The Effects of a Caffeinated Culture

Today’s fast-paced nature has many of us living in a world where we are dependent upon stimulants and have forgotten what rest truly looks like. Caffeine is a stimulant and it is the most used drug in the world. Every day, millions of people consume it to increase wakefulness, alleviate fatigue and improve concentration and focus. In the United States alone, more than 90% of adults use caffeine regularly, with an average consumption of more than 200 mg per day. The FDA considers caffeine to be both a drug and a food additive, and they recommend a maximum intake of 400 mg per day.

Caffeine belongs to a group of medicines called central nervous system stimulants. In over-the-counter medicines, caffeine is used to treat tiredness and drowsiness, and to improve the effect of some pain relievers. Food that contains caffeine can help to restore mental alertness, however, its use as an alertness aid should only be occasional, as it is not intended to replace sleep nor should it be regularly used for this purpose.

Counterfeit energies, including caffeine, are high-glycemic foods that thrust our energy upwards, and then bounce it back down, producing a rollercoaster-like effect on our bodies. Not only have these false energy sources become increasingly available and part of the norm, but the more they are consumed the less effective they are and the more resistant we become to their influence.

All of this excessive energy that we absorb keeps us hyped, trying to go higher and higher in terms of “upping” our energy level, and there exists this great reluctance to let go of it or allow it to drop down. As a result, when it is actually time to wind down and relax, we must first go through a layer of turbulent emotions, the updrafts of unresolved feelings and emotions that shake us up during the day. This experience of recalling and sifting through repressed thoughts and feelings actually ends up raising our energy again, and leading us into a state of hyperarousal.

Hyperarousal, essentially, is defined as wakefulness gone awry. It overrides both our normal sleep drive, and the excessive daytime sleepiness that occurs as a result of stimulant use, and our bodies, therefore, stay trapped in the fight or flight mode, releasing excess amounts of our stress hormone cortisol. When hyperarousal becomes chronic, meaning it is constant or frequently recurring, it can lead to insomnia. Symptoms associated with hyperarousal include increased body and brain metabolic rates, elevated heart rate, high core body temperature, increased high frequency EEG, elevated nighttime cortisol, decreased serum melatonin, nocturnal sympathetic activation and over-activation of the HPA.

As a population, we are literally restless and over-heated by the consumption of excessive energy. We need to be willing to learn, and know, HOW to release energy at night. People with sleep loss, represented by both inadequate quantities of sleep and the lack of sleep quality, have a 50% increased risk for infection because the immune system is compromised and becomes shocked in response to what is going on. Sleep loss can also be associated with insulin resistance, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, arthritis and mood disorders. If we don’t sleep well, we lose the ability to fight off infections and protect ourselves from serious chronic disease.

There are many nutritional factors associated with all sleep disorders, and caffeine is a tricky substance to navigate. Everyone responds differently to caffeine and learning how it effects you is crucial to understanding whether it is beneficial to your individual health, or if you should be cautious with it and limit or avoid it. Different people have a different CAPACITY to assimilate caffeine. While there is research that supports both sides of the argument, at the end of the day, health is individual, and the intake of or amount of caffeine consumed remains a PERSONAL DECISION.

Potential BENEFITS of Caffeine Consumption:

+ PHYTONUTRIENTS - caffeine contains certain phytonutrients that stabilize free-radicals in the body, help to assimilate vitamin C and even prevent tumor growth

+ WEIGHT LOSS - caffeine may boost weight loss or prevent weight gain by suppressing the appetite and temporarily reducing the desire to eat, or by stimulating thermogenesis, so the body generates more heat and energy from digesting food

+ ALERTNESS - caffeine can improve physical performance during endurance exercise, increase endurance capacity, and reduce perceived exertion

+ BRAIN FUNCTION - caffeine affects adenosine receptors in the brain, and coffee contains polyphenol antioxidants, that act on various neural pathways, enhancing some thinking skills and slowing down the mental decline that comes with age

+ ALZHEIMER’s & PARKINSON’s DISEASE - lifelong caffeine consumption may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease as well as lowering the risk of Parkinson’s disease

+ MEMORY - a dose of caffeine after a learning session may help boost long-term memory

+ LIVER & COLON - caffeine enemas may help prepare the colon for an endoscopy or colonoscopy by supporting the excretion of bile through the colon wall, as well as increase the level of glutathione, an antioxidant, which supports the natural processes with detoxification of the liver

+ CATARACTS - caffeine may help protect the lens of the eye against damage that could lead to the formation of cataracts

+ SKIN CANCER - caffeine may guard against certain skin cancers and lower the risk of developing basal cell carcinoma

+ KIDNEY STONES - those with increased caffeine intake have a risk of developing kidney stones

+ MOUTH, THROAT & OTHER CANCERS - caffeine consumption lowers the risk of death from oral cancer, as well as a lower risk of endometrial cancer, reduced risk of prostate cancer, protection against head and neck cancer, and protection against the recurrence of breast cancer

Potential RISKS of Caffeine Consumption:

+ ANXIETY & DEPRESSION - high caffeine intake may worsen symptoms of anxiety and depression, as it can be linked to higher weight, lower academic achievement and higher risk of severe depression in children

+ BLOOD SUGAR - caffeine consumption can cause a rise in blood glucose levels for those with type 2 diabetes, and it may impair insulin action, leading further to small but detectable rises in blood sugar levels, particularly following meals

+ FERTILITY - caffeine may reduce muscle activity in the fallopian tubes, which carry the eggs from the ovaries to the womb

+ PREGNANCY - more than 300 mg per day of caffeine could lead to loss of pregnancy, delayed fetal growth and abnormal fetal heart rhythm

+ BREAST-FEEDING - caffeine passes into breast milk in small amounts and may build up in the nursing infant, resulting in infants that’re jittery and have trouble sleeping

+ GOUT - additional intake of caffeine may trigger a gout attack in those with the condition, increasing the risk of recurrent episodes by four times

+ INSOMNIA - drinking caffeine before bed, even 6-8 hours prior, can significantly disrupt sleep quality and duration

+ HEADACHES - both dietary and medical caffeine consumption may be a modest risk factor for triggering chronic daily headache, regardless of headache type

+ ADRENAL FATIGUE - caffeine pumps adrenaline into the body and gets the adrenal glands working in a way that they wouldn’t work naturally, resulting in adrenal fatigue

+ ADVERSE SYMPTOMS - caffeine can lead to jitters and shakes, disrupted sleep, fast or uneven heartbeat, headaches, nervousness or anxiety, dizziness, dependency, dehydration, irritability, heartburn, upset stomach, nausea, muscle tremors

The bottom line is that caffeine is neither good nor bad. While it does stimulate the adrenals, increase heart rate and can lead to exhaustion, light-to-moderate caffeine intake seems to provide impressive health benefits in many people. On the other hand, very high dosages may lead to side effects that interfere with day-to-day living and may even cause serious health issues.

In order to get the benefits of caffeine without undesirable effects, you should conduct an HONEST assessment of your sleep quality, energy levels and other factors that may be affected, and adapt or reduce your intake as needed. Although caffeine responses vary from person to person, the effects of high intake demonstrate that more isn’t necessarily better and that MODERATION is the key.

Xx, Leah Kutsch

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