How Do People Handle Caffeine?

[metabolizm]

I have much better bowel movements when I don't drink coffee. But I love the stuff.

Also, as an anxious person, I have to be very careful about how much I drink. One a day is about the most I can handle, but I try not to drink it every day.

 

[HealingBoy]

I definitely stopped coffee and cafeinated beverage when I understood that cold shower can do me the exact same thing, for a big part of the day. My girlfriend managed to quit coffee with cold showers : you get your shot of adrenaline and cortisol.

Caffeine is a mental hell each time, I can get anxious for days, WHATEVER supplements and tons of sugar or vitamins / minerals I take. I'm even afraid of hot chocolate or sometimes tea.

 

[Ableton]

I might try tapering off coffee to see how I feel.

Would a T3 supplement help to compensate the caffeine withdrawal?

Probably but I think the whole idea behind it is to not use anything and go back to your baseline no?

 

[SOMO]

Yea it doesn’t matter if I drink it with milk and sugar alongside food. It impairs my ability to concentrate on reading, which is weird bc I feel like it is the opposite for everyone else lol. It’s a shame bc I do like the taste

I know Caffeine is also processed by the liver, so it could indicate poor liver function.


Does black tea or caffeine pills have the same effect in you?

 

[schultz]

Well I just gave an explanation of what I think it was doing to me and likely op.
I doubt the positives outweigh the negatives, based on the description
This does not mean it is bad for you.
I also gave an explanation of my understanding on who benefits from it

I have no problem with what you wrote. It's nice to have various opinions on the forum so we can all learn.

I think the quote is a good one. What is coffee doing? I should have linked to Ray's article on coffee though (the quote comes from his aspirin article). I think a lot of people on the forum don't read his articles. There are also lurkers who may not be familiar with his articles and make assumptions about his work based on what they read here.

Ray's article on coffee: Caffeine: A vitamin-like nutrient, or adaptogen. Questions about tea and coffee, cancer and other degenerative diseases, and the hormones.

The article I got the quote from: Aspirin, brain, and cancer

 

[milkboi]

Probably but I think the whole idea behind it is to not use anything and go back to your baseline no?

True that

 

[Gone Peating]

I know Caffeine is also processed by the liver, so it could indicate poor liver function.


Does black tea or caffeine pills have the same effect in you?

I know for sure caffeinated beverages like coke and red bull do not. I feel great after red bull so I don’t think it’s the caffeine

 

[redsun]

I might try tapering off coffee to see how I feel.

Would a T3 supplement help to compensate the caffeine withdrawal?

Yeh it would. I think T3 can work as a "substitute" when getting off any stimulant not just caffeine because T3 itself acts like a stimulant. Just be aware of how you are affected by it. Some people shed hair from T3.

 

[Hgreen56]

for all the people that feeling weird from coffee, your liver is probably fckt up.
Caffeine Reverses Stress, Insulin Resistance, Hypertension

 

[Gone Peating]

for all the people that feeling weird from coffee, your liver is probably fckt up.
Caffeine Reverses Stress, Insulin Resistance, Hypertension

I get the feeling from coffee but not caffeine itself so idk about this.

Coffee is more than just caffeine so we probably react to something else in it

 

[Kingpinguin]

Coffee Done Right – Tips to Help Avoid Coffee Intolerance – Functional Performance Systems (FPS)

@Kingpinguin, I think these videos might help you with your described troubles:





TL;DR

-Adding a tablespoon of fat slows caffeine uptake which helps decrease a spiked stress response. It also facilitates the uptake of amino acids in coffee which are said to have their own stimulating properties.

-Espresso and shorter hot-water exposure time when preparing coffee grounds helps to lessen total caffeine content (and lower potential oxidation imo)

-Putting 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of heavy clay will adsorb positively charged particles like fungus, pesticides, etc. Allow it to settle at the bottom before drinking, don't consume the clay at the bottom of the cup. I use illite clay because that's what I happened to have... Paul mentions bentonite and pascalite as other options. I'll tell you that kaolin clay is too fine and frankly ruins the cup.

-If you're trying to quit coffee, Paul recommends keeping a dozen or so coffee beans in the pocket and chewing/sucking on them if you have a 'craving' for coffee. Yerba mate, fresh squeezed fruit juice, (and bone broth as mentioned by Josh Rubin, Tim Berzins, Matt Blackburn) can be used as a replacement for coffee. Also cold showers can be used for a sympathetic response in place of coffee.

-Berries are stimulating to the adrenal glands and coffee is draining of them... Berries help rehabilitate weak adrenal glands.

-The rate at which caffeine is cleared from the body is dependent on liver function.

I personally add about 15-20g of sugar in addition to the 12g of fat per cup... Seems to really balance out any of the stress responses I get from coffee. I'm mindful to eat an appreciable amount of fruit (say 30g+) at least 30 minutes before the coffee as an attempt at preventing glycogen depletion of the liver.

Anyhow, out of all of my coffee experiments over the last two years using high fat, high sugar, activated charcoal, collagen, and any combinations therein... Using less water on the grounds, adding some fat and some sugar, a bit of clay, eating fruit away from meals and drinking water away from meals definitely gives me the most even-keeled effect. I think there's something to be said about protein and it's contribution to the liver as an energetic substrate that helps coffee to be more like a medicine and less like a drug, too... But I can't say much else other than I think it plays a role in stress-less coffee consumption.

Well wishes!

Awesome posts thanks guys!

 

[lilsticky]

Ray eats steak with coffee

 

[inurendotoxin]

Well if your energy is at a medium level without coffee. And then you drink you get above average energy for awhile but eventually thats becomes your new medium. And every 8 hours when caffeine has been metabolized you just go from being medium to slow/low. Thats what happens. So id rather be medium all the time without coffee. Than going medium low medium low. With coffee. Coffee doesnt give me anything. It just helps me get going. But if i remove coffee i domt even need it to get going. My energy levels are much more stable and honstly just feels like a constant slight buzz. Once you quit and completely withdrawn from caffeine and your body just rely on your natural adenosine levels being stable. You wake up more fresh, you have a more balanced energy etc. Only problem is. Coffee taste so freaking damn gooooood!!!!

Some good responses here. +1 to the post by @Twohandsondeck

Anecdotally, I don't buy the 'new medium' theory, although I notice non-coffee drinkers like to lecture me on it now and again... I think there are way more variables at play here; time of day, empty stomach vs. with meal, macro nutrient profile of said meal (etc etc). And yeah, individual tolerance is definitely a thing. I had a friend who tried a single sip of my espresso once, and I ended up taking her to the emergency room.

Storytime: I gave up coffee once in 2012, for a total of 21 days. I was recently diagnosed with a bowel condition (chrons), and suspected it may be exacerbating symptoms. I was also working a stressful job and concerned it might be making anxiety worse.

So I got over the morning headaches, and 'detoxed' my body to reset to my 'old medium', if you like. Nonetheless the smell of coffee held it's appeal, and on day 22, I finally caved. That first cup after detox felt like rising from a coma. All my senses came alive. I was fully conscious again; like a "Where have I been??" kind of feeling.

I've probably had between 3-5 cups every day ever since (I guess that makes me a...12? year coffee "addict" with a 21 day break). I've tried the old medium, and the new medium. There is a perceptible difference to me. Life with coffee = noticeably better than life without.

Some days I respond better than others, but I definitely still get a caffeine high, especially that morning cup. If I take without food, I get the jitters. So personally I find that a high protein, moderate fat breakfast is best.

In my case I notice that tolerance (or, days when coffee is less effective) is usually an indication that something else is off balance; sleep was disturbed, calories too low, or I'm overtrained, for example. The efficacy of caffeine, like any other compound, is necessarily dependent on the context it's introduced to. And sure, if you have it with milk or cream, you'll get a different reaction. Maybe a bowel movement or somethin'...

My conclusion? Coffee is one of life's great joys, to be en-joyed responsibly. I think if you tweak around some things (maybe just restrict to one cup a day? or dialling in the qualitative difference between actual tiredness vs. lethargy/fatigue; this was an important one for me), you can still enjoy a cup of coffee without necessarily going cold turkey.

 

[tara]

So you know your problem. Are you here to get reinforced in your addiction?
Perceive, think, ACT
Sorry bud, I loved coffee as well

+1
I wish coffee agreed with me too. I like it, but it doesn't seem to serve me well. Mostly I manage to resist.

 

[equipoise]

I wasn't able to caffeine in my heavy drinking days. Guess too much glutamate rebound next day makes me too cranky and activates the parasympathetic response.
Nowadays coffee has a calming effect on me. Plus I always carry a little bit of taurine/niacinamide/glycine in my pocket and if any bit of discomfort ever appears (which already is extremely rare) 200mg of Taurine gets rid of it