CAFFEINE¼
the Enemy of Better, Longer Living
by Dr. George M. Wolverton, M.D.
Mr. and Mrs. Everybody come into the office complaining of heartburn, obesity, brain fog, and nervousness. They are frequently lethargic and suffer from insomnia, hyper-somnia, or sometimes both. They have an increased susceptibility to strokes, heart attacks, hardening of the arteries, and gastric and duodenal ulcers, not to mention other unpleasant problems like irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel syndrome.
Like most Americans, Mr. and Mrs. Everybody love to drink coffee and cokes and eat quite a bit of chocolate. The problem is that all the caffeine they are consuming is contributing to their health problems. Each of the symptoms they complain of can be related to caffeine intake.
When I remove caffeine from the lifestyle and habits of people like Mr. and Mrs. Everybody, many of the symptoms they are complaining of get better.
Caffeine and Adrenaline
Caffeine is an adrenal
cortical stimulant. This means that it stimulates the action of the adrenal
gland, producing adrenaline to help us get into the “fight or flight”
mode. Adrenaline is designed to help us respond to unusual situations with
enough energy to do what we have to do. Caffeine stimulates adrenaline
production, giving us the illusion of having more energy than our bodies
really have. That is why you feel more awake after drinking a cup of
coffee.
However, constantly artificially stimulating the flow of adrenaline can lead to significant problems. Frequent consumption of caffeine—even for as few as two weeks—eventually leads to relative or complete adrenal exhaustion syndrome. This means that the adrenal gland has been so over stimulated that, when a real emergency happens, the body does not have the capacity to produce the “fight or flight” response. Virtually everyone who is a caffeine-aholic has poor defense against stress and emergencies, in addition to chronic fatigue. Glaucoma also seems to be connected to adrenal exhaustion syndrome.
Caffeine and Heartburn
In addition to
problems related to adrenaline, caffeine is also often a major contributing
factor to gastro-esophageal reflux disease (G.E.R.D), better known as
heartburn. Caffeine has the ability to dilate the valve or sphincter between
the esophagus and the stomach, allowing high amounts of hydrochloric acid to
reflux back up into the esophagus and cause an inflammation. The patient
recognizes this as heartburn.
This inflammation can also produce anti-peristaltic waves in the esophagus, leading to actual pain in the chest when they collide with peristaltic waves. Irritation and ulceration in this region impinge the nearby heart regulating nerve, leading to heart irregularities and even heart attack-like symptoms. Unfortunately, this type of pain causes those of us in the medical field to rule out heart disease, which could be a separate problem.
Detoxifying Caffeine
Caffeine has no
nutritive value and can only be detoxified or released from the body through
the cytochrome P450 system in the liver. Our Heavenly Father provided us
with this liver detoxification system for the purpose of protecting us from
the ravages of poisons that enter the body, things like pesticides,
herbicides, and some petrochemicals. (Remember that pesticides and
herbicides are actually diluted nerve gas.) What happens when the cytochrome
P450 detoxification mechanism is constantly tied up with caffeine
elimination? The body cannot neutralize the other 3,000 nutritionally void
food additives and toxins we put into our systems. This impinges clarity and
creativity of thought, energy level, and proper functioning of organ
systems!
And
They Say Chocolate Is Good for You?
As we
have seen, consuming caffeine-laden xanthine derivatives like coffee, soft
drinks, and chocolate leads to many significant problems. Recently, various
authorities have touted the health benefits of dark chocolate and green tea,
pointing out that these foods contain antioxidants and may have other health
benefits. While there are certainly benefits to these foods, it is important
to keep them in perspective. Every food has its good and bad points, but the
negatives definitely outweigh the positives in the case of
caffeine-containing foods.
Additionally, some people think that drinking decaffeinated coffee, tea, or soft drinks can help them avoid the problems associated with caffeine. The problem is that decaffeinated drinks still contain 4% caffeine. The chemicals used in the decaffeinating process are also hard on the body.
For the sake of your own health—the quality and length of your life—you would be very wise to eliminate caffeine from your diet. Remember: nothing edible is worth dying for.