How Coffee and Tea destroy your Nutritional Status and make you sick.

For most of us the day does not start without our daily coffee or tea. Coffee / Tea is a preferred refreshment here in India. My father’s favorite tea cup is actually a beer mug masquerading as a tea cup!

Habitual drinkers consume as high as 20-30 cups of coffee and Tea during the day. For many their day simply does not start without it.

Coffee & Tea reduce iron absorption from food by 39% & 87% respectively

Coffee and Tea affects levels of Important Micro Nutrients such Vitamin B, Vitamin C, Iron, Calcium, Phosphorus etc. in the body

• You will be surprised to know that coffee and tea can destroy up to one half of your daily intake of Vitamin B Complex and Vitamin C.
• Coffee reduces absorption of iron by 39% & tea by 87%. YOUNG LADIES (specially those on a vegetarian diet with no other known source of heme iron)  who anyway lose iron every month by menses, PLEASE TAKE NOTE. They will do better to kick the habit or at least reduce their dependence on caffeine. Too much dependence on tea & coffee can aggravate mild anemia. Check your ferritin (iron) levels to find out your iron status.
• Alcohol. coffee, cola, and cigarettes all have a direct ability to induce pancreatic insufficiency tending to diabetes.
• Caffeine affects the kidneys adversely causing heavy drinkers to need twice as much calcium intake. LADIES OF ALL AGES, again, PLEASE TAKE NOTE. Ladies are the primary victims of osteoporosis and calcium insufficiency. Again they will do better to kick the habit.

Needless to say Coffee & Tea have an adverse effect upon your body and health if you are already unwell.

So why we feel refreshed after drinking Coffee & Tea?

Drinking Coffee and Tea affects our glands and overstimulate the nerves by giving them a feeling of freshness and energy to a tired body. While drinking an occasional cup of caffeine when required, may benefit you, it is the addiction that you need to avoid.

Heavy drinkers of coffee and tea will deplete essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants from their body. So while you make plans to reduce your intake, I suggest you add a potent multivitamin and a couple of antioxidants like Vitamin C & Vitamin D to your daily diet to counter the adverse effects.

For the reasons explained above it is best that these beverages be used only when required, rather than making them a habitual activity.

One case in which tea and coffee are useful is if you are a man or post menopausal woman and struggling with iron overload.

You could then justify the tea and coffee drinking. But even then green tea is much more suitable for the same purpose as it is high in antioxidants without the kick of caffeine and its effects.

Side effects of drinking too much coffee or tea

The usual side effects of drinking too much coffee or tea are:

• Heart palpitations
• Muscle twitching
• Throbbing headache
• Sluggishness
• Depression
• Insomnia
• Nervousness (trembling, chronic muscle tension. irritability)
• Digestive troubles
• Disturbance of blood glucose levels (with the resulting disruption of calcium and phosphorus levels)
• Rise in the cholesterol level
• Increase in blood pressure, heart rate. and respiration
• Those who also take alcohol, it increases the intake of alcohol.
• Even small amounts of coffee drunk hours before bedtime interfere with the deep stage of sleep necessary to complete rest and restoring of the body.

Coffee reduces absorption of iron by 39%.
Tea reduces absorption of iron by 87%

How Drinking too much Coffee & Tea results in Burn-out

Many of these symptoms are probably due to a rise in adrenal cortex secretions due to the caffeine. Caffeine promotes hyper-insulin-ism (low blood sugar), which is the condition one feels coffee is helping overcome (by raising adrenal secretions, thus temporarily raising the blood sugar). This can eventually manifest as adrenal fatigue.

This constant starvation for sugar and interference with sleep often manifests as chronic fatigue, loss of enthusiasm, loss of efficiency, and proneness to accident. What is called a “burn-out” will occur. Diabetes may be the ultimate result.

What should you do if you are experiencing Coffee / Tea induced Burn-Out

If you are feeling coffee or tea induced “Burn-out” and want to recover from it I recommend gradually reducing you intake of caffeine and sugar.  Consider supplementing your diet with the following for a month or two depending on the severity of your symptoms. If that seems tough try detoxify yourself by drinking fresh (not canned please) vegetable juices made at home, preferably. Fresh vegetables and fruits juice will help you feel energized and refreshed.

Please note that your Phosphorus requirement will get fulfilled with vegetable juicing.

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