Detox - Cutting Out Caffeine
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You have an hour to prepare a presentation at work, and your job depends on it. Your spouse has called to say the dog has been sick in your new car… and the baby has come out in spots. What do you reach for - a glass of water or an extra strong black coffee? The odds are it will be the coffee. One cup then becomes 15 through the day, although you know it’s guaranteed to wind you up.
Technique Number 23: Detox. Written by Dr Roger Henderson, a family doctor and author of the book Stress Beaters: 100 Proven Ways To Manage Stress
As a chocolate-loving tea-drinker I have the greatest sympathy for patients when I tell them to reduce their caffeine intake, but the facts cannot be ignored. Caffeine raises the pulse and blood pressure, and studies suggest it may also increase blood cholesterol.
People drink coffee not only for the taste, but also for the kick they get from it. It acts as a stimulant, stressing the body and causing the caffeine ‘high’. Unfortunately, as with all stimulants, the high is short-lived, and is followed by a drop in energy, which is not a problem if you have more caffeine. Before you realize it, you are in a caffeine cycle that is driving your stress along.
Cutting down is obviously a good idea, but do you know exactly how much you are drinking? If you make a note of every time you have a cup - or more likely a mug - of coffee or tea, you may end up with a figure of 15 to 20 cups a day. This is a high level of caffeine, which your body has come to expect. Therefore you should not simply stop drinking coffee overnight, as this will cause a major headache. Instead, try the following tips:
• Drink a glass of water, fruit juice or herbal tea when you wake up, instead of coffee. If you can’t bear it, have just the one cup as a treat.
• Substitute one cup of coffee or tea with one glass of water or fruit juice every day. By decreasing your intake in this way, you will reduce it to a manageable level in two to three weeks. Don’t substitute ordinary cola drinks, as these either are caffeine-loaded or contain chemicals such as phenylalanine, which may also be habit-forming.
• If you crave the ‘hit’ of a cup of coffee, either drink more of another fluid or eat some fruit. This technique is used very successfully by people who want to give up smoking.
• If you miss the taste of coffee, try decaffeinated - although connoisseurs complain it is not as good as the real thing, and the chemical process needed to remove the caffeine deters others. My advice is: enjoy real coffee - not instant - in moderation, drinking fewer than three to four cups a day.
The benefits of reducing your caffeine intake vary, but after a few days you will notice that the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal - such as irritation and edginess – have eased. Within seven to ten days you will have fewer headaches and less indigestion, and will sleep better. A word of warning. It is probably unwise to give up caffeine and cigarettes simultaneously. Lose the nicotine first. Henderson’s law states that stopping smoking is the single most beneficial thing anyone will ever do for their health. Then move on to the caffeine.
Count how many cups of coffee, tea, fizzy drinks or alcohol you drink each day and try driving out bad habits by introducing good ones. Replace half your drinks with water, squash or fruit juice.
• Dr Roger Henderson is the author of Stressbeaters: 100 Proven Ways To Manage Stress (£7.99). Buy it online at http://www.amazon.co.uk or call the order line on 01476 541001.
• You can also visit Dr Henderson’s own website at http://www.doctorhenderson.co.uk,.
