I’m seeing endless articles promoting the benefits of coffee but this is not what I’m seeing with my clients. There aren’t guidelines on safe caffeine consumption, but I would put this at no more than 2 coffees before lunch, if you want to be focused without being wired, and to avoid the rollercoaster of adrenaline that comes with excess caffeine.
Coffee should be one shot of caffeine, bearing in mind that large barista coffees can be 3 or 4 shots of caffeine! This much caffeine is going to make you full of adrenaline and for many people that means an increase in Cortisol our stress hormone, an increase in blood sugar and increased anxiety.
In fact reduced anxiety is the number one health benefit that my clients report when they remove caffeine, particularly coffee, along with more energy and improved sleep.
Many people think they need caffeine to ‘get them going’ in the morning, but the reality is they need it to reduce the effects of withdrawal from not having any overnight. Any food that causes a severe headache for 1 – 5 days upon withdrawal is not a healthy food. For anyone wanting to give up but minimise the withdrawal, I recommend diluting your caffeine each day to wean yourself off gradually.
Is tea better? Whilst tea has caffeine is has less than coffee (you aren’t going to get 3 teabags in it at a coffee shop). It also contains L-Theanine which is naturally calming nutrient, and green tea is rich in antioxidants.
I don’t recommend decaffeinated products as these often use nasty chemicals to remove the caffeine.
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