raw but... caffeine makes me feel anxious and ruins my sleep so I skip it generally.

 

That said, I do like redbull and vodka.

[flanders77]

Although I never drank coffee I read this and it was really interesting.

[offense74]

The caffein issue is mostly an American one. In the rest of the world a little caffein is not what's going to kill you.

Caffein is toxic but so are some compounds in veggies (green leaves are not built by their owner for us to eat so they put in defense mechanism, ie. toxins). Nicotine for example is a natural bug repellant.

 

If health is what you're after there are numerous things that are more important to do than to stop drinking a cup or two of green tea per day. I actually think breathing in any part of the US would be more dangerous and toxic than a cup of tea per day. If you overdo it (like 2-5 cups of coffee per day) it might become a concern.

 

It is addictive though and it's not nice to be a slave. I've quit coffee before and it wasn't that bad at all. A little headache for a day or two and then you're done.

 

As I said this problem predominantly exists in the US. Rural Chinese people tend to not care so much about this and they are generally not dying by the diseases that caffein are supposed to create.

[Last of the Sane]

I like my coffee. It's nice to feel extra motivated in the morning or just have a little bit of extra energy when working out. My coffee is fair trade and so is the coffee on the university where I study/work.

[Odidnetne]

Caffeine borrows "energy" from your adrenal glands,

also stimulates the parasympathetic to put your body into a constant

Fight or Flight mode.

The exact response military troops have in a time of war.

 

This can only go on for so long before your body becomes

permanently fatigued/exhausted.

 

 

It is a drug, that's why you build up a tolerance to it.

And experience withdrawal symptoms.

 

 

It also releases a number of stress hormones in the body.

(like cortisone)

 

 

Among other things...

Caffeine disrupts natural sleep patterns, it messes with your bodies

natural rhythm, can cause severe headaches, depression, fatigue,

irritability, mood swings, etc.

 

 

Those are the main things I know...

 

 

 

however.., if your caffeine consumption of choice comes from coffee.

I urge you to think about the ethical & moral implications of that decision.

Unless it is fair trade, you have no guarantee those farmers and workers

are being paid for anything. Even if it is fair trade, corporations

will do anything to save a dollar.

You need to be very picky about who you purchase your coffee from.

 

 

& not only that, but that coffee is SO processed, usually with

the involvement of chemicals, that harm the environment and thus yourself

also, it's travelled nearly 3,000 miles just to be up north!!

That alone, is why I don't consume it, think about the pollution involved...

 

 

 

Anyhow, it's all a personal choice, but overall, coffee does more harm

than good(for all those involved in it's making).

 

I had a better reason not to drink it in another thread: "Because coffee tastes like sewage."

[suz]

I said NO to caffeine because I didn't like the fact that I was addicted to it. Also, it dehydrated me and therefore messed up my workouts.

[michaelhobson]

Thanks for all the info mates. I'll probably continue the coffee, though in more moderation. And thanks Andesuma for reminding me to choose fair trade, I've only been about 50/50 on that. Actually, spending twice as much for coffee should help me drink half as much.

[belleadonna]

It may be okay for some people but I know that if I use caffeine, it turns my sinus headaches into full blown migraines. I don't need that!!

[Kathryn]

I think it's good to go easy on caffeine, as it is an artifical stimulant.

 

As for coffee itself, ít contains other ingredients besides caffeine that may be even worse. There is some kind of acid (I'll have to check the info on this) contained in coffee, chocolate, carbonated beverages and alcoholic beverages that adversely affects the intestines, especially the mucus membranes and the areas of the intenstines that are associated with the immune system---a large part of the immune system is tied to cells in the intestines). My acupuncturist/Chinese medicine doctor recommends to all his patients to avoid the above substances when they are in the process of healing. I 'gave up' all of them for a while, but since I didn't consume coffee or alcohol, and only occasionally had a carbonated beverage from the health food store, it wasn't too hard, LOL! Now, chocolate was another story. I was able to give that up for a few months, but I don't avoid it now.

 

There may be more info about this aspect of coffee on sites dedicated to Chinese medicine.

[Hero]

i said no to caffeine a few years ago when i went straight edge. theres just no need for stimulant/drug in my life.

i can get all the natural energy i need from potassium

[lelle]

what is potassium?!

[cubby2112]

One caffeine source that I don't think I am ever going to give up is raw cacao. I have given up tea, soda and coffee, but I don't see any reason to worry about the caffeine in cacao, as there isn't that much anyway and the health benefits are amazing. Here is a link on potassium:

http://www.unhinderedliving.com/potassium.html

[Trev]

I gave up coffee 2.5 weeks ago now. I've since realized what an addiction it was. I planned my days off around going for coffee. I relied on it to keep me going at work. On days when I worked out early in the morning, I'd think about the coffee I'd have after the workout. I had cut the habit down to 2 single shot espressos/americanos per day, but it was still a habit. That bugged me, so I quit.

 

Now, I'm free to live according to my whims. I'm not bound by the coffee ritual. I find it easier than ever to get up in the morning, and my afternoon slumps, that would hit around 5 pm are history. Now I watch my coworkers disappearing from set to make espressos in the camera truck every couple of hours, then returning all buzzed and full of jittery, tongue-tied overconfidence and it's clear to me. Coffee, or caffeine, is an addiction like any other. And I thought I had no addictions. I looked down on smokers and heavy drinkers and here I was, a coffee addict. No more. I tell myself that it won't taste good to me anymore and the espresso machine on my kitchen counter won't tempt me.

 

I will admit to having green tea but I can quit that anytime I want.

[SmartMonkey Ani]

I enjoy my caffine in moderation. and make sure to take maca root powder to offset some of the damage, whether raw or cooked caffine, to my adrenals.

 

i've gotten completely high off raw cacao. there is indeed a TON of caffine in it. my heart races when i eat a teaspoon of the raw nibs.

 

a great way to get to spinning class when i'm tired.

 

i like to blend a teaspoon into my smoothies or nut mylks before a workout or when i need help waking up to an overcast dark day

 

i'm in SF now, it's so nice to be warmer

SF is awesome

but I miss PDX too

[Hero]

what is potassium?!

 

http://www.hoptechno.com/book29p.htm

[Odidnetne]

I drink a cup of tea (green white or red) every now and again, but it's not something I crave.

 

I bought a box of 20 white tea bags a couple of weeks ago and it's gone now, only because it's been cold as hell here and my friend stayed with me for a couple days and he drinks lots of tea.

[cubby2112]

I enjoy my caffine in moderation. and make sure to take maca root powder to offset some of the damage, whether raw or cooked caffine, to my adrenals.

 

i've gotten completely high off raw cacao. there is indeed a TON of caffine in it. my heart races when i eat a teaspoon of the raw nibs.

 

a great way to get to spinning class when i'm tired.

 

i like to blend a teaspoon into my smoothies or nut mylks before a workout or when i need help waking up to an overcast dark day

 

i'm in SF now, it's so nice to be warmer

SF is awesome

but I miss PDX too

 

Hm, yeah, I probably need to reevaluate what I consider to be a lot of caffeine. I used to live off of coffee and energy drinks, so I am probably not the best person to talk to about caffeine amount. I shouldn't say I have given up tea, because I still drink rooibos; though, there is no caffeine in it.