Coffee
Coffee is not just a beverage, it’s a drug. Hundreds of thousands of law abiding citizens are physically addicted to coffee. But relax. This article is not out to persuade you to give up coffee. It is intended to help you become aware of how coffee affects you, how it can damage your health.
It is the caffeine in coffee which makes it addictive and accounts for most of the known adverse affects of coffee. Caffeine is a carcinogen, but coffee contains numerous other carcinogens created by the high heat of roasting.
Caffeine raises adrenaline levels and heavy coffee consumption can lead to a state of adrenal gland exhaustion, where the adrenal glands are no longer able to adequately respond to stress by releasing enough adrenaline. Adrenal insufficiency can then lead to a host of other problems, including a weakened immune response, anxiety and panic attacks.
Caffeine also raises the production of the adrenal hormone cortisol, another stress hormone. Cortisol causes the blood vessels to constrict and the heart to pump harder, which leads to high blood pressure.
Research has shown that drinking coffee causes a significant loss of several vitamins and minerals, including vitamins B and c, calcium, iron, and zinc. Coffee, including decaf, contains significant amounts of vitamin K which is an important factor for blood coagulation. People at high risk for blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks should avoid coffee and decaf for that reason.
It almost goes without saying that coffee decreases the quality of sleep and is one of the leading causes of sleep disturbances. Coffee drinkers are sleepier and groggier than non-coffee drinkers when they get up in the morning, leading them to depend on coffee to get them going. This grogginess may be the result of entering caffeine withdrawal during the night.
Quitting coffee “cold turkey” can cause mild to severe headaches as well as nausea, anxiety, fatigue and depression, lasting for several days. One method to avoid this is to gradually decrease the amount of coffee you drink by 50% a day. A few months after quitting, most people come to realize that they feel much better without the coffee habit.