This excerpt from Phillip Day's excellent book Simple Changes discuses why our intake of these familiar liquids should be moderated. It's not all bad news though, as there are often healthier ways to balance our cravings for such vices. Read the full story here.
LIMIT CAFFEINE, ALCOHOL AND CARBONATED DRINKS by Phillip Day
Excerpted from Simple Changes.
Alas, some things are rotten for us, and we live in an age where if a little is good, more must be much better. A later chapter, There is Danger in Excess, Moderation in All Things,is a motto directly applicable to the Parlour Room Three. Let’s find out what the problems are.
Caffeine
… is the most widely used drug in the world. It perks us up by stimulating the body into producing adrenalin to generate temporary physiological stress. The fight-or-flight response is supposed to be just that – temporary (e.g. the length of time it takes to wrestle Matron to the ground). However, many become addicted to how caffeine changes their psychological state from perceived pain (‘Oh dear – morning’) to a state of action (‘Right, let’s get on with it’), and thereby get drawn into a day-long usage of it. I think the beverage industry knows this.
Excess stress depletes Vitamin C, provides the conditions for plaque to generate in arteries (atherosclerosis/scurvy), reduces iron absorption and degrades mental performance. 1 Caffeine has been linked to increased risk of stroke 2 and rheumatoid arthritis 3 Caffeine also reduces insulin sensitivity so we don’t process sugars as efficiently, which can lead to insulin resistance, diabetes and a conviction for Murder One. 4 A cup of coffee in the morning is not what I’m talking about. Five cups a day is.
Chronic coffee drinkers are surfing the bean – hate to say it, but it’s a drug addiction. Try giving it up and you’ll witness all the evidence of addiction withdrawal. Some of the unpleasantness is down to the caffeine, the rest attributable to mental patterning/comfort zones we have installed (see Deal With Addictions). Try switching to tart vegetable juices when you get up – much better for you and the nutrients help overcome caffeine cravings (see Juice Veggies). Disrupt your mental patterning by changing your morning routine to avoid the breakfast table (see Free up Your Digestive Cycles). Exercise aerobically with a brisk walk or jog after you get up (remember to stretch). Your body is craving oxygen, not a skinny latte with cinnamon and a chocolate torpedo. If you are a coffee, alcohol and carbonated beverage quaffer, you’ve probably got reflux (heartburn) and some digestive issues by now, even more so if you’re a smoker. Repent!
But… But…
If you really must drink coffee, Dr Joseph Mercola offers the following useful pointers:
Once again it’s a matter of scale. Alcohol is a cell-poison. A glass of red wine a day has shown antioxidant benefits, but not because of the alcohol! 5 If you want antioxidant benefits, eat blueberries. The danger with any mood-changers lies in the perceived change in state from ‘pain’ to ‘pleasure’, which tempts us into renewing the high. Bound up with addiction is the denial issue (“Huh? I have it under control…”), the protective mechanism the brain uses against the anticipated pain of withdrawal. If that’s you in any area of addiction, rule number one: Don’t justify what’s hurting you. Rule number two: Get help (see Deal With Addictions).
Carbonated Drinks
Sally Squires reports: ‘Americans drink more soda pop [fizzy drinks] than ever before. These popular beverages account for more than a quarter of all drinks consumed in the United States. More than 15 billion gallons were sold in 2000. That works out to at least one 12-ounce can per day for every man, woman and child.
Kids are heavy consumers of soft drinks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and they are guzzling soda pop at unprecedented rates. Carbonated soda pop provides more added sugar in a typical 2-year-old toddler’s diet than cookies, candies and ice cream combined. Fifty-six percent of 8-year-olds down soft drinks daily, and a third of teenage boys drink at least three cans of soda pop per day.
Not only are soft drinks widely available everywhere, from fast food restaurants to video stores, they’re now sold in 60 percent of all public and private middle schools and high schools nationwide, according to the National Soft Drink Association. A few schools are even giving away soft drinks to students who buy school lunches.
As soda pop becomes the beverage of choice among the nation’s young – and as soda marketers focus on brand-building among younger and younger consumers – public health officials, school boards, parents, consumer groups and even the soft drink industry are faced with nagging questions:
How healthful are these beverages, which provide a lot of calories, sugars and caffeine but no significant nutritional value? And what happens if you drink a lot of them at a very young age?” 7
Well, it’s not good. Carbonated drinks are acidic and cause oesophageal reflux. The carbonation process, as its name implies, uses carbon dioxide in a medium of phosphoric acid. Though carbonation is alluring by dint of its ‘thirst-quenching’ properties, real thirst-quenching is accomplished using water not acid. Many of the diet versions of these drinks are also ‘sweetened’ with aspartame, a neurological excitotoxin 7 while those that aren’t can contain anywhere from six to ten teaspoons of sugar. And if all that isn’t enough, phosphorous depletes calcium, which leads to bone loss, the condition known as osteoporosis. And then there’s the aluminium can!
Summary
In a perfect world, we would do without the lot and just drink water. Am I kidding? No. However, advertising and the taste monster have conspired to seduce an entire planet, so I suspect the reality for most of us will be a casual usage somewhere in between.
My advice? Try doing without them or set strict limits on use and ruthlessly enforce. These three can be an addictive, lethal deluge of acid (not to mention all the chemicals and preservatives involved). When ill-advisedly combined with a stressful, busy lifestyle and maintained over the long-haul? See Choose the Right Doctor.
LIMIT CAFFEINE, ALCOHOL AND CARBONATED DRINKS by Phillip Day
Excerpted from Simple Changes.
Alas, some things are rotten for us, and we live in an age where if a little is good, more must be much better. A later chapter, There is Danger in Excess, Moderation in All Things,is a motto directly applicable to the Parlour Room Three. Let’s find out what the problems are.
Caffeine
… is the most widely used drug in the world. It perks us up by stimulating the body into producing adrenalin to generate temporary physiological stress. The fight-or-flight response is supposed to be just that – temporary (e.g. the length of time it takes to wrestle Matron to the ground). However, many become addicted to how caffeine changes their psychological state from perceived pain (‘Oh dear – morning’) to a state of action (‘Right, let’s get on with it’), and thereby get drawn into a day-long usage of it. I think the beverage industry knows this.
Excess stress depletes Vitamin C, provides the conditions for plaque to generate in arteries (atherosclerosis/scurvy), reduces iron absorption and degrades mental performance. 1 Caffeine has been linked to increased risk of stroke 2 and rheumatoid arthritis 3 Caffeine also reduces insulin sensitivity so we don’t process sugars as efficiently, which can lead to insulin resistance, diabetes and a conviction for Murder One. 4 A cup of coffee in the morning is not what I’m talking about. Five cups a day is.
Chronic coffee drinkers are surfing the bean – hate to say it, but it’s a drug addiction. Try giving it up and you’ll witness all the evidence of addiction withdrawal. Some of the unpleasantness is down to the caffeine, the rest attributable to mental patterning/comfort zones we have installed (see Deal With Addictions). Try switching to tart vegetable juices when you get up – much better for you and the nutrients help overcome caffeine cravings (see Juice Veggies). Disrupt your mental patterning by changing your morning routine to avoid the breakfast table (see Free up Your Digestive Cycles). Exercise aerobically with a brisk walk or jog after you get up (remember to stretch). Your body is craving oxygen, not a skinny latte with cinnamon and a chocolate torpedo. If you are a coffee, alcohol and carbonated beverage quaffer, you’ve probably got reflux (heartburn) and some digestive issues by now, even more so if you’re a smoker. Repent!
But… But…
If you really must drink coffee, Dr Joseph Mercola offers the following useful pointers:
- Use organic coffee – Coffee is a heavily sprayed crop, so drinking organic coffee might reduce or eliminate the exposure to toxic herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. The only drawback is that the countries where coffee is produced probably have less control and monitoring for compliance to organic practices. You will also be helping to protect the health of the people working in the coffee fields, as you will be helping to reduce their toxic exposure as well
- “Swiss Water Process” decaf – If you are going to drink decaffeinated coffee, be sure that it is one that uses a non-chemical-based method of decaffeination. The “Swiss Water Process” is a patented method and the best choice. Most of the major brands are chemically decaffeinated, even if it says “Naturally Decaffeinated” on the container. If you are unsure of the methods, contact the manufacturer
- Avoid sugar and/or milk – These are actually much worse for you than the coffee itself. Don’t compound the detrimental health effects by adding milk or sugar to your coffee
- Unbleached filters – If you use a “drip” coffee-maker, be sure to use non-bleached filters. The bright white ones, which most people use, are chlorine-bleached and some of this chlorine will be extracted from the filter during the brewing process
Once again it’s a matter of scale. Alcohol is a cell-poison. A glass of red wine a day has shown antioxidant benefits, but not because of the alcohol! 5 If you want antioxidant benefits, eat blueberries. The danger with any mood-changers lies in the perceived change in state from ‘pain’ to ‘pleasure’, which tempts us into renewing the high. Bound up with addiction is the denial issue (“Huh? I have it under control…”), the protective mechanism the brain uses against the anticipated pain of withdrawal. If that’s you in any area of addiction, rule number one: Don’t justify what’s hurting you. Rule number two: Get help (see Deal With Addictions).
Carbonated Drinks
Sally Squires reports: ‘Americans drink more soda pop [fizzy drinks] than ever before. These popular beverages account for more than a quarter of all drinks consumed in the United States. More than 15 billion gallons were sold in 2000. That works out to at least one 12-ounce can per day for every man, woman and child.
Kids are heavy consumers of soft drinks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and they are guzzling soda pop at unprecedented rates. Carbonated soda pop provides more added sugar in a typical 2-year-old toddler’s diet than cookies, candies and ice cream combined. Fifty-six percent of 8-year-olds down soft drinks daily, and a third of teenage boys drink at least three cans of soda pop per day.
Not only are soft drinks widely available everywhere, from fast food restaurants to video stores, they’re now sold in 60 percent of all public and private middle schools and high schools nationwide, according to the National Soft Drink Association. A few schools are even giving away soft drinks to students who buy school lunches.
As soda pop becomes the beverage of choice among the nation’s young – and as soda marketers focus on brand-building among younger and younger consumers – public health officials, school boards, parents, consumer groups and even the soft drink industry are faced with nagging questions:
How healthful are these beverages, which provide a lot of calories, sugars and caffeine but no significant nutritional value? And what happens if you drink a lot of them at a very young age?” 7
Well, it’s not good. Carbonated drinks are acidic and cause oesophageal reflux. The carbonation process, as its name implies, uses carbon dioxide in a medium of phosphoric acid. Though carbonation is alluring by dint of its ‘thirst-quenching’ properties, real thirst-quenching is accomplished using water not acid. Many of the diet versions of these drinks are also ‘sweetened’ with aspartame, a neurological excitotoxin 7 while those that aren’t can contain anywhere from six to ten teaspoons of sugar. And if all that isn’t enough, phosphorous depletes calcium, which leads to bone loss, the condition known as osteoporosis. And then there’s the aluminium can!
Summary
In a perfect world, we would do without the lot and just drink water. Am I kidding? No. However, advertising and the taste monster have conspired to seduce an entire planet, so I suspect the reality for most of us will be a casual usage somewhere in between.
My advice? Try doing without them or set strict limits on use and ruthlessly enforce. These three can be an addictive, lethal deluge of acid (not to mention all the chemicals and preservatives involved). When ill-advisedly combined with a stressful, busy lifestyle and maintained over the long-haul? See Choose the Right Doctor.
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