The Secret Behind Caffeine
Raise your hand if you are a victim of coffee, energy drinks, or gallons of tea.
Ok, put your hand down, I can’t tell anyways. We all at some point, if not right now are consuming too much caffeine. If you are anything like me, I try and convince myself of the 5 million reasons why I need to have more than one cup of coffee in a day. Sometimes it will be coffee, and/or an energy drink combined with more workout supplements with stimulants. Well…
What is caffeine?
Caffeine is a natural compound found within seeds, nuts, or leaves from a variety of plants that are grown mostly in South America and East Asia. We can go into the whole science of molecular structure and the nerdy facts. However, let’s keep it simple for time’s sake. Good Ol’ Webster says caffeine is a bitter alkaloid that can be used as a stimulant (energy source) or diuretic.
Have you noticed after consuming more caffeine you actually feel worse than the only one cup of caffeine you should’ve just stuck to? Right! Let’s break down caffeine and save ourselves the battle of argument every time we THINK we need another cup/can.
What forms do caffeine come in?
Caffeine as stated above is found in seeds, nuts, or leaves. These items can be utilized in foods, beverages, and most commonly now our medications. Dependent on what form the caffeine molecule takes, will determine how much caffeine is in the source that is being consumed. Some forms like energy drinks can have alternative caffeination which is derived from vitamins or other chemical compounds that act as stimulants (that’s for a later time). The most common one we all are used to is COFFEE.
How much is too much?
Again, a show of hands, who here is having more than 4 cups of coffee a day?
Did you fall for it again, if so, put your hand down, I already told you I couldn’t see you.
If you are anything like I was, I was a victim of the 4-6 cups of coffee a day type. However, the impacts caffeine has on your metabolism when consumed at a toxic amount can slow your metabolism versus speeding it up.
We all should be maxing our caffeine at 300mg a day. That is about 3 cups of coffee OR one energy drink (depending on the brand). NOW hold on before you come at me with pitchforks, saying you can not live without those 6 cups. There are ways to reduce and ween back on caffeine to where you detox the toxicity out of your body.
Best practice when it comes to caffeine.
If you made it this far, it probably means you are serious about wanting to reset your metabolism and stop becoming dependent on caffeine. First step and the main rule is DO NOT CUT COLD TURKEY.
I mean you can, however, the headaches and side effects will be intense. There is an easier way to do it. Every 2-3 days drop your caffeine level by 100mg. In one week, you should be off caffeine altogether. Go 3 days without caffeine. 3 DAYS!!! Yes, 3 days (you will survive unless a doctor has advised otherwise). Now when you start introducing caffeine back into your life GO SLOW! 100mg a day to see where your tolerance is needed. Once you detox the high amounts out of your body, re-introducing it may leave you overstimulated if you go straight back to old habits. I will leave you with this, not every day will feel awesome. There will be days when you get 2-4 hours of sleep and think you need extra caffeine. Secret... you don’t need water. So, as stated above it is a diuretic, keep up on your water while you’re sipping your caffeine.
