I like the smell of coffee … but that’s as far as the attraction goes.  I never did acquire a taste for the bitter brew.  Tea has always been my drink of choice, and drink it I have for decades … by the gallon!  In fact, until recently I had come to rely on it to pick-me-up from morning till night. I might just as well have had an IV drip bag pumping tea into my veins! My son Noah used to joke that my blood type was Earl Grey!

As an innkeeper, I put in unusually long hours (16-18 hour days are the norm in  summer) and a mug of hot or iced tea had come to be a permanent extension of my right hand. I needed it to keep me going, especially when my blink-of-an-eye power naps didn’t quite cut the late afternoon fatigue.  I'm embarrassed to say that I have, unfortunately, even been known to take caffeine supplements on occasion ... frequently, in fact. I hate to admit it, but there you have it!

Like any addictive substance, our bodies build up a tolerance to caffeine which then require more and more of it to create the same amount of buzz.  Obviously over time that one or two cups of coffee or tea we’ve come to rely on are not going to pack the same punch that they originally did when we first started drinking it. This leads me to ask, “Is the effect of that mandatory morning cup partly – or even mostly – psychological?  Does it eventually become just a liquid placebo that powers us through the day?

The answer is both 'Yes' and  'No'. Yes, because after a while we physically need it; it’s a habit and we do become physically addicted; and No, it’s not boosting our energy levels as much as we think. But perhaps the more important questions are:  What is all this caffeine doing to our bodies, and is there something better that could give us even more energy (and with less of a negative impact to our systems?). The answer to that last one is a resounding YES!!! I have recently made a discovery --  quite by accident, actually -- and that’s  the secret I want to share with you today.

First, let me assure you that the addiction to caffeine is very real ... our bodies DO come to need it like a drug. This hit home for me last year when I went to visit my son at his university. Traveling always interrupts my routines, and that trip was no exception. Leaving before dawn, my day consisted of a bus trip, a taxi ride, a plane flight and a shuttle bus to his campus.  Somehow in all the confusion and excitement of traveling, I never had my tea. By the time I got to Noah’s school, I was so excited to see him that we had dinner and talked till midnight, never thinking about my caffeine crutch. But the next morning I awoke with a splitting headache. I’ve never had a migraine, but I imagine that it must be something like the pain I felt in my head.  It was so intense, in fact, that I had a hard time keeping my eyes open and focused.  My plan for that day was to visit the Baltimore Aquarium and the Science Museum. I didn’t really feel up to it, but rather than cancel I decided to persevere.  By mid-day I was feeling so unwell that I decided to get a cup of tea and sit for awhile, not realizing that it was the 24-hour lack of it that had brought on the headache. Shortly after my second cup I was feeling myself again, though at the time it never occurred to me that I had been going through withdrawal symptoms.

Caffeine withdrawal is intense, a fact to which I can personally attest.  Believe it or not, (and those who know me well can scarcely believe it!), I have been totally caffeine-free since April of this year.  I wish I could tell you it was a noble decision to give it up; but alas, it was prompted solely by vanity!  When I had my teeth cleaned on April 14th, my hygienist did a particularly great job cleaning them; they gleamed – and so accustomed am I to tea-stained teeth that I wanted to keep them sparkling white at least until my son’s wedding!  So I decided to give up tea until after Chris’ wedding to prevent them from getting stained again. I knew it would be hard, but I was not prepared for the intensity of the withdrawal symptoms brought on by stopping cold turkey. The Johns Hopkins medical website calls it “The headache from hell”, and frankly, I think that’s putting it a bit too mildly. For five days I endured the worst headache imaginable – I could barely see straight. I felt so ill that I was very tempted to wean myself more slowly, but I didn’t give in.  I substituted  herbal concoctions, which  at first I did not enjoy at all. I went through the motions anyway, though, as it gave my hands and mouth  something to do. After Day 5 the symptoms lessened, and after a week passed, something amazing happened! Not only was I headache free, but I suddenly had more energy than I ever have had before  in my life! I was even beginning to delight in the crisp, fresh taste of organic peppermint tea.

My husband noticed the increased change in my energy levels and joked that it must be a lifetime of caffeine consumption leaching out of my bones!  I was tempted to believe him at first, (what else could account for it?), but here it is 88 days later, and I feel clearer, lighter and more energetic than ever before, fueled only by peppermint tea and other organic herbal concoctions.  What I think is going on is not some special phenomena, but a return to a natural state – the way our bodies were designed to be (without chemical stimulants). When we stimulate our cells with caffeine, our entire metabolism speeds up.  It’s like all of our cells are on overdrive.  Naturally, they will get tired (wouldn’t you after running the Boston Marathon?). But instead of letting them rest, we counteract the fatigue with yet another cup of coffee or tea, and the vicious cycle starts all over again. While we think we’re pumping ourselves up, in reality we are doing just the opposite.

I’m not on a soapbox, advocating that everyone give up drinking their coffee or tea. That is a personal choice. But there are side effects to caffeine consumption that we should all be aware of to make an educated decision, and I’ll list a few of them here. And by the way, it isn’t only coffee (75-100 mg. caffeine) and tea (50 mg.) that are saturated with caffeine. Chocolate (one ounce contains 10-15 mg), cocoa and many soft drinks (30-45 mg) contain large amounts as well. Some “energy drinks” contain as much as caffeine as 4 strong cups of coffee in every serving!.  If you have more than 2-3 servings of caffeine daily, it may be affecting you emotionally and physically more powerfully than you might expect. Studies show that as little as 20 mg. daily has a noticeable effect on our mind/body connection.

 
So what is caffeine, exactly? It's defined as a potent, quick-acting drug which produces an effect similar to the natural stress response in our bodies, and it can affect each person differently depending on weight and build. It might give some people insomnia, yet be a soothing nightcap for others. It has an almost instantaneous effect that will continue to influence your mind/body state for 6-8 hours. I discovered the following effects of caffeine overuse in my research:

1. It stimulates the heart, respiratory system, and central nervous system, stimulating blood circulation, raising blood pressure, and causing messages to be passed along our nervous systems more quickly.
2. Caffeine makes blood more `sludgy' by raising the level of fatty acids in the blood.
3. It causes the stomach to produce more acid, irritating the stomach lining and making digestion less effective by relaxing the muscles of the intestinal system.
4. It stimulates the cortex of our brains which heightens the intensity of mental activity, resulting in temporary alertness and, eliminating drowsiness and feelings of fatigue. In those who already have high levels of anxiety the heightened intensity of mental activity can produce unpleasant effects such as a jittery feeling with shaking hands, palpitations, and wobbliness in the legs.  Caffeine addiction  involves nervousness, irritability, agitation, headaches or ringing in the ears.
5. Affects the length and quality of sleep. Heavy caffeine users suffer from sleep-deprivation because their nervous systems are too stimulated to allow them deep, restful or prolonged sleep.
6. The American Medical Journal has reported a correlation between caffeine and decreased bone density or osteoporosis in women.
7. It causes the adrenal glands to release their hormones into the bloodstream, causing blood sugar, or blood glucose, to be released from storage through the effects of the adrenal hormones. This causes the pancreas to over-work to produce extra insulin to reduce this  extra blood sugar. Once the extra insulin counteracted the extra blood sugar your temporary lift from the caffeine ends . However in heavy caffeine users the pancreas becomes over-sensitive and over-zealous. Now it begins producing too much insulin – it 'mops up' not just the excess blood sugar but the blood sugar you need to feel alert and energetic. The initial effect of this is a let-down effect and a craving for more caffeine to give you a further boost. A later effect can be excessive and chronic tiredness, even on waking in the morning. Some people find that many of the psychological complaints common to reactive hypoglycemia (the emotional yo-yo effect, shakiness, palpitations, weakness, tiredness, etc.) disappear within a few days of stopping caffeine.

Yikes!!  All my years of over-consumption were definitely NOT worth all that … especially considering the fact that it was making me more tired than I would have been without it! On the other hand, there is such a lovely ‘lore’ that goes along with tea and coffee drinking . Afternoon ‘tea time’ brings a touch of civility to busy, over-crowded days as we sit with fellow farmgirls over a pot of tea and a basket of warm muffins or scones, pouring our hearts out to one another along with the tea. Perhaps we prefer to put on the coffee pot instead and solve the problems of the world over a peach cobbler or a fresh-from-the-oven coffee cake. These are lovely, comforting rituals in our lives, and they do not have to stop just because we might be considering eliminating—or cutting back -- the caffeine in our daily diets. Substituting hot mulled cider and herbal teas can be just as rewarding, and our taste buds will make the adjustment in a very short time to appreciate their naturally herbal goodness as much as we love  their caffeinated cousins.  Peppermint, chamomile, spearmint, lemon verbena, lavender, rosehips and rose petals, these are just a few of the many herbs and flowers    you can experiment with in different combinations. In fact, Farmgirls and Farmerettes alike can have fun planting and harvesting your own tea gardens. Use them fresh, or dry them, store them away for winter use or give them as gifts at Christmas in a unique, thrift store mug … it makes a great gift!

And so gals, if you’re looking for some extra energy (and let's face it, who isn’t?!), don’t  reach unnecessarily for your caffeinated beverage to pick you up. The best kept secret is to ‘go natural’, and to let your body detox from years of accumulated abuse! And now … the secret is out!!  Enjoy!
Until next time,
Mountain Bounty, Mountain Blessings,
Cathi

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