Many people now realise that too much coffee is not good for you. Unfortunately, people still don't realise all of the effects. They also don't realise that many of these same effects are created by tea and caffeinated energy drinks, neither of which are in fact good for you.
Caffeine can have some positive short term benefits. It acts as a stimulant, can improve alertness and even coordination.
Unfortunately, in the long term it also has many negative side effects. The most obvious is dehydration. Caffeine acts as a diuretic, leaching valuable water that is vital for almost every cellular function in your body. Caffeine has also been shown to cause nervousness and anxiety insomnia, headaches, ulcers and reflux.
Caffeine also increases the acidity of the body. When your body is acidic it tries to neutralise it. It does this in several ways. It removes calcium from the bones (osteoporosis) and magnesium from the muscles (muscle cramps). It also causes cramping of the muscles in your blood vessels leading to increased blood pressure and hence risk of heart complications and strokes.
When you body can't neutralise the acid, it stores it in your fat cells. Once the ones you have are full, your body actually creates new fat cells and stores more fat in order to safely store the acid. This increased acidity also causes increased ageing and decreased immune function.
Caffeine is particularly hazardous in pregnancy. It has been shown to increase foetal heart rate and is even linked to miscarriage.
But surely this doesn't include those "healthy" caffeinated drinks, like tea and my energy drink?
Well, these drinks may contain some healthy ingredients, like the antioxidants in tea. However you will get more than enough of these healthy ingredients by eating a diet containing lots of fruits and vegetables without all of the side effects of caffeine. Now I know that this column is not going to be popular with all of you caffeine addicts out there, but don't worry, I don't expect or want you to quit cold turkey. The best way to reduce your caffeine intake is to replace rather than remove.
Replace one of your coffees with a tea, replace one of your teas with a low caffeine tea (green tea) or replace one of your green teas with a herbal tea. You will actually find that herbal teas will open you up to a whole world of possibilities with loads of different non-caffeinated flavours to choose from.
So start to reduce your caffeine intake and you will not only start to function better you will be opened up to a whole word of new tastes.
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