Caffeine, is it worth it?
Coffee is the morning bliss, and midday pick-me-up that most people crave and rely on to get through their day. Especially those who live busy lifestyles. Including me for a period of time, being a mother of two and working full time, caffeine seemed to be the only way to function.
But the question was always on my mind, how good is my one cup of coffee daily for my health?
Once I did my research and looked into what caffeine does to one’s body over a period of time, I decided it was best to cut down on the caffeine and find healthier alternatives. I found that my body reacted well to one of my supplements, as it helps curb cravings, accelerate weight loss, and it helps boost my metabolism. If you’re interested and want to check it out, you can do so here!
Caffeine can have a negative impact on your sleep, especially if you have a cup too late in the day. Which can result in some negative effects on your health.
There are short term and long terms effects of caffeine, the short term effects could be:
Raised blood pressure
Trouble sleeping- could lead to insomnia
Frequent urination
While the long term effects range anywhere from:
Heart problems such as heart palpitations
Mental health changes
And More
Caffeine is found in not only coffee, but some teas, soda’s, and energy drinks contain caffeine as well. If you start to develop a headache when consuming caffeine, or the need to have caffeine produces a headache, it’s recommended that you start to decrease your intake. This is only one of many signs, if you also start to find yourself irritable, constantly nervous, or a rapid heartbeat, these are some other signs that decreasing coffee is recommended.
Caffeine is seen and joked about globally as being addictive, Mayo Clinic Studies have shown it can be seen as a dependency rather than an addiction as well as the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Therefore, when you don’t have it, or you start to have less of it, you go through a slight withdrawal process. Like many other drugs, caffeine enhances dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is the chemical that helps control, movement, emotions, and motivation. Which is the reasoning that caffeine is classified as a stimulant. However, it is not seen as addictive due to the fact that it does not cause a large enough surge to unbalance the reward circuits in the brain like methamphetamine.
If you are a daily coffee drinker, an afternoon energy pick me up, or a caffeinated tea consumer, I recommend trying tea with no caffeine, decaf coffee, kombucha or even energy boosting, fat burning detox waters! This, in combination with active movement, is a great way to wean off of the dependency of caffeine. Here is a free yoga video to help kickstart your journey, click here for the video!
Kombucha is a great substitute as it contains polyphenols which acts as a strong antioxidant to help decrease inflammation, and since kombucha is fermented the fermentation actually allows the polyphenols amount to increase. Kombucha also contains a handful of B vitamins, essential minerals, and organic acids. Which also helps detoxification, and cleanses the liver!
Another great way to lean off of caffeine, and help with inflammation are combined ingredients within elixirs and detox shots, if you want to find out more, checkout my MetaBoost program as it focuses on foods and exercises that help balance hormonal issues and inflammation.
Caffeine is great, but I can guarantee that your body is craving something better!
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-Mere