Thursday, March 28, 2024
Plant Based Lifestyle

Kicking Caffeine out of your life.

Coffee and Health.

One of the things that led to me kicking my caffeine habit was being diagnosed with an ulcer (which was worsened by caffeine consumption and smoking). I did not stop the coffee and soda drinking cold turkey; I was too hooked to stop like that, so I stopped like the waves of the sea. At the beach, you see the waves coming; sometimes you see a big wave that hits the shore, and then a second one with the same form and grace but with less intensity, and then a third comes with the same characteristics but with even less intensity, until there are no waves left.

So one day, I sat down and calculated how many milligrams of caffeine I was consuming a day. It was more than 600 mg a day, which was too much. I created an 8-week program to gradually cut back on caffeine; I reduced my caffeine intake by 100 mg per week until I spent the final weeks without any caffeine.

While this method lessened the withdrawal effects, I still experienced caffeine withdrawal (albeit in a milder form and to a smaller degree of intensity). I used to have cellulite—yes, guys can have it; it’s not just a woman thing—but after I stopped consuming caffeine and increased my water consumption, it disappeared.

Why are adults so careful not to let their kids consume any caffeinated products because of the negative side effects, yet, as adults, they all drink coffee together as a family? People don’t think about it; they just begin their caffeine dependency and only consider changing when medical problems start to appear.

The same goes for other things in life: we are so careful to ensure that our children are healthy, yet we neglect our own health, and as soon as our children are grown up, a healthy lifestyle is generally abandoned.

I want to close this chapter with a sin I indulge in once a year: whenever I go to Bucharest to run the half-marathon there, a day before the race (always around noon), I have a small espresso. I never drink it in the cafeteria;

 I always drink it in my hotel room, because after I drink it, seconds later I get so high and dizzy that I can’t stay up.

I lie on my bed and enjoy the caffeine buzz. That’s how much caffeine affects me now; I can sense all its addictive effect because I am not desensitized to it anymore.

So, yes, every year I drink my espresso and I get my caffeine high. Try it. Stop drinking any coffee or caffeinated drinks or other products for a year and then have a small coffee, and you will understand completely what I mean.

This is an excerpt from my first book Thirsty for Health, if you liked it you can buy it from Amazon. Kindle and Paperback options are available.

 

Andreas Michaelides

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