Journal

Every time you drink tea, coffee, cocoa,  chocolate, or cola you are giving your body a 'hit' of caffeine. Along with nicotine and alcohol, caffeine is one  of the three most widely used mood -affecting drugs in the world.

If you have more than two or three caffeine drinks per day your 'habit' may be affecting you emotionally and physically much more powerfully than you might expect.  

It is a potent and quick-acting drug which produces an effect similar to the stress response in our bodies. Caffeine affects each person differently, depending on individual circumstances such as weight, build, etc. It has an almost instant effect on your mind-body which will continue to influence your state for 6-8 hours afterwards.    

New research into the effects of caffeine continues appear every few months and these reports frequently contradict one another - depending on who did the research, how many people were evaluated and, of course, who funded the research... So the definitive word on caffeine has not yet been agreed

Caffeine affects each of us differently - a hit of caffeine that will cause insomnia in one person can be a great nightcap for someone else

Take the list below, and the research into caffeine, with a pinch of salt (not literally, of course) and experiment to discover how you, personally, relate with this drug

The following effects are commonly attributed to over-use of caffeine - while reading them bear in mind that what is true for one person may not be true for someone else:

1. Stimulates your heart, respiratory system, and central nervous system.

2. Makes your blood more `sludgy' by raising the level of fatty acids in the blood.

3. Causes messages to be passed along your nervous system more quickly

4. Stimulates blood circulation

5. Raises blood pressure

6. Causes your stomach to produce more acid

7. Irritates the stomach lining

8. Makes digestion less effective by relaxing the muscles of your intestinal system

9. Its diuretic effect caused increased urination  - although you would have have to drink about 8 coups of coffee in one sitting for this to occur (1)

10. Stimulates the cortex of your brain heightening the intensity of mental activity. This can result in a temporary feeling of alertness and, in the short term, banishes drowsiness and feelings of fatigue. In those who already have high levels of anxiety the heightened intensity of mental activity can produce unpleasant effects. But check out (2) below which contradicts this.

11. Affects the length and quality of sleep. Heavy caffeine users suffer from sleep-deprivation because their nervous system is too stimulated to allow them deep, restful or prolonged sleep.

12. The American Medical Journal has reported a correlation between caffeine and decreased bone density or osteoporosis in women.

In addition to the above effects prolonged or very heavy caffeine use can produce the following:

13. `Caffeine nerves' a jittery feeling with shaking hands, palpitations, and wobbliness in the legs.

14. Caffeine addiction which involves nervousness, irritability, agitation, headaches or ringing in the ears.

15. Causes your adrenal glands to release their hormones into your bloodstream

16. Causes blood sugar, or blood glucose, to be released from storage through the effects of the adrenal hormones. This gives you a temporary lift but…

17. …requires your pancreas to over-work. This is because your pancreas now has to produce extra insulin to reduce this  extra blood sugar. Once the extra insulin has 'mopped up' the extra blood sugar your temporary lift from the caffeine ends. Your vitality level is back to normal. However in heavy caffeine users the pancreas, in time, becomes over-sensitive and over-zealous. Now it begins producing too much insulin – it 'mops up' not just the excess blood sugar but the blood sugar you need to feel alert and energetic. The initial effect of this is a let-down effect and a craving for more caffeine to give you a further boost. A later effect can be excessive and chronic tiredness, even on  waking in the morning. Some people find that many of the psychological complaints common to reactive hypoglycaemia (the emotional yo-yo effect, shakiness, palpitations, weakness, tiredness, etc.) disappear within a few days of stopping caffeine.

NOTE: The fact that caffeine can produce these  sensations and symptoms does not mean that it is the 'only' cause of such symptoms. But if you experience similar symptoms and your medical advisor confirms that they do not have a verifiable organic cause then you may wish to cut out caffeine for a few weeks to see if the symptoms reduce or disappear.