Caffeine and your body

Caffeine is addictive. When you stop using caffeine, you may experience symptoms of withdrawal in as little as 12 hours. Symptoms include the following:

• Headaches
• Flu-like symptoms
• Irritability and Restlessness
• Difficulty Concentrating
• Muscles stiffness
• Chills
• Hot Flashes
• Jitters
• Insonmina
• Anxiety
• Nausea
• Irregular heartbeat
• Flushed Face

The good news is that caffeine is an addiction that is easy to break and it doesn't have to be painful. To eliminate caffeine from your diet, do the following:

Week 1: Go about your daily routine. When you get up in the morning and want your cup of coffee, go ahead and make it just like you always do. Go to the sink and pour 1/3 off. Drink your coffee and enjoy. If you make a pot in the morning, go ahead and make the pot. Go to the sink and poor 1/3 off. Drink as usual. The same is true for sodas. Get your soda, pour 1/3 off, drink and enjoy.

Week 2: The same as above, but now you are pouring 2/3's of the cup away. This is the week when you may consider adding a decaf hot tea to your routine on top of the 1/3 cup of coffee. You may also try some flavored carbonated sodium free beverages.

Week 3: No more caffeine. Substitute teas and carbonated sodium free waters.

During this process, if you suffer from any of the above symptoms, have a very small serving of caffeine to ease your suffering. 1/4 cup of coffee will do the trick.

A special note: if you are having surgery or any medical procedure, you may be forced to not take in any food or drink up to 24 hours prior to the event. Many people suffer from withdrawal prior to, during and after their surgery. You want your body to be in a nice place to heal, so start to eliminate your caffeine addiction 3 weeks prior to surgery.

Why is caffeine bad for me?

Ayurveda teaches that all disease stems from poor digestion. Caffeine slows digestion.
Caffeine dehydrates you. Drinking caffeine stresses the physical, mental and emotional bodies. It increases the levels of glucocorticoids, such as cortisol, which actually make you hold onto fat. These are stress hormones. Caffeine has a negative effect on the immune system making it harder to fight viral and bacterial infections. Additionally, memory is impaired by caffeine use as oxygen is taken from the brain and the extremities. Caffeine, in fact, causes the brain's blood vessels to restrict. This is why caffeine can be found in some headache medications. Caffeine can increases blood pressure with little effect on heart rate. Caffeine is a big contributor to sleeping disorders including insomnia.

If you are trying to lose weight or detoxify your body through our Elemental Immersion, caffeine should be slowly eliminated from your diet.