Caffeine, Alcohol and Pain

There is a lot of mixed research on coffee /caffeine being good for you. That is because there is truth in both. There are some negative effects of caffeine such as hormonal, adrenal, and sleep disturbances, but there are also benefits such as increased memory, alertness, and even antioxidants depending on the source. A reasonable approach would be to have no more than one cup of coffee a day. For those with hormonal issues or trouble sleeping I suggest to eliminate coffee and caffeine completely. If you currently drink a lot of coffee/caffeine beverages you will need to wean off slowly so you don’t experience withdrawal symptoms. For those unable to successfully wean, working with a nutritionist can help bring balance to your body and aid this process.

There is always a debate about tea vs coffee. You can drink more tea than coffee because tea tends to have less caffeine. Try white tea which has less caffeine than green tea and more antioxidants. Decaffeinated coffee is not suggested as they use chemicals in the processing, so the best option is organic alkaline coffee. Coffee can be very acidic which is not good for the body. There is a new coffee product which adds ganoderma mushroom extract to make it alkaline, a wise choice and mostly available on-line.

There is good news for chocolate lovers. The caffeine in chocolate is different and is not as strong as in tea or coffee therefore dark chocolate may be okay in moderation. For those that are really sensitive, they may have to avoid chocolate as well.

Alcohol is known to impair your immune system. Remember, it is all connected. Alcohol has been show to also increase inflammation. For this reason it is recommended that you limit or avoid alcohol to decrease inflammation.