How to Eat Cleaner - Day 14 of 31 - Caffeine - Whose in Control?

How to Eat Cleaner - Day 14 of 31 - Caffeine - Whose in Control?

Hello everyone. I'm so excited that you decided to join me in our 31 days to cleaner or healthier eating. Each one of these videos will have 1 simple concept for you to chew on. It's your choice what you do with it. Try it for a day, a week, a month or implement for your entire life. My hope is it helps you open your mind to learning more about fueling your body more healthily.

Part of cleaning up what we eat is getting educated and alot of these videos focus on awareness.

Today we talk about caffeine and yes, this is another topic that could be pages and pages.  Here is just a brief overview, please research for yourself if you want to dig deeper.

Caffeine can help us feel energetic, alert, concentrate better and lift our moods. It's the most common mood enhancer used in the world and can be found in coffee, energy drinks, medications, foods, and more.

For healthy adults about 3 cups of coffee a day has been show to be OK. That is about 300 milligrams of caffeine a day. So, if you are drinking energy drinks be sure to check the amount of caffeine in them.

If you have medical issues are sensitive to caffeine, are pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or are an older adult even 300 milligrams may be too much. You should consult your doctor or a nutritionist.

Children should never drink caffeine. End of subject. That's me ranting.

Caffeine consumption of 744 milligrams a day has been linked to calcium and magnesium loss. It does not seem to be a problem in younger adults that get plenty of calcium but is a problem with the elderly and had been linked to hip fractures.

Something our body needs desperately in order to have normal biochemistry and hormone levels is enough sleep. It is very easy to get in an unhealthy cycle if you drink too much caffeine or drink it too late in the day. Does this sound familiar? You drink coffee or an energy drink because you are tired and you have trouble sleeping through the night. It's a vicious circle. It takes about 5-7 hours for your body to eliminate half of the caffeine you have ingested. So, depending on how sensitive you are to it. It can mean another restless night.  

Caffeine was always thought to dehydrate you. But, it has been found that although it has a diuretic effect, the amount of water in the drink usually counteracts that. But I wouldn't use coffee or an energy drink to rehydrate you if you are dehydrated.

Moderate to low levels of caffeine may have some benefits. Some studies suggest caffeine may have anti-inflammatory effects that has helped some people with allergic reactions and asthma. Other studies have found, caffeine may reduce the risk of dementia, Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes, liver disease, and some cancers.

Caffeine is mildly addictive so if you are trying to stop drinking coffee you should ween yourself off slowly or you could experience headaches and fatigue. Some people get irritable, anxious, experience mild depression and difficulty concentrating.

My 2 cents. Being addicted to anything even if it is mildly addictive is not good. You are not in control. Take a look at how much caffeine you are consuming each day. Check your food labels and medications too. Make sure you are not over the 300 milligrams and you may even want to test yourself. Do you think you could go without it? If that question scares you, you may want to ween off it and go some time without it, just to regain control.

Thanks for your time. This is Coach Lana and I would love for you to join me at http://facebook.com/coachlana so we can connect.