Do you drink caffeinated coffee, tea or soda?
You may have heard that coffee and tea have health benefits, and that caffeine can help with weight loss. You may also have heard the opposite.  The true danger of caffeine is that it is to be best avoided because it can increase the following:

• Blood pressure
• Risk of heart disease
• Cholesterol and homocysteine
• Stress
• Emotional disturbances
• Depression
• ADD
• Blood sugar swings
• Gastrointestinal problems, ulcers, heartburn, GERD
• Male health problems, urinary and prostate problems
• Fibrocystic breast disease, PMS, osteoporosis, infertility problems, miscarriage, low birth weight infants, and menopausal problems
• Adrenal Exhaustion, inflammation, autoimmunity, and fatigue
• Aging

If you drink coffee you probably do so for one of two reasons:
1) You are looking for an energy boost.
2) You like the taste and the ritual.

If you like the taste and ritual you could try some of the coffee substitutes on the market (Raja’s Cup, or Teeccino, for example ). Just go to your local health food store and have them show you the coffee substitute section. These herbal coffees taste amazingly similar to coffee, but with health benefits.

If you’re seeking an energy boost -- because without your coffee you feel tired and unfocused -- it is a sign that you may have low adrenal function and/or neurotransmitter deficiencies. The bad news is, drinking coffee will only make this problem worse. To use an analogy, caffeine is like a whip and your adrenals are your horse. So every time you drink caffeine, you are whipping your adrenals to make more adrenaline and cortisol. The more caffeine your drink, the more whipping that takes place. I’d like you to keep this visual image in your head so you think twice before you pour that next cup of coffee. The more you stress your adrenals, the more risk you have for adrenal fatigue, and eventually adrenal exhaustion—where you have very little adrenal function left, which can result in chronic fatigue.

There are far better ways to get energy such as L-tyrosine. L-tyrosine is a powerful amino acid that is great for low energy, depression and poor concentration. Try taking 500 to 2,000 milligrams three times a day (before breakfast, mid-morning, and mid-afternoon). If you feel too wired with L-tyrosine, try L-phenylalanine. If neither one of these help, then you will need medical help with your master energy glands—the adrenals and thyroid.

Coffee and Natural Weight Loss: The Dangers You Should Know! 

Marketers of fad diets and weight-loss supplements often exaggerate the benefits of caffeine, claiming that caffeine will significantly curb your appetite and help you drop pounds quickly. Here’s what researchers have found about those claims:

• Caffeine may act as an appetite suppressant. However, while studies have shown that some people eat less after consuming caffeine, this effect is brief — not long enough to lead to significant weight loss.
• Caffeine may increase your body’s ability to burn calories. Caffeine is thought to stimulate thermogenesis — one way your body generates heat and energy from digesting food. However, caffeine’s role in thermogenesis probably isn’t enough to result in significant weight loss.
• Caffeine acts as a diuretic, which means it causes an increase in the amount of urine you excrete. This water loss may temporarily decrease your body weight.

It’s important to keep in mind that caffeine is a stimulant that can increase your heart rate and blood pressure, interrupt your sleep, and cause nervousness and irritability. Also, many caffeinated beverages are high in calories, which can contribute to unwanted weight gain.
Coffee drinking may actually be sabotaging your weight loss efforts. 2

By drinking coffee or other caffeinated beverages throughout the day, you may be causing yourself to eat more often, and consume more calories than you really need. Here are the top 5 reasons why kicking the caffeine habit will help you make great strides towards your weight loss goals.

1.Coffee Triggers Food Cravings
Caffeine and other ingredients found in coffee, including decaffeinated coffee, have been shown to be a danger that will increase stress. Caffeine elevates the stress hormone, cortisol. This stress hormone creates an emergency “fight or flight” reaction in the body including increased heart rate, blood pressure, and a sense of “emergency alert”. This alerts the body to increase its energy stores, which results in food cravings, specifically for sweets. Limiting caffeine can help control food cravings throughout the day.

2.Caffeine Stimulates Appetite
Caffeine can trigger a condition called hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar with symptoms including dizziness and light-headedness. The body’s reaction to hypoglycemia results in food cravings and increased appetite. People often crave higher calorie foods in this case, resulting in increased caloric intake, further interfering with the body’s ability to maintain a healthy weight. The more caffeine you drink, the more you may feel that urge to eat. By limiting your caffeine intake, you can help take better control of your appetite.

3.Caffeine Increases Stress
Coffee and caffeine intake aggravate stress including physical, mental, and emotional stress. Additionally, caffeine has been found to interfere with our “feel good” brain messenger called GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid). This brain messenger plays an important role in mood and stress management. A lack of GABA can trigger stress or emotional eating, which leads to weight gain. How often have you grabbed a pint of ice cream or bag of cookies when feeling bad? Quitting caffeine can help you get a handle on emotional eating by reducing stress hormones and allowing GABA to do its job of making you feel better.

4.Stress Hormones Increase Body Fat
Studies show that prolonged elevated cortisol levels increase the deposit of fat in the deep belly area. Abdominal fat is associated with increased health risks like cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Decreasing caffeine along with regular exercise are great steps you can take towards a firmer belly and healthier body.

5.Caffeine Increases Insulin Resistance
Research shows that caffeine contributes to insulin resistance, a condition that reduces your body’s ability to use insulin effectively. When your body becomes resistant to insulin, glucose and insulin build up in your blood, endangering your health and increases your risk of developing Type II Diabetes. Drinking coffee can also cause insomnia and sleep deprivation, both of which have been found to increase insulin resistance. Kicking the caffeine habit can help lower your risk of insulin resistance, and help you to manage your weight more effectively.

If you drink caffeine on a daily basis, we suggest that you create a weaning schedule to decrease your coffee or tea intake by 10% every three days -- or you can go cold turkey.

Take L-tyrosine for your energy boost and to help you wean off the caffeine.

Our best selling product Royal Matcha Green Tea does contain a small amount of natural caffeine, which is why we suggest keeping your dose to only ¼ teaspoon.

The health and weight loss benefits of the Royal Matcha Green Tea far outweigh the small amount of caffeine in the ¼ tsp. dose, so use Royal Matcha as an addition to smoothies or make your own tea lattes (see recipes below) or blended drinks instead of spending your retirement savings at Starbucks on their mochachinolattefrappefoofoo drinks.

Green Tea Fruit Smoothie (2 servings)
1 ½ cups raw milk or ½ cup coconut milk and 1 cup water
½ tsp. matcha green tea powder (you may want to a little more if you are not particularly sensitive to caffeine)
1 ½ servings Pro Optimal whey protein powder
1 large banana  
1 cup fresh or frozen berries
Stevia or raw honey to taste
Water or ice cubes--optional

Place all ingredients except ice into a Omega 8003 Juicer or blender. Blend until smooth. Add water and/or ice as necessary to produce desired consistency.

Green Tea Latte
8-12 ounces pure water, boiled
¼ tsp. Royal Matcha Green Tea
2-4 Tb. raw milk or cream or coconut milk or almond or hemp milk (vanilla hemp milk is delicious with this drink)
Stevia or raw honey to taste

Mix green tea powder in a mug with milk and sweetener of choice. Stir well. Add hot water and mix again. Enjoy.

1Teecino.com. “Top 10 Caffeine Related Health Problems”. http://www.teeccino.com/Top10Reasons.aspx
2Teecino.com. “Coffee and Weight Loss: What You Should Know”. http://www.teeccino.com/consumerweightloss.aspx