The Caffeine Credit Card

Caffeine is well loved across all corners of the Earth and can be a valuable tool, but on the journey to next level health, it’s important to take a look at the lesser-known effects of this stimulant compound.

It’s easy to focus on the short-term gains of using caffeine, but fewer people consider that there are costs to using it. Some of which include the important topics of aging and chronic health issues. Read on to learn about the lesser-known impacts of caffeine.

Unfortunately, the energy that comes from caffeine is not “free.” It’s similar to paying for expenses with a credit card, where not only do you have to pay the entire amount back later, but you also have to pay back interest. This means that in a way it costs more than what it gives you.

Of course we can’t objectively say that this is always the case, since sometimes what it enables us to do is something of great importance – such as staying awake at the wheel when a tired person has no choice but to drive. Similarly sometimes it’s worth it to go into credit card debt, such as when there are important emergencies. So, this isn’t about making blanket judgments of caffeine being “not worth it.” Instead, it’s about developing an overall more well-informed understanding so that we can deliberately craft our lifestyle path in the ways that will best serve us with far less energy sapping taking place off the radar.

The “real” and “best” type of energy that our bodies use is called ATP, or adenosine triphosphate. This is a clean, non-jittery, natural energy that’s produced inside each cell’s mitochondria from a series of reactions called the Krebs cycle where our food and oxygen are metabolized into energy. To have the maximum amount of energy available to our brain and body, we want to have that ATP creation process and mitochondrial health supported as best as possible. [Link to blog about supporting mitochondrial health]

In contrast, the energy from caffeine comes from adrenaline and cortisol produced in the adrenal glands. This is meant only to be back-up energy that comes into play, basically in emergency moments where we need a sudden burst of extra energy to meet some urgent demand for heightened functioning. It’s the fight-or-flight energy source which comes with the activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) that triggers things like increased heart rate and blood flow to muscles.

Underneath the cascade of adrenal and SNS reactions that come with the use of any stimulant there are energetic factors at play that have long been studied and understood by Traditional Chinese Medicine. That system describes how one of the three main energy components that humans are made of is called Jing, or essence. It is said that we are born with a certain finite amount of it, which is used up over our lifetime and cannot be replaced once it’s gone.

How much Jing we have at any time determines our level of vitality, healing capacity, and reproductive capacity. As we go through life and use up more and more of this Jing, our overall vitality dimishes. Unfortunately, the use of stimulants pulls from this reserve of Jing energy, so it effectively causes us to age, diminishing the vital energy that we have available to us.

Looking at this from another level, we see how the sustained fight-or-flight SNS experience puts us in a state where our body’s reserves are directed away from the process of healing, digestion and rejuvenation. Choosing to induce this stimulation on a daily basis puts us in a bichemically similar state to someone who is dealing with constant heightened fear and trauma.

We’ve all heard that stress is terrible for the health of the body and I think most people think of this in terms of life stressors from finances, problems at work, relationship troubles, and so on. But chemical stimulants create the same internal state, and when we spend a few hours in this each morning by choice, or even multiple periods during each day, we are drastically reducing our body’s ability to heal and rejuvenate itself in any way that it might need to.

The tough pill to swallow here is that in doing this we are basically choosing to put a handicap on our body, and limit our chance to reach our full potential of health. This may not make much of a difference to some people who have a lot of extra energy reserves and vitality. They may be able to endure habits like this for decades without noticing any debilitating effects. But there are others who are on thin ice with their available vitality. These are folks whose adrenal glands have already been severely taxed by various health and/or other stress factors. Folks in this state have a lot less leeway to play around with and can directly land themselves into trouble by trying to induce chemical stimulation by choice. Some of the problematic results can be severe fatigue, inflammation, lowered immune response, and painful emotional states that don’t resolve easily.

Due to these impacts of caffeine and other stimulants, my advice is to approach them very mindfully. Especially for those who struggle with health and vitality, always try to meet your goals using the least amount possible of added stimulants because as we have seen, their use comes at a cost.

When it comes to coffee specifically, one way to improve the picture is to buy only mycotoxin free coffee, for starters, such as Bulletproof brands, or VitaCup. This is one way to reduce any stress burdens that coffee could be bringing to your body.

Another choice that I’ve come to love is using guarana powder instead of coffee. To me it feels much better in my body with less of that gnarly jittery feel, and more of a smooth euphoric feel. In the morning to mix a small amount of that with some purified or spring water and the juice of 1 lemon, plus liquid stevia drops creates an invigorating lemonade drink that’s a potent way to cleanse and heal the liver each day. So the treat of getting a burst of caffeine is balanced out by the strong healing force of a big serving of daily lemon juice in the morning (best time to cleanse the liver).

However you choose to approach powering yourself up with energy, mindfulness and awareness about what you consume is the first step on the path to better and brighter outcomes.