JLove’s Interview: Coffee Anyone? OR...maybe we should make that a tea!!
Do you struggle in understanding why and how to let go of your coffee addiction? You are not alone.
Nearly seven years ago, I was a true coffee (aka caffeine) addict, drinking nearly two pots of coffee a day. YIKES!! Once I learned what coffee did to my body I was DONE. I went from two pots/day to zero in a matter of one week. If I can do it so can you and I spoke with Caroline MacDougall, founder of Teeccino (http://www.teeccino.com) for some great advice on the why and how of avoiding caffeine to help you.
JLove: Why is caffeine something to avoid?
Caroline: Caffeine is a drug that triggers the body's "Fight-or-Flight" syndrome which pumps up the production of cortisol and epinephrine, the major stress hormones. If you have a life threatening emergency, these hormones will help your chances of survival by producing a number of changes like flooding the blood with glucose, constricting blood vessels to your brain and extremities and suppressing the immune system and digestion. Everything is sacrificed in order to help your large muscles run quickly away from danger. In today's modern life, we don't make use of all these physical changes as we sit at desks, in cafes, or at meals. Thus we experience a rush with a subsequent crash that leads to increased appetite from blood sugar swings, increased tension and anxiety, and insomnia. Chronically elevated stress hormones have a multitude of long term effects on the body which lead to chronic health problems.
JLove: Yes, great information Caroline. Will you help the readers understand the moderation or abstinence comparison with caffeine?
Caroline: It depends on the individual as to whether some caffeine is tolerated well or not. Then too, it depends on their age as the older we get, the less caffeine we can tolerate. As the body ages, the adrenal glands produce less DHEA, our youth & longevity hormone, and more cortisol, the stress hormone that causes so many problems when it is chronically elevated. Women are more sensitive to caffeine's effects than men typically are. The liver detoxifies many pharmaceutical drugs using the same pathway as it uses to detoxify caffeine, so if you are on birth control pills, for instance, caffeine will stay in your system longer. A woman may find that a cup of coffee in the morning is still affecting her sleep at night! So each person needs to find out for themselves how caffeine is affecting them and the only real way to do this is to stop any caffeine for at least a few weeks in order to give your body enough time to recover and restore its natural energy production. Then you can see what symptoms or other effects caffeine might have been causing and decide for yourself how much caffeine to consume and when to do so.
JLove: These are good points. Thank you. So, what do you find are successful methods for quitting caffeine?
Caroline: Quitting caffeine cold turkey can really be painful so I recommend a weaning process over 2 weeks. You can do this by blending your regular coffee with a caffeine-free coffee alternative like Teeccino. You start with 3/4 coffee to 1/4 Teeccino and then slowly decrease the amount of coffee and increase the amount of Teeccino. Your body will adjust to the lower quantity of caffeine gradually so you won't get headaches which come from restoring more oxygen to the brain or experience as much fatigue as your adrenal glands recover from being stressed by caffeine.
JLove: Excellent idea. I love this. Will you explain why Teeccino may be a better choice versus other tea?
Caroline: If you're a coffee drinker, you are used to a full-bodied brew with roasted flavor. Teeccino Herbal Coffee tastes like coffee whereas teas taste watery and leafy so they don't deliver the same satisfaction that coffee drinkers are used to. Plus coffee drinkers typically have a brewing ritual that they love and don't want to give up. I created Teeccino by blending roasted herbs like carob, barley and chicory with roasted nuts like almonds and ramon nuts, a traditional food of the Maya civilization, to deliver that coffee-like flavor in a ground form so Teeccino can be brewed in any kind of coffee maker. Recently, we introduced Teeccino in Tee-bags that steep just like tea because we found that tea drinkers enjoy Teeccino as much as coffee drinkers and many Teeccino customers want a more convenient way to brew a single cup of Teeccino on-the-go.
JLove: These ingredients in Teeccino are so clean and pure AND I love the taste. Does Teeccino offer any health benefits?
Caroline: Just like coffee and tea, Teeccino has a number of water-soluble antioxidants that help protect the body from free radical stress. Carob, barley, almonds, dates, figs and ramon nuts are all very high in antioxidants. Teeccino is also non-acidic and Teeccino's potassium helps alkalize the body. A cup of Teeccino gives people an energy boost that comes from nutrients, not stimulants so you'll feel steady energy rather than a jolt and crash. There is a gram of soluble fiber in a cup of Teeccino which along with the potassium makes Teeccino really healthy for the heart. The chicory root in Teeccino contains inulin which extracts during brewing. Inulin is a prebiotic which supports a health population of beneficial microflora. With 650mg of inulin in a cup of Teeccino, you can double the amount of inulin you get in today's modern diet by drinking just a couple of cups of Teeccino a day. Inulin also increases the absorption of minerals and supports the immune system so getting more of it daily can have really positive effects on your health!
JLove: Wonderful! Thank you so much for all this insightful information Caroline.
Theme for the Week...Re-Springification!
This playlist is for after the Holiday and your massive workout of Spring cleaning. I don’t know about you, Nibblers but I am exhausted from all this running around and coloring eggs. So this week my tunes are fun, easy going, and recuperating. I hope you enjoy laying on your hammock and drinking a NibMor smoothie J
Jammin’ Playlist
Colours by Grouplove
Cave by Mumford and Sons
Amado Mio by Pink Martini
What the Water Gave me by Florence + The Machine
All you need is Love by The Beatles
