Top 10 Caffeine Related Health Problems]

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>Top 10 Caffeine-Related Health Problems

>

>The information below is taken from the book Caffeine Blues.

>

>Cardiovascular Problems

>Caffeine increases your heart rate, elevates your blood pressure, and

>can contribute to the development of heart disease. Both decaf and

>regular coffee increase your cholesterol and homocysteine, the

>biochemical that science has linked to increased risk for heart attack.

>Caffeine is also linked to coronary vasospasms, the cause for 20% of all

>fatal heart attacks which kill otherwise perfectly healthy people.

>

>

>Stress

>Caffeine stimulates the excretion of stress hormones which can produce

>increased levels of anxiety, irritability, muscular tension and pain,

>indigestion, insomnia, and decreased immunity. Increased levels of

>stress from caffeine can keep you from being able to make healthy

>responses to the normal daily stress everyone is subjected to in their

>lives.

>

>

>Emotional Disturbances

>Anxiety and irritability are hallmark mood disturbances associated with

>caffeine consumption, but equally important is depression and attention

>disorders. Depression may occur as part of the let down after the

>stimulant effects of caffeine wears off. It may also appear during the

>recovery period after quitting caffeine while the brain's chemistry is

>readjusted. Caffeine rather than increasing mental activity actually

>decreases blood flow to the brain by as much as 30% and negatively

>effects memory and mental performance.

>

>

>Blood Sugar Swings

>Diabetics and hypoglycemics should avoid caffeine because it stimulates

>a temporary surge in blood sugar which is then followed by an

>overproduction of insulin that causes a blood sugar crash within hours.

>If you're trying to lose weight, this rollercoaster will actually cause

>weight gain since insulin's message to the body is to store excess sugar

>as fat.

>

>

>Gastrointestinal Problems

>Many people experience a burning sensation in their stomach after

>drinking coffee because coffee increases the secretion of hydrochloric

>acid leading to an increased risk for ulcers. Coffee, including decaf,

>reduces the pressure on the valve between the esophagus and the stomach

>so that the highly acidic contents of the stomach pass up to the

>esophagus leading to heartburn and gastro-esophageal reflux disease.

>With America's high consumption of coffee, its no wonder the best

>selling over-the-counter drugs are the so-called antacids.

>

>

>Nutritional Deficiencies

>Caffeine inhibits the absorption of some nutrients and causes the

>urinary excretion of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and trace

>minerals, all essential elements necessary for good health.

>

>

>Male Health Problems

>Dr. Milton Krisiloff, M.D. has found that in the majority of cases, men

>can significantly reduce their risk for urinary and prostate problems by

>making dietary changes which include eliminating coffee and caffeine.

>

>

>Female Health Problems

>Fibrocystic breast disease, PMS, osteoporosis, infertility problems,

>miscarriage, low birth weight infants, and menopausal problems such as

>hot flashes are all exacerbated by caffeine consumption. Women on birth

>control pills are particularly at risk since they have a decreased

>ability to detoxify caffeine.

>

>

>Adrenal Exhaustion

>Caffeine consumption leads to eventual adrenal exhaustion which can

>leave you vulnerable to a variety of health disorders related to

>inflammation, autoimmunity, and fatigue.

>

>

>Aging

>Many people find in their forties that they can no longer tolerate the

>same level of caffeine consumption as they could in their twenties and

>thirties. The production of DHEA, melatonin, and other vital hormones

>start to decline and caffeine speeds up that downhill drop. Caffeine

>dehydrates the body and contributes to the aging of the skin and

>kidneys.

>It has been shown to inhibit DNA repair and slow the ability of the

>liver to " detoxify " foreign toxins.

>

>http://www.teeccino.com/Top10Reasons.aspx

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==========================================================Coffee Consumption:

Imminent Dangers

>JoAnn Guest

>Feb 22, 2004 11:01 PST

>

>

>

>Stimulants are energy's greatest enemy.

>

>Even though stimulants can create energy in the short term, the

>long-term effect is always bad.

>Remember that decaffeinated coffee always contains stimulants. We all

>need to assess, for ourselves, our current relationship with

>stimulants.

>Coffee drinkers who opt for decaffeinated in the belief that it will

>not be harmful, could be kidding themselves, scientists say.

>

>A recent study in Zurich Switzerland, suggests that caffeine is not

>responsible for all of coffee's stimulant effects and that even organic

>decaf coffee can increase *blood pressure* and interrupt sleep patterns,

>even for occasional drinkers.

>

>The study into the effects of coffee found that blood pressure and

>nervous system activity increased even with the occasional cup coffee,

>regardless of whether or not it contained caffeine.

>

>Dr Roberto Corti, a cardiologist from the University Hospital in

>Zurich, Switzerland, said:

>We had expected to see that caffeinated coffee increased blood pressure.

>But we were surprised to find that organic decaffeinated brands did the

>same.

>If you avoid ordinary coffee and take decaf instead, you will have

>exactly the same effect.

>

>Researchers measured the blood pressure, heart rate and nervous

>system activity of 15 healthy volunteers aged between 27 and 38.

>Six of the group were habitual coffee drinkers. The others either did

>not drink coffee or had it only occasionally.

>Measurements were recorded before, during and after the volunteers

>drank decaffeinated and regular coffee.

>

>The occasional drinkers showed a rise in blood pressure after an hour

>for both regular and decaffeinated. Both also increased nervous system

>activity - by 29 per

>cent after half-an-hour and 53 per cent after 60 minutes.

>

>Over- activation of the nervous system has been linked to high blood

>pressure.

>Dr Corti said the research, published today in the medical journal

>Circulation, suggested an unknown ingredient was responsible for

>increasing heart rate and blood pressure.

>

>'Until now, we have attributed the cardiovascular effects of coffee

>to caffeine but we found non-coffee drinkers given decaffeinated

>coffee also display these effects,' he said.

>

>He suggested that people who had been advised to avoid coffee - such

>as those with hypertension - might do best also to steer clear of

>decaf as well.

>Bristol University researchers have shown that consumption of coffee,

>even small amounts of decaf - has been linked to ill-health.

>

>The very " acidic " nature of coffee leads to stomach ulcers and numerous

>other digestive complaints as well. When the excessive acid from even a

>few cups of coffee enters the bloodstream, it greatly increases urinary

>calcium 'loss'. As far as caffeine is concerned, it causes severe

>dehydration, and the massive *depletion* of important minerals.

>

>The more caffeine added, total calcium excretion in the urine increased

>by 25%. When sugar was added, urinary calcium loss almost doubled. Both

>caffeine and sugar cause *dehydration*.

>

>-- Coffee drinkers are often deficient in calcium, magnesium,

>potassium and other important minerals.

>

>Coffee has no 'nutritional' value.

>The caffeine is able to penetrate deep into vital tissue.

>Even “minute” amounts of caffeine 'slow down' the 'elimination' of mucus

>and " destroy " vitamin C.

>

>It has been proven that even 'minimal' amounts of Caffeine have a

>powerful effect on the coronary arteries and the

>pulmonary and systemic vessels to the heart muscle,

>while also decreasing the flow of blood to the brain,

>all the while 'constricting'

>the cerebral blood vessels.

>

>Caffeine may cause abnormally fast, abnormally slow and irregular

>heart beats.

>

>It wreaks havoc on blood pressure, producing hypertension.

>Coffee is very closely linked to angina and numerous other forms of

>heart disease, pancreas and bladder cancer, diabetes and hypoglycemia.

>

>There are other naturally occurring organic compounds found in coffee

>called " Terpenoids " which research indicates accelerate our

>*cholesterol* levels.

>Researchers report that these terpenoids are only partially removed by

>coffee filters.

>

>Coffee is strongly addictive. It takes, on average, close to four days

>to break the habit.

>During these days you may experience headaches and grogginess. This is a

>strong reminder of how extremely harmful coffee really is for you. Tea

>is not as harmful as coffee, unless you like your tea well 'stewed'.

>

>Caffeine works like a mild drug, acting directly upon the central

>nervous system.

>

>It does this by releasing stored sugar (glycogen) in the liver,

>which accounts for the " lift " coffee, cola, and chocolate give.

>

>Release of stored sugar places heavy 'stress' on the *endocrine* system,

>very often called " adrenal-rush " .

>

>Caffeine is a central nervous system " stimulant " , providing that

>familiar kick on which we have come to depend.

>

>But as with all stimulants, there is a price to be paid.

>If we run the body on *overdrive* by constantly 'artificially'

>stimulating the

> " adrenals " , we can expect an eventual breakdown to occur.

>

>In a survey, the four top reasons for eliminating coffee were:

>

>central nervous system disorders, 39%;

>gastrointestinal problems, 37%; to break addiction, 19%; and

>fibrocystic breast tumors, 15%.

>Each cup of coffee, cola, tea, every piece of chocolate, and any other

>ingested caffeine products, intensifies " toxic psychosis " . Half-life

>increases. Subsequent doses, including minute amounts,

>act as a bolus.

>

>Cells are poisoned, including our neurons.

>

>It is medical knowledge that the longer a person is exposed to a drug,

>the higher the chances are for developing a tolerance, and an allergy to

>the substance.

>

>Once this happens with caffeine, it cannot be metabolized, but is

>rapidly absorbed by all the organs, and distributed

>into intracellular compartments

>and extracellular water (edema).

>

>

>Circulating adrenaline (epinephrine) increases in caffeine- consuming

>persons.

>

>With caffeine, a person's inability to 'eliminate'(edema,

>dehydration)

>while continually ingesting caffeine, neurotransmitter

>levels, including dopamine and adrenaline, quickly increase.

>

>As a result, our cells rapidly absorb the " drug " .

>

>The higher the adrenaline level, the greater the increase in dopamine.

>Serotonin also increases. Dopamine and serotonin decrease during

>partial, toxic withdrawal states.

>

>But as long as the toxins from caffeine remain in the body,

>'neurotransmitters' never adjust to the victim's " natural " state.

>

>The body views coffee as a poison.

>

>This is most readily seen in the use of coffee enemas, which act by

>forcing the liver to

>quickly dump excess 'waste' build up from the body.

>

>I am acutely aware that the press is extolling the virtues of coffee

>consumption. Obviously, big PHARMA controls our media. When I hear

>these things in the media, we must stop to consider the source!

>

>Caffeine in any form is a stimulant and essentially a very harmful drug

>linked to the onset and exacerbation of disease. In that respect it is

>very similar to the pharmaceuticals which we are trying to avoid.

>

>Best Regards

>JoAnn

>

> " There are more coffee addicts in the US than drug addicts of any

>other kind " .- Charles F. Withal

>

>JoAnn Guest

>mrsjo-

>DietaryTi-

>www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes

>

> AIM Barleygreen

> " Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

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