Guest guest Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Are You a Stimulant Addict? JoAnn Guest Oct 17, 2005 17:00 PDT Are You a Stimulant Addict? Do you ever buy sweets and hide the wrappers so other people won't know? Do you swoon at the dessert menu in restaurants and always take a mint or two on the way out? How much do you think about and look forward to that cup of coffee in the morning or in the break? How important to you is that drink after work? How secret are you about the amount you smoke? Have you become a coffee connoisseur, side-stepping the issue of addiction by focusing on your hobby of sampling yet another caffeinated offering? This kind of relationship to stimulants, often cloaked in the attitude that these are just the normal pleasures of life, is indicative of an underlying chemical imbalance that depletes your energy and peace of mind. Even if this sounds like you, you'll still need to assess, for yourself, your current relationship to stimulants. All you need to do is keep a daily diary, just for three days. Mark down how much and when you consume: coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar or something sweet, cigarettes or alcohol. And note how intensely you crave them. You don't need them Stimulants are energy's greatest enemy. Even though stimulants can create energy in the short term, the long-term effect is always bad. The same is true for stress. So the first step to beating stress and fatigue is to cut out, or cut down on, stimulants. That means, as we've noted, coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar and refined foods, cigarettes, cola drinks and alcohol. Go cold turkey, and quit consuming these stimulants for one month. Notice what happens on withdrawal. The more damage stimulants are doing to you, the greater the withdrawal effect. (Fortunately, by eating slow-releasing carbohydrates and taking energy nutrients as supplements, you can minimise withdrawal symptoms which usually last no more that four days.) Then start again, and notice what happens with your first tea, coffee, hit of sugar and chocolate. You'll experience what Hans Selye (who described the general adaptation syndrome) called the 'initial response' – in other words, a true response to these powerful chemicals: pounding head, hyperactive mind, fast heart-beat and insomnia, followed by extreme drowsiness. Keep on the stimulants and you will adapt – that's phase 2. Keep doing this long enough and eventually you hit exhaustion – phase 3. This happens for everybody. The only variance is how long it will take you to get to the 'exhaustion' phase. Recovery is not only possible, it's usually rapid. Most people feel substantially more energy and ability to cope with stress within thirty days of quitting stimulants with nutritional support. Remember that decaffeinated coffee still contains stimulants. The painless way to cut out stimulants You may have scoffed at the idea of cutting out all stimulants for a month. This would be at least stressful for many people, and just about impossible for some. If this sounds like you, your first step is to find out which stimulants are most important to you. Look at your habits. Which substance, if any, do you have in one form or other several times a day? Which do you use as a pick-me-up, perhaps to get you out of bed in the morning or when your energy is flagging during the day? Which would you find the hardest to stop completely for one month? Although you may intend to stop them for ever, in reality it is a lot easier to take it one step at a time. So start by picking one stimulant (other than cigarettes) you use frequently. Could you realistically cut it out for 1 month only? If not, what could you reduce your intake to? Write this down and stick to it. Set yourself similar targets for no more than three stimulants. Sometimes they overlap. For example, if you use coffee, sugar and chocolate, but can't stand coffee without sugar, then cutting out sugar automatically means no chocolate and no coffee. Here are some tips to help you get started. Sugar Sugar is an acquired taste. Although we are born with a liking for sweet things, research has shown that only those who are fed sweets and sweet foods as children like high levels of sweetness. So as you gradually cut down the level of sweetness in all the food you eat, you will soon get accustomed to the taste. You'll need to reduce the amount of sugar you have in hot drinks and food, eat less dried fruit, and dilute the fruit juice you drink. When you want something sweet, have a piece of fruit. Sweeten cereals and desserts with fruit, and if you're really desperate have a fruit and nut bar from your local health food store. Don't use sugar substitutes. These may not raise your blood sugar levels, however they are harmful to your nervous system, promote weight gain and neither do they allow you to change your habits. It takes about a month for a preference for less sweet foods to kick in. Let your taste buds be the judge of how sweet a food is – but do check the labels for all those disguised forms of sugar. Coffee Coffee is strongly addictive. It takes, on average, four days to break the habit. During these days you may experience headaches and grogginess. These are a strong reminder of how bad coffee really is for you. Decaffeinated coffee is only mildly better. The most popular coffee alternatives are Caro, Pero, Bamboo, Yannoh, Barleycup and Symington's Dandelion coffee. When you have been off coffee for a month you may decide the occasional cup would be nice. Have this as a treat, perhaps when you eat out, not as a pick-me-up. Tea Tea is not as bad for you as coffee, unless you like your tea well stewed. Start by decreasing the strength of your tea, perhaps using a smaller cup or teapot. Tea has such a strong flavour that you can literally dip a tea bag in for a few seconds and still have a strong tasting drink. Use Luaka tea, which is a good-quality Ceylon tea that is naturally low in tannin and caffeine. The most popular caffeine-free alternatives are herb teas such as Celestial Seasonings or Yogi Teas. Red Bush (or Rooibosch) tea is good with milk and has a taste closer to that of 'normal' tea. Green tea isn't caffeine-free but it has much less than regular tea and has other health benefits. Chocolate Chocolate contains both sugar and chocolate. Start by switching to chocolate free clifbar/luna snacks from your local health food shop or try some Panda licorice bars. Then, cut these out too, keeping them strictly for emergencies. Eat fresh fruit instead if you feel you need something sweet. Alcohol It is all too easy to overindulge in alcohol because of its role in social interaction. Start by limiting the times you have alcohol. For example, don't drink at lunchtime. You'll certainly work better in the afternoon. Limit what you drink. For example, stick to wine, avoiding beer or spirits. Limit how much you drink by setting yourself a weekly target – for example, seven glasses of wine a week. This allows you to have quite a few at that party on Saturday night and compensate by having little throughout the proceeding week. Ideally, cut it out completely for at least the first 2 weeks. If you find this hard to do, take a close look at your drinking habits, and, if necessary, seek professional help. To sum up – here are some practical steps for breaking addictions to stress and stimulants: Identify which stimulants that you are addicted to. Find which substitutes you like the most and avoid or considerably reduce your intake of stimulants until they are no longer a daily requirement. Notice your patterns of stressful behaviour and replace these with a more positive way of responding. http://www.mentalhealthproject.com/ ===================================================================== Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2003 4:47 pm Post subject: Calamity in a Cup - Effects of Caffeine --- Calamity in a Cup - Effects of Caffeine This article is from " Abundant Living " By Ginny Rawls People consuming as little as 100mg (1 cup) of caffeine a day have withdrawal symptoms. " New England Journal of Medicine " Two cups of coffee may raise blood pressure to levels equal to one cigarette, but it keeps it there for 1 - 2 hours, vs. just 15 minutes for smoking. (American Journal of Medicine) Caffeine can increase the heart rate, may cause frequent irregular beats, can raise blood cholesterol, may accelerate blood clotting leading to a heart attack. 2 - 3 cups raises blood pressure for 3 hours. (American Journal of Hypertension) According to researcher Dr. Gail Bernstein, 77% of children over 6 months old ingest caffeine regularly. Journal of Child/Adol Psychology March 1994 A cup of coffee reduces iron absorption by 39%. Drip coffee will lower iron absorption by 72%,while doubling coffee's strength will reduce it by 91% (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition) In 1980 the Food and Drug Administration removed caffeine from the " enerally Recognized As Safe " (GRAS) list. Caffeine stimulates the brain cortex, and can cause poor balance, racing heart, insomnia, racing and disconnected thoughts, poor memry, fatigue, restless leg syndrome, hand tremors, anxiety, and dread, hostility, sleep disturbances, headaches, hyperexcitability, irritability, agitation, anxiety & dehydration. Caffeine triples the risk of pancreatic cancer (3C/day)1, doubles fatal bladder cancer risk (2C/day)2, raises colon cancer risk by 250%(2C/day)3, raises risk of fibrocystic disease (3C/day), increases breast cancer risk (3C/day), Increases ovarian cancer risk (2C/day) , Doubles female bladder cancer risk (1/Cday) . 1. New England Journal of Medicine 2. American Journal of Public Health 3. Family Practice News 4. Surgery 86: 104 - 109 5.International Journal of Cancer 6. Medical World Each 10 mg. of caffeine consumed causes a 1 mg calcium *loss* in the bones. This affects children as well as adults. One study showed that calcium *loss* actually doubled in 133 of 135 subjects who used caffeine. Additionally " phosphoric acid " in soft drinks can damage developing bones by " taking " calcium from them. American Journal of Epidemiology Chlorogenic acid in coffee causes some of the most intense food allergies encountered in medical practice. (JAMA) Heavy tea drinkers often have vitamin B deficiencies, and tannin, a chemical component of tea, has been shown to interfere with iron absorption. This can cause fatigue & listlessness . While all methylxanthines (class of toxic alkaloid chemicals) are harmful to the thyroid, tea is highest in theophylline, which is the most damaging to the thyroid. Endocrinology Caffeine stresses the pancreas and compounds diabetes by raising the blood sugar levels 1 Caffeine can be considered a risk factor in diabetes 2. Coffee makes diabetes much worse in mouse experiment 1. Lancet 2. JAMA 3. Medical World News Caffeine: 300 mg per day retarded fetal growth 300 mg per day during month before pregnancy nearly doubled spontaneous abortions (SAB) risk. Just 163 mg. a day during the first trimester may double SAB risk. JAMA Infants of caffeine-using mothers have higher rates of apnea (stop breathing for short periods). American Journal of Ob/Gyn Caffeine may be a triggering factor for insulin-dependent diabetes in childhood. British Medical Journal Caffeine can damage chromosomes in humans; increases the chance of birth defects. Cancer Research 200 mg decreases placental blood flow Journal of Reproductive Medicine Young rats given decaffeinated coffee had a significantly retarded growth rate. (Life & Health) Even decaffeinated coffee has hundreds of potentially harmful chemical components. One class of these compounds is " caffeols " , which are coffee oils that are very irritating to the gastrointestinal tract. In addition many other chemicals which have been linked to cancer and heart disease are still present as are other central nervous system stimulants1. Even decaffeinated coffee contains more than 700 volatile chemicals such as acetaldehyd, ammonia, carbon disulfide, acetic acid, nitrosamines and others. 1. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2. Caffeine Coffee and Health, Garattini, Silvio More Information concerning the health concerns for caffeine consumption can be found in the booklet " Calamity in a Cup " . _________________ JoAnn Guest mrsjo- www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes ==================================================================== Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:51 pm Post subject: AMERICA'S NO. 1 DRUG PROBLEM - COFFEE Caffeine is the world's most popular stimulant. The drug four out of five Americans take on any given day. Most of the caffeine we consume comes from coffee. The United States buys nearly one-half of the world supply of coffee beans. It is said that a food service operation can stand or fall on its reputation of the coffee it serves. Every mid-morning and mid- afternoon working day millions of office and factory workers abandon jobs for an employer-paid " coffee break. " Over 15,000,000 Americans are hooked on coffee; and most of them don't even know it, so insidious is its addictive onslaught. The child or adult may unknowingly ingest several hundred milligrams of caffeine daily. Like narcotics, alcohol or cigarettes, coffee and caffeinated beverages are addictive, destructive drugs which each year predispose millions of Americans to crippling illnesses and sometimes fatal diseases. Coffee and tea are the two most popular beverages in America. Less than 9 percent of the population drink neither coffee nor tea. Coffee is America's No. 1 drug problem. CAFFEINE WITHDRAWAL Caffeine withdrawal can occur from just missing one cup of coffee in the morning. Symptoms of caffeine withdrawal are headaches, irritability, inability to work effectively, nervousness, restlessness and lethargy. A steady user of caffeine may, at times, experience tight headaches in the back of the neck area and be quick to anger or irritation. CAFFEINE ACTS AS A STIMULATE Caffeine is a toxic stimulant. Body reactions are speeded up. This is not a natural thing for the body. What it does is activate The Fight or Flight Response. Executive Fitness Newsletter, October 13, 1984, stated: " It's important to remember that the caffeine in coffee is a powerful substance. It can stimulate the central nervous system, increase heartbeat and metabolic rate, increase the secretion of stomach acid, and step up secretion of stomach acid, and step up kidney and bladder action. It's also well known for its annoying ability to affect sleep. " The article goes on to say that in higher doses, caffeine can cause " coffee nerves " with a wide assortment of symptoms " including anxiety, irritability, headaches, light-headedness, nausea and diarrhea. " Coffee can cause a temporary increase in blood sugar, but it is quickly followed by a decrease, and stimulates the release of adrenalin, which causes body tissues to be broken down into sugar and fat. Too much insulin is produced, and the blood sugar falls to a low level. CAFFEINE IS A POISON Caffeine, which is the main chemical in coffee, is a powerful poison! A drop of caffeine injected into the skin of an animal will produce death within a few minutes. An infinitely small amount injected into the brain will cause convulsions. The amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee is quite small. Yet we drink coffee because of the effect of the caffeine, just as we smoke because of the effect of the nicotine. Both are drugs, both are habit-forming! Both are poisons COFFEE-DRINKING & STOMACH ULCERS Two modern disorders: The general public usually associates with coffee drinking — ulcers and heart trouble. J.A. Roth and A.C. Ivy, whose animal experiments on coffee are famous, state in Gastroenterology, November, 1948: " Caffeine produces gastro-duodenal ulcers in animals to whom the drug is given in a beeswax container so that their stomachs are absorbing caffeine continually. Also, caffeine produces very definite changes in the blood vessels of animals, which are similar to changes produced by prolonged resentment hostility and anxiety. " COFFEE LINKED TO HIP FRACTURES The Providence Journal wrote in October 1, 1990: " People who drink more than two cups of coffee or four cups of tea a day could be increasing their risk of hip fracture in old age, according to a new study. " The study, published in the October issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, is the first to link caffeine consumption with hip fractures that occur in older people whose bones have weakened. A hip fracture often marks an elderly person's final decline into dependency or death. " Dr. Douglas P. Kiel, a professor of medicine at Brown University, and his colleagues looked at how much coffee or tea 3,170 people reported drinking over 14 years. Then they looked to see which ones fractured their hips, a sign that bones had become brittle. They found that heavy caffeine drinkers were 53 percent more likely to suffer hip fractures. " Caffeine has long been suspected of draining calcium from the bones, because people who consume it have higher levels of calcium in their urine. Loss of calcium leads to osteoporosis, the brittle-bone condition that afflicts many elderly people, and results in an estimated 250,000 hip fractures each year. " INFERTILITY Trying to become pregnant? Then you should stop drinking caffinated drinks. Among 104 women who drank junst one cup of caffinated coffee a day were half as likely to become pregnant during any given menstrual cycle as those who drank less, accoding to a 1988 study by Allen Wilcox of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Most of the studies conducted since then have also found that caffeine impairs fertility, but usually only at three or more cups of regular coffee a day. But the research is only as good or bad-as the women's memories. For example, scientists at Johns Hopkins University found that among 2,500 women who were trying to become pregnant, consuming more than 300 milligrams of caffeine a day reduced their chances of succeeding in any given month by 17 percent. But those results were based on the amount of coffee and soft drinks the women could remember having consumed as many as ten years earlier. Even so, " it's probably prudent for women who are trying to become pregnant, and especially for those having trouble, to cut back on caffeine, " says Mark Klebanoff of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Bethesda, Maryland. DOES COFFEE CAUSE CANCER? There is mounting evidence suggesting that if you want to avoid certain cancers, you are well-advised to kick the coffee habit. Roasting coffee produces tars and has the same characteristic as coal tar. - One study revealed that not only was coffee drinking associated with increased risk of bladder cancer, but the drinking of non-diet cola drinks also was linked to this problem. - Coffee drinking increases the risk of birth defects. - Coffee drinking increases blood pressure, increasing the risk of heart disease. It is commonly thought that the drinking of coffee, soft drinks, and other caffinated drinks is a monor matter as far as our helath is concerned. But is it? We cannot estimate its effect on mind and emotions, discrimination and judgment. And then there is the harmful effects of the stimulation on the heart and other vital organs. Coffee and other caffeine beverages are poor substitutes for water. The body need fluids, but not stimulating drugs. Giving up the coffee habit is relatively easy to do for most folks — once a commitment has been made. Since caffeine is a less toxic drug than alcohol and street drugs, the majority of coffee drinkers can give up the habit without the sort of difficulties that both alcoholics and drug addicts typically experience. While it is true that caffeine has been around a long time, that is not necessarily its best enforsement. Russian roulette has been around for some time, too! When giving up caffeine eat and drink nothing that does not contribute in some way to good nutrition for the body. Any food or drink that contains neither vitamins, minerals or enzymes should automatically be crossed off the list. While breaking " the coffee habit " be sure to drink plenty of fresh juices and water. " Just how widespread is coffee drinking? The average American drinks over twenty-six gallons of coffee per year, but perhaps more germane to the discussion is caffeine itself. Coffee has over three hundred chemicals; caffeine is only one of them. " - Carol Simontacchi, The Crazy Makers www.amazingdiet.org ________________ JoAnn Guest mrsjo- www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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