Monday, January 25, 2016

Caffeine - Are you an addict? (Part 2)

As I have just covered the details of world's most popular and widely consumed beverage, let's now move to another addictive drink, sodas or also known as soft drinks. How much difference between both beverages in terms of caffeine dose or chemicals content? Let's deep dive a little bit on this popular beverage.

Remember when you go to the toilet often in the day but you didn't even drink much of water? Your skin started to feel dry and at times, you may feel headache too. From where we left off in previous post on coffee, the same can have adverse effect on the body with soft drinks or other similar 'energy drinks' too. As more then 45 million Americans suffer from chronic headaches, many of us are depending on painkillers or pain drugs (migraine and headache) on regular basis. Remember the vital nutrients and minerals lost from the caffeine of coffee what what I explained in previous post? The same can occur in these soft drinks too. 

To continue what what we left previously, caffeine in coffee and also soft drinks can act as diuretic and pulls water from the colon. Thus, the spasm can emulate diarheaa episodes in certain people. Caffeine also causes major vasoconstriction in blood vessels and also around fascia muscles areas. Most people thought that drinking more water to hydrate the muscles and fascia (from the dehydration of coffee and caffeinated beverages) can fix the problem. Bear in mind that muscles are the lowest in totem pole and act as slaves to the body. Vital organs and the gut will absorb the vital water first hand, before reserving it for the muscles. For for those who suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, caffeine is a big problem for them. Caffeine can constrict that tunnel and causes pain. 

In today's world, neck pain and headaches are as common as lower back pain. When one consume foods or drinks which has caffeine, sugar and also gluten, it is a perfect recipe of headaches, migraines and even joints pain. At any point of time when you combined caffeine with sugar, your adrenals are shot and thrashed! One good example is any ice blended coffee products of Starbucks or similar commercial coffee drinks. It doesn't matter which brands of coffee shops as long as it contain both caffeine and sugars. 

Now, soft drinks or sodas. Do you know how much of caffeine is in a can of a commonly consumed soda? It's about 35-38mg in one can. As many people not only consume coffee, soft drinks is another addition to a caffeinated daily ritual. Most people don't realize that sugars (9-11 tablespoons) are added into these soft drinks to cover the bitter taste of caffeine. Remember the coca-cola million dollar secret recipe? Although the sales of coca-cola and pepsi is slightly lower then years ago, they are still the powerhouse of commercial soft drinks globally. 

Before you pick up that can of coke or soft drink, I want you to realize what I'm about to share with you in the following. Awareness is a pre-requisite to change. I want you to know what is happening inside your body when you consume that can of soda, it will likely to blow your mind if you find out. Let's get started. First 10 minutes upon consumption, 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. You don't vomit immediately because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down. Approximately 20 mins after drinking that soda, blood sugar spike, and insulin release is triggered, your are in hyperglycemic state, your liver response by turning fructose into body fat. What happen next? 40 minutes in, caffeine absoption is almost completed, your blood pressure increase, your liver reponse again by dumping more sugar into your bloodstream. Your brain starts to produce dopamine and stimulate brain pleasure system, and that makes you feel good. Within an hour mark, the phosphoric acid binds to vital nutrients such as calcium, zinc and magnesium in your lower intestines and these minerals are depleted through urination. Your body is losing vital minerals and water. And finally, when your body is trying to pulls down insulin level, it now experience hypoglycemic, which is low blood sugar. In other words, your body suffer from sugar crash, and become sluggish. Your body will then tend to look for another quick hit of energy and the roller coaster ride has begun.

For some of you who just read the mental elaboration of the soft drink affect, two things will most likely takes place. One person may now be aware of the devastating affect in this beverage, and resolute to reducing or eliminating this drink from his or her diet. The other person may be thinking " I don't give a damn" and continue his or her usual poor toxic diet. I also would want to rewind back a little bit about coffee, as some of you might decide to consume decaffeinated coffee product, and thinking that it somehow healthier. Well, yes there are pros and cons to decaffeinated coffee. But the primary reason most people consume coffee is to get that energy hit and caffeine. Meanwhile, decaff coffee beans are usually higher in mold and mycotoxins due to removal of caffeine. Caffeine is a protective mechanism used by the plant itself to bend off invaders including mold and fungus. The decaff coffee industry then contribute and 'sell' off its caffeine to the soft drinks industry as a way to make more money. 

I remember way back during my time about close to 25-30 years ago, there are lower rates of obesity and diabetic patients. We have blamed saturated fats and cholesterol for far too long (60 odd years?), we have screwed up big time for this massive dietary mistake, and more people are now dependant on sodas and coffee to keep their energy levels up in he day on regular basis. This has become a daily ritual and most people adrenals can no longer function normally without these stimulants. 

When anyone asked me about the 'perfect storm' for any meals or foods adverse affect, my answer to them is "Sugar, caffeine and wheat". These 3 substances of mixed cocktail is a perfect combination to wreck havoc in the body and causes massive reaction and inflammation. I call it The Perfect Storm, or also known as The Cytokine Storm by many health professionals. And what would those combination of foods be? A classic example is a typical fast food meal, or bakery food with coffee, which is a typical breakfast in western countries. 

How about alcohol or perhaps even wine? I have many people who debate that wine consumption has its own health benefits and how true is that? Well, I do agree in certain aspect about the benefits of wine but the cons outweigh the pros if you review it comprehensively. Alcohol drinks or even wine, have the same metabolic affect as soft drinks, minus the buzz. Some of the alcoholic beverages especially wine can increase Ig-E antibodies which will likely to result in allergic reaction for certain individuals. And of course, alcohol is neurotoxic to the brain and causes injury to the liver and gut too.  It's a poison to the brain, period. It's also another form of stimulant, similar to soft drinks and coffee, but may response a little different in terms of delivering false energy to an individual. 

Anyone experiencing digestive problems or suspected of leaky gut or even celiac disease, staying away from alcohol is highly recommended. Especially alcoholic beverages made and fermented with wheat, rye and barley, it's destructive to the gut damaging the musocal lining of your intestines. Some may wonder what if I consume alcohol once in a while, would that be alright? Well, if its occasional one glass in months, and if you don't suffer from adverse symptoms from wine or alcoholic consumption, I assume it should not be as bad, but listening to your body is crucial. 

Also, please bear in mind that regular alcohol consumption can lead to esophageal and phyloric valves and sphincters dysfunctions. Many people are suffering from GI disorders, conditions such as GERD, acid reflux, gastritis, heartburn, severe bloating and flatulence, etc. When musocal barrier is breaking down, the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) will stay open, and substances such as foods and stomach will reflux upwards. Please take taking anti-acid medications will not solve anything and in fact it will make it worst long term.

Finally, what should you do if you are addicted to stimulants such as caffeine and sugars? Fix your overall diet first, and NOT exercise more! If you seriously need to consume coffee, ensure it is organic and add some healthy fats (coconut oil, ghee or grass fed butter) in each serving. Go to bed early to avoid energy and blood sugar dsyregulation. Drink more quality clean water throughout the day, and slowly reduce the consumption of caffeinated beverages from week 1, 2, 3 and so on. Invest in a good quality water filter at home. Add a pinch of quality unprocessed sea salt into every 1 litre of water. It will replenish the lost minerals from the caffeine and sugars flushed out from the body. Last but not least, you can refer to the urine color chart below to check if your are drinking enough water for your own bodyweight. 



Am I drinking enough water?


From the above chart, you want to be drinking enough water to match the color of your urine to no.1 and no.2. If your urine color is no.3, you are dehydrated. You may suffer from muscles cramps if the color darkens to no.4. If it matches the color further down the chart from 5 to 8, you are at health risks! Most people are severely dehydrated of quality water and the body is made of 70% water. 













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