Do you start the day with caffeine?
The benefits and consequences depend on your genes, the type you drink, how much you consume and your detox capabilites
Coffee and Caffeine: Looking at it from an individualized perspective
(Don’t worry tea lovers-this article applies to you too and I will address tea more in a future substack)
Most people rely on caffeine at the start of the day.
Caffeine Benefits
Caffeine is not bad. But there are underlying concerns if you rely on caffeine to get through the day.
2018 data indicates that 44% of American adults consume 2 to 3 cups of coffee daily, and 25% drink 2 cups of tea daily. However, tea is becoming more popular than coffee with millennials.
Both are good caffeine sources, but a standard cup of coffee will contain more caffeine than a cup of black or green tea.
Here are some reasons why you should not give up your caffeine altogether.
Can improve attention and alertness
Can increase endurance and strength
Can improve mood
May reduce dementia
It can protect the liver
It can prevent throat and mouth cancer, reduce colon cancer risk, prevent skin cancer
Can relieve asthma
It may help with tinnitus
May relives pain
May prevent gout
If consumed as coffee, high in antioxidants (sourced from organic coffee, not from caffeine)
Caffeine, Your Genes and Your liver: How to know If Caffeine is Right for You
Some people do better with caffeine than others. This could be genetically related and could be related to your detox pathways.
If you have genetic information, you can go into the raw data tab and plug-in rs762551. This gene snp will show how well you break down caffeine (as well as acetaminophen).
You should see the letters AA, AC, or CC in the last column of the raw data. The letters AA mean you are a fast metabolizer of caffeine, and caffeine, and caffeine can give you a quick jolt but then leaves your body readily. These people, according to studies, also benefit from moderate caffeine use when exercising, and it has been shown to boost exercise performance (strength and endurance).
If you are an AC, you are a moderate metabolizer of caffeine, so you fall somewhere in the middle (not too slow, not too fast, just right). This group performed the same in exercise workouts with or without caffeine in studies. The caffeine did not affect how well they did, even with higher caffeine amounts.
If the last column has CC, you are a slow caffeine metabolizer, and this, and this means that you perform worse with caffeine in your system! Your heart disease risk also increases with caffeine use. You are the person that would do best with little to no caffeine.
If you take Prozac, an SSRI for depression, this drug can block the enzymatic pathway for caffeine. For instance, if you are an AA and are a fast metabolizer of caffeine, suddenly now, while you are on this drug, you find that caffeine makes you feel irritable, have anxiety, and jittery; it could be because now you are not metabolizing the caffeine.
Still, your genes don’t define you, they are just a piece of you, and genes can be turned on or off with diet and lifestyle, so consider that.
Another piece of the caffeine processing puzzle is the liver. If you are very sensitive to caffeine, such as getting jittery after just one cup of coffee, this may be a sign that the first phase of liver detoxification is not working correctly for you.
If you are a person who can drink caffeine all day, even right before bed, you may have an overactive phase one of liver detox and an underactive phase 2.
How Many Milligrams of Caffeine Do You Drink Daily?
Caffeine in small doses has benefits, many Americans consume their caffeine in 14 to 20- ounce servings, and that’s just one serving in their day.
One cup of coffee may contain 144 mg. to 333 mg. of caffeine. Consuming 300 mg. or more of caffeine per day, may disturb your sleep, contribute to anxiety,, and increase your risk for heart disease.
Caffeine Milligram Amount in 5 Ounces
Note that these caffeine amounts are in ONLY 5 ounces. Most of your caffeinated beverages are in larger portions than 5 ounces.
Energy Drinks: 51-95 mg
Coffee: 40-180 mg
Green Tea: 24-50 mg
Guarana: 24 mg
Yerba Mate: 15 mg
Soda: 12-24 mg
Black Tea: 8-39 mg
White Tea: 8-39 mg
Chocolate: 5-193 mg
Cocoa: 2-7 mg
What Too Much Caffeine Can Do to The Body
Balance is key. Caffeine can be good for you,, but consuming too much can have the opposite effect.
·Raise cortisol levels and overstimulates your adrenal glands
Increase blood pressure
Lower hormonal levels of DHEA
Lowers your stress threshold (what didn’t stress you out in the past now does)
Increased fatigue when the caffeine wears off later in the day
Increases dopamine levels the same way sugar does (or amphetamines, but not as dramatic)
Studies done on children: The more caffeine you consume, the greater your risk of depression and anxiety (Children may not drink coffee or tea but they drink plenty of caffeinated soda and energy drinks).
For some, as little as 100 mg. per day can cause a decline in recall ability and reasoning
Can lower academic performance
Reasoning skills are decreased (but simple tasks such as assembly work may be enhanced)
Too much caffeine can deplete you of B vitamins. B vitamins are a natural energy source.
It can also deplete your magnesium, potassium, and zinc levels.
The body becomes addicted to caffeine at 100 mg. per day
Doses of 250 mg. daily can cause anxiety
Can increase cholesterol
May harm eye health
Sourcing Your Coffee
It is challenging to eat 100% organic, and even if you did, herbicides and pesticides are ubiquitous to our environment. Instead, look at what you consume the most. In your case, it may be coffee. If so, splurge on organic. Coffee is one of the MOST HEAVILY SPRAYED crops in the WORLD!
I do not consume coffee so I cannot personally vouch for the taste but two brands I trust for organic coffee are puritycoffee.com and hammernutrition.com.
Coffee and Food
Coffee is acidic. Do not start your day on coffee and on an empty stomach. Consume your coffee with food. Consuming coffee on an empty stomach can weaken the mucosal gut barrier (aka leaky gut) leading to other health issues, can cause acid reflux and lead to spikes in your blood sugar.
What you Add Matters
When consuming your caffeinated beverage, keep it plain and simple. Literally, and don’t add the artificial creamers and sugars.
Sources
Cherniske, S. (1998) Caffeine Blues. Grand Central Publishing
https://www.infoequalexchange.coop/articles/organic-vs-conventional-coffee
https://www.livestrong.com/article/13764701-coffee-on-empty-stomach/
http://experiencelife.com/article/the-cortisol-curve/?et_