Giving up caffeine - is there any point? Only a few hours in and my head REALLY hurts!

[bintofbohemia]

I have actually cracked and now had a cup of tea because I'm struggling to see the point of binning caffeine entirely.

Am having a nice healthy week to make up for a week of not so healthy eating and living and thought binning caffeine (as well as wheat and dairy) for a week would make me feel a bit more perky. But today I feel like the dead. I have done this in the past and have been alright after a few days, but not sure the school holidays stuck in with the kids is a good time to go through withdrawals!

Any thoughts, is it worth it?

Just a little suggestion - if you want to go decaff, it's a good idea to use organic decaff if you can afford it - the solvents that are generally used for decaffeinating are pretty unpleasant and there is a small residue left in the coffee/tea. Organic decaffeination is done using water, not solvents and therefore there is no nasty residue.

Good to know, thumbwitch thanks! Is it just coffee in particular that gets the nasty residue, or decaf tea, as well??

Does tea have less caffeine than brewed coffee? I am thinking that maybe if I switch to tea in the mornings, I can gradually cut down that way...I drink decaf tea in the afternoons, anyway, so it might be easier to make the switch...

A lot of people use green tea as a substitute for normal black tea and coffee . It's healthier but is caffeinnated; I add some fresh mint or tbag to it for flavour.

Yes thumbwitch yr. right; I do eat and drink organically if poss.

I knew about green tea, but it's the caffeine I don't want, so I've stayed away from that (though I do like it).

I don't normally 'do' organic stuff due to negative environmental impact, but if there is known nasty stuff, then I'll give it a go...

I'm just resisting...I don't want to give up my coffee!!

eve - What's the negative environmental impact of organic stuff?

Am hoping to make it through today without cracking. Only had one cup of caffeinated tea yesterday which is a massive improvement on my usual 4-6.

Ate a mental amount of fruit and veg yesterday and feel much better for it already.

I would think that any negative environmental impact of organic food is down to importing it? Also because it isn't intensively farmed so you get less food for the same amount of land - apart from that, I've no idea why it would be seen to be less environmental than intensive chemical farming.

Tea contains more caffeine by weight than coffee but there is less in a cup of tea than in a cup of coffee, because less of the caffeine is released from the tea than from coffee. Decaffeination of tea and coffee both done by nasty solvents - or by water. IF you can find a non-organinc one that SAYS on the packet it is water-decaffeinated, then it will be ok; but if it doesn't say anything then it's solvent. ORganic cannot be solvent extracted.

Green tea contains a fair whack of caffeine but also lots of antioxidants - but you can get decaffeinated green tea as well.

ok I have had my two cups of coffee (which is a huge drop in intake) and I want more

.....

I didn't realise even wholemeal bread is bad for you. Sigh. I like rye crispbread, will get some of that in. I am not mad on bread but it is convenient for quick snacks - make a roll or sandwich.

If you have given up flour, have you also taken it out of your dc's diet?

thumbwitch...both of those are the very reasons that organic isn't always environmentally friendly...so I try and buy local as much as possible, paticularly if I know specifically where the stuff is coming from.

Wholemeal bread, in my understanding, ISN'T bad unless you react badly to wheat. Whole Wheat on the other hand, isn't quite the same thing...wholemeal is the better option.

I don't limit my DCs intake of anything really...they are healthy eaters to start with, and I try and steer them toward the healthier option if I can (they HATE wholemeal bread...so I've given up on that). I am careful about sugar with them, but don't forbid it, and we don't eat a lot of processed stuff, anyway.

So, no...I haven't changed DCs diet all that much...but as a result of my change, we are all eating a lot better, so I guess that's the only difference it's made.

really fancy another coffee but I am having peppermint tea instead thanks to this thread!

Do you think coffeine has an effect on how you behave and think?

Why is caffeine bad for you? I'm sure I've read recently about some studies saying that in moderation it's good for your heart and brain (forgot the details).

I have a cup of coffee in the morning, another one after lunch and then a cup of my beloved lapsang suchong at 5-6.

I've never noticed any side effects- what's so bad about moderate intake of caffeine?

some bad effects already described on the thread.

Moderation might be the key word, unfortunately my regular intake is not moderate. I agree definitely affects your bladder.

Also don't like the feeling of dependency, needing a coffee to clear my head in the morning or for an energy boost in the afternoon etc

I've just phased out coffee over the period of a week,lots of water, no headaches. I'm now going to gradually switch my tea over to redbush.

Last winter I had a bad attack of gastroenteritis and could hardly eat or drink for 3 days. The caffeine withdrawal headache was worse than the throwing up. I've had increasing headaches and migraines recently so decided it just had to go, but was scared to go cold turkey again.

Is this thread getting a bit OTT - wholemeal bread isn't bad for you surely unless you are trying to cut out gluten. If you are going to eat some carbohydrate it might as well be WM bread as pasta or potatoes . you could always bake your own locally milled organic additive free version...

that's interesting that you managed it without the headaches. I worry how I would manage things with terrible headaches even if it is only for 5 days or so.

I odn't think the thread is OTT butmaybe I'm causing confusion with my questions - e.g. the wholemeal bread thing etc

Yes, read the thread, but still it seems a bit vague...

Anyway, each to his own etc.

Oh, and actually drinking coffee does NOT dehydrate you, contrary to the popular belief- there's just not the right caffeine/water ratio, so basically it would be nearly impossible to make a cup of coffee with enough caffeine in it to cause dehydration.

I don't like the dependency thing, either...and the fact that I feel like I need to top up my caffeine in the afternoon. Plus, I have severe Restless Leg syndrome, and am pretty sure that cutting out caffeine totally will alleviate some of that.

So, winnybella caffeine isn't necessarily bad for you, and if moderate intake doesn't give you any ill effects, then no reason to stop, really!

"Though moderate caffeine intake isn't likely to cause harm, too much can noticeably affect your health. Heavy daily caffeine use ? more than 500 to 600 mg a day, or about four to seven cups of coffee ? can cause:

■Insomnia
■Nervousness
■Restlessness
■Irritability
■Nausea or other gastrointestinal problems
■Fast or irregular heartbeat
■Muscle tremors
■Headaches
■Anxiety "

can't vouch for this just quick google of "negative effects of caffeine" tons of sites come up.

www.eufic.org/page/en/faqid/positive-effects-caffeine here

"

Caffeine is well recognised as increasing both alertness levels and attention spans. A cup of coffee or tea is often recommended to counter sleepiness, especially for those driving long distances and many people resort to an afternoon "cuppa" to get back on top of their workload. Studies have shown that caffeine may also improve memory and logical reasoning.
Many caffeine-containing beverages, most notably tea and more recently coffee and chocolate, have been found to contain antioxidants. Antioxidants appear to have health benefits especially in the area of heart health and cancer prevention.
Recent reports suggest that caffeine may be useful in treating allergic reactions due to its ability to reduce the concentration of histamines, the substances that cause the body to respond to an allergy-causing substance. More research is need in this area before conclusions can be drawn however.
Caffeine has long been known to help some people suffering from asthma.

Thanks ZZZen and Custardo.

I totally agree that drinking loads makes you feel a bit shakey and in my case, weirdly, more tired.

I was just wondering why someone would want to kick one or two cups a day habit.

But of course, if you're very sensitive to it, it makes sense.

or shaky!

IMO this thread proves one thing; that we are all different and so obviously react in diverse ways to foods,drinks etc. I follow my blood type (not blindly though) Dr. Peter D'Adamo is the protagonist.

green lotus, my Dh gets really bad effects from wholemeal wheat bread as well as white it's odd but true. IMO a lot of people suffer from inexplicable tiredness that can be put down to wheat.

CAffeine drinks make me pee a hell of a lot more than plain water does - so in that respect they do contribute to dehydration, cos I pee more fluids out. I don't really drink caffeine drinks any more and don't miss them. I had caffeine overload once - that was horrific - I was stressed up to the eyes, drank a glass of wine to try and relax, felt instantly drunk, drank several cups of VERY strong black coffee and zinged away for the next few hours. Tried to go to sleep at 1:30am because I knew I was tired - no chance. Did revision, finished off a few bits on the assignment that was due in next day, finally crashed out at 5am. Woke at 8am, heart racing, feeling very 'spacey' - drove to colllege, handed assignment in, went back to work - and at about 2:30pm the Crash happened. It was fairly instant - went from "hyper hyper, rush rush" to "almost horizontal on the floor". COuld barely drag myself to the car to get home. Ugh!