The Case Against Caffeine

Is it good for you, bad for you…ok for you? Navigating all the different opinions and going over bio-individuality and the science

Everyone has a different opinion on caffeine. This post is all about those opinions, but mainly the science.

When I had made my first attempt to cut out caffeine, I lasted 4 ½ days of the full week I had originally committed. I caved when I came across a video that explained why coffee is actually good for us. It detailed all the mood enhancing properties, metabolism perks, and energy like no other. However, you always need to remember to look into both sides.

I was a 3-4 cup a day drinker for about 2 years, but I had been drinking coffee daily for 9 years. It is true that caffeine is a drug, which is probably why I still remember those euphoric first few months as a coffee drinker when I would use it to study late nights in my senior year of high school.

Those 4 days I attempted to stop drinking coffee I was met with blinding headaches, intense fatigue, mood swings, and probably the worst, was my lack of cognition. I felt confused and unable to hold a conversation. It was the strangest few days and eventually, I just gave into the uncomfortable symptoms and went back to my daily routine of coffee everyday.

Currently, I have not had a sip of coffee in 2 months. Like any addiction, for me it feels way longer than that. Although 95% of my caffeine consumption is out the window, I still drink green tea or matcha and definitely my dark chocolate pieces a few times a week.

For context, coffee has on average 100-200 mg of caffeine per cup, whereas green tea or matcha has 25mg per cup, and about 2.5 grams in a piece of dark chocolate.

For beverages I personally don’t drink but also have caffeine: coca cola with 40 mg a can and Red bull’s with 80mg per can.

So why did I stop drinking coffee and how did I do it since my first attempt was such a painful fail. I realize more and more the sheer power of the mind. The first time I did it just to test myself, the second time was related to health. I will get into health conditions that may require a total reduced amount of caffeine and potentially total elimination.

I was diagnosed with fibrocystic breasts and in my determination to reverse the diagnosis, I went with whatever the studies said. Armed with knowledge, I had no symptoms or trouble at all when I stopped drinking caffeinated coffee. In doing my own research, I realized although the side effects of caffeine use are not totally detrimental, the positives may not necessarily outweigh the negatives.

Understanding what caffeine is:

Caffeine is a naturally occurring chemical compound and psychotropic (affects a person’s mental state). Its scientific name is 1,3,7-Trimethylpurine-2,6-dione. Caffeine is naturally found in more than 60 plants.

Caffeine is the world’s most popular stimulant. It is commonly added to other substances like medicines, drinks, and foods (like energy drinks and snacks).

Caffeine is typically consumed in coffee by drinking infusions of the beans of the coffee tree, whereas tea is an infusion of the leaves of the tea bush.

The key difference with the caffeine in coffee and tea is that caffeine molecules in coffee beans are easier for your body to absorb, meaning you feel the effects of coffee much more quickly than in tea.

With tea, your body has to work harder to digest and absorb the available caffeine. As a result, the effects of tea are subtler and longer-lasting than with coffee, taking roughly six to eight hours to digest.

How does caffeine work in the body?

Caffeine works on our central nervous system. It manipulates receptors in our brain by blocking adenosine (A1 and A2A).

The A1 receptor promotes sleepiness, so when caffeine blocks this receptor, it increases alertness.

The A2A receptor controls dopamine (happy hormone) so by blocking this receptor, caffeine increases dopamine levels which gives mood-enhancing effects contributing to that “euphoria” feeling.

Scientists have discovered that long-term caffeine use does not sensitize the A1 receptor which is why you still get the awakening effect but the A2A receptor does get sensitized which is why you lose the euphoric, stimulating feeling.

When I contemplated what it means to consume a substance daily that manipulates our hormone levels it drew mild concern for me. So let’s get into some of the con’s of caffeine consumption.

The Downsides of Caffeine:

The impact caffeine has on our body chemistry is complex and can affect mood, behavior, and feeling.

As we just learned before, caffeine interferes with dopamine production to actually upregulate it. However, when you drink coffee regularly, your dopamine production downregulates, so that you need caffeine just to regain normal levels.

It is important to know that everyone absorbs caffeine differently, but the only way to know how caffeine affects you is by being very in tune with your own body and how you feel.

For some people, caffeine affects the working memory perhaps because of the overstimulation.

Too much caffeine on any given day has been found to potentially cause heart palpitations and more forceful heart contractions. This creates high blood pressure which puts them at a greater risk of developing hypertension or heart disease.

Caffeine also acts as a diuretic which can lead to dehydration and a deficiency in sodium, and it releases more acid from the stomach which contributes to heart burn symptoms.

The FDA recommends no more than 400mg but that varies person to person, some people can only have far less.

The health benefits of caffeine:

1. Caffeine can enhance cognition

By increasing adrenaline and dopamine in the bloodstream, caffeine can benefit mood and focus.

2.Caffeine can increase energy

A caffeine dose of 400–600 mg is one of the most reliable and potent ways to temporarily increase strength through supplementation. People who seldom consume caffeine will typically experience improved power output during anaerobic exercise.

3. Caffeine can help burn fat

Caffeine has a thermogenic effect which means it increases heat production in the body. This effect alongside a “lipolytic effect,” (overtime caffeine causes the triglycerides to release fatty acids which the body can then use for fuel), can create an environment in your body that burns fat.

This effect is not a for sure for weight loss but it works in some people’s bodies.

4. Decreased risk of metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndromes are health conditions that increase risk of health issues like diabetes and heart disease. In some cases, counter to what I discussed prior in the cons, coffee and tea have been found to actually DECREASE the risk of these conditions.

However, that is not due to the caffeine. So, this point is more to disprove this incessant pro that people think is related to caffeine. Researchers note that these benefits are likely due to the antioxidant polyphenols found in both coffee and tea, not the caffeine, the caffeine actually deters these positive effects.

5. Caffeine increases mood and pleasure

A lot of positives I found were talking about the pleasure coffee, tea, and chocolate incite. However, again this has nothing to do with the caffeine. What most researchers have found is that these things that contain caffeine are just pleasurable to eat and drink based on taste or smell. However, even this simple fact shouldn’t be discounted in terms of your well-being.

In what cases should caffeine be entirely reduced or eliminated?

Personally, when I discovered that fibrocystic breasts are a result of a hormone imbalance, it clicked as to why caffeine should be eliminated or extremely reduced.

Studies showed that “women who consumed 31–250 mg of caffeine/day had a 1.5-fold increase in the odds of developing fibrocystic breast disease and women who drank over 500 mg/day had a 2.3-fold increase in the odds of developing cysts.”

Caffeine interferes with our hormones and sometimes, when coupled with environmental or other health factors, it can cause issues to arise. Eliminating a factor in that mix can help you heal.

I think anyone suffering from a hormone condition should strategically try to reduce their caffeine intake.

Since caffeine consumption raises blood pressure than it is best for those suffering with already raised blood pressure, hypertension, or any other cardiovascular disease to reduce their caffeine intake.

What I also have is something called left axis deviation. When you get an ECG done, it let’s you know how essentially your heart beats. LED is a common “abnormality” in adults and occurs in over 8% of people. For the most part, it is harmless, but I also believe all “abnormalities” can be reversed with the proper care. So knowing the effects caffeine has on the heart, also contributed to my reasoning to cut it out of my diet.

Caffeine is also not healthy for those with type 2 diabetes because it impairs glucose metabolism.

Now that you are armed with knowledge it is time for you to make the decision that will be best for your health and your health conditions. If you have any more questions or want help, click one of my social below and personally message me.