29 replies to this topic

[ajnast4r]

ive been drinking coffee for a few years now... recently ive been trying to quit because of the negative effects on my digestion(which is seems to turn off) and because ive heard that caffeine decreases bloodflow to certain parts of the brain.. among various other negative things.

the thing is, almost everytime i drink coffee i feel much more motivated and happier. i want to hug people i was mad at an hour before, i dont mind doing repetative tasks at work that i normally cant stand, im much more social, more creative...

ive noticed this effect is much more pronounced with coffee as opposed to caffein in energy drinks or guarana pills.

what i wanna know is WHY coffee has this effect, and if i can mimic it with *SAFE* non physically addictive substances (coffee withdrawl headache sucks)

[ajnast4r]

do you happen to have low blood preasure?

no its actually a bit on the higher side, especially with semi-regular caffeine consumption (another reason i want to stop the caffeine)

[ajnast4r]

i have naturally higher BP, so caffeine pushes me up above where i feel comfortable being blood pressure wise.

caffeine is also physically addictive, which is not acceptable to me... normal users who dont use it end up getting nasty headaches, feeling extremely fatigued, depressed etc etc etc.

what i want is to be able to find out what its doing inside my brain... and maybe find a safer way to produce those positive mood effects

[hallucinogen]

"what i wanna know is WHY coffee has this effect?" Fragrance of coffee and its taste are psychologically addictive, adding to the physiologically addictive effects of caffeine. The whole thread is anecdotal, since you should've thought and known about negative side-effects of coffee before drinking it for years(similar to anything else you intake).
- Try substituting coffee with vodka. . . err I mean Green Tea, or Green Tea extract ( I would recommend 1.5g of extract daily split into 2 doses at first, since it is more potent) You might notice different effects , especially at first but after you get used to it, it will prove much more beneficial and help you gradually quit drinking coffee. And then you can pretend that you are a Japanese Samurai , drinking green tea at the break of dawn by the rice fields near the mountains.

[ajnast4r]

negative side-effects of coffee before drinking it for years(similar to anything else you intake)

i was younger and working while in college... coffee defintly helped me get through college with a good GPA lol

err I mean Green Tea, or Green Tea extract ( I would recommend 1.5g of extract daily split into 2 doses at first, since it is more potent)

good idea, but ide prefer to stay away from anything with caffeine in it

[hallucinogen]

Why would you want to cut out caffeine completely , so suddenly, it will put stress on your body and do more harm then good. Caffeine in lower doses is good for you.
But if you don't mind the above, take this while quitting, it will make you feel like you just banged Angelina Jolie while doing 2 lines of coke at an all you can eat chinese buffet.

[ajnast4r]

Why would you want to cut out caffeine completely , so suddenly, it will put stress on your body and do more harm then good.

i didnt cut it out suddenly... ive tappered off it over the past 2 months. ALCAR and actually getting 8 hours of sleep a night helped alot with the fatigue part of the withdrawl.

but i find myself a bit depressed and less motivated than normal.... but have a cup of coffee and WHAM... happy & motivated

Caffeine in lower doses is good for you.

proof? at what dosages?

[ajnast4r]

There's very little caffeine in green tea extract. I remember Now foods green tea extract has only 4 or 8mg of caffeine in 400mg extract pill.

if your taking that, i would call NOW and make sure they check for aluminum & other heavy metal levels... a common problem with green tea extract. only brand im personally aware of that does, is gaia herbs...ide be willing to bet reliance does also.

i actually have a gaia green tea extract in liquid(gross)... and dont notice any of those type of effects from taking it.


i think im gonna order some AOR rhodiola and try that, from what ive read it seems to have teh effects im lookings for.

[ajnast4r]

actually i'm caping bulk green tea from bulk nutrition...as for aluminium and other heavy metals, i simply have no more nerves to worry about them anymore

my understanding is that the heavy metal content can be pretty high depending on where its grown and how its extracted. its worth calling and asking for an assay.

heavy metal content is not something you want to brush off, especially if your interested in improving the quality and length of your life.

im not sure what country you live in, but if you can get hold of reliance supplements.... their green tea is VERY cheap, and the company is extremely reliable(hence the name ) when it comes to the purity of their products.

[hallucinogen]

Yah I also just started using bulknutrition green tea extract, I must have capped 600 capsules yesterday, its exhausting:p

[ajnast4r]

as for reliance if the link is http://www.reliancevitamin.com it just gave me a business idea thou i don't see where could i buy their product over net?

yup, thats their site. my store sells their stuff online, but we dont ship outside the USA. you might be hardpressed to find anyone who will.

ive been toying with the same business idea [tung] im really happy with that company. their quality is great(all usp or better), most of their formulations are pretty good, and their stuff is dirt cheap.

we sell a 30 pill bottle of basic 1 a day multi's for 8$... where else are you gonna find a pharmeceutical grade multi for 8 bucks....

[lemon]

I brew fresh green tea leaves before work and drink it from a thermos. Plenty of caffeine... plus you get l-theanine which is an agonist of the negative affects of caffeine. The "I'm so jacked up but I don't know why!" feeling.

L-theanine promotes alpha brain waves which are associated with a calm and alert brain state.

da_sense,

You're smiling all the time so I guess that 5mg of deprenyl a day must be workin' for ya... I'll just hold off for a bit longer before I elevate my own dosage. But if, in the event, you suddenly stop posting I'll just stick to my current dosage of about 5mg a week.

[thumb] (just kiddin' with ya...)

[ajnast4r]

i use l-theanine to sleep sometimes if im wound up, especially if ive had a cup of coffee after work and im still buzzing from the caffeine. within 30 mins the caffein effects are almost completely gone.

[vastman]

Green tea is definately superior to coffee and I agree that the biggest difference is the lack of the "I'm so jacked up but I don't know why!" feeling lemon described. I was a coffee addict for well over 30 years, using it and meth to stay awake (problem with apnea). I was often an asshole, edgy, irritable, and quick to anger. Once I began to rethink my life and the things I put into my body things improved greatly but coffee was soooo hard to quit, as I love the taste of Peat's coffee and still enjoy it from time to time.

However, I've gradually switched almost entirely to green tea. I enjoy the taste of Jasmine the most and it is truely refreshing. While I get a boost of energy and clarity when needed, it has none of the edgyness of coffee and I feel provides a much cleaner energizing experience.

As with lemon, I generally brew a large pot in the morning and use a thermos for cups throughout the day... There's something about a piping hot cup o tea that feels quite nice every couple hours and I don't miss the coffee at all anymore.

I've experimented with lots of green teas, as well as white tea which is suppose to have the highest levels of good stuff in it but when all is said and done, I use AOR's extract for the benifits and keep coming back to a good Jasmine tea for personal pleasure

[wannafulfill]

coffee was soooo hard to quit, as I love the taste of Peat's coffee and still enjoy it from time to time. 

Are there any health concerns at all associated with decaf coffee?

[ajnast4r]

i read an article where mercola said that one of the oils in coffee(even decaf) causes a cortisol release that detectable up to 10 hours after its ingested.

i dont consider mercola a credible source of information, although it would be interesting to look further into if its a concern for you.

[emerson]

Green tea is definately superior to coffee and I agree that the biggest difference is the lack of the "I'm so jacked up but I don't know why!" feeling lemon described.  I was a coffee addict for well over 30 years, using it and meth to stay awake (problem with apnea).  I was often an asshole, edgy, irritable, and quick to anger.  Once I began to rethink my life and the things I put into my body things improved greatly but coffee was soooo hard to quit, as I love the taste of Peat's coffee and still enjoy it from time to time. 

However, I've gradually switched almost entirely to green tea.

I've had a bit of a coffee and caffeine pill monkey on my back for quite a while now. Over time, I'm also starting to become increasingly annoyed by the highs and lows coming from my heavy intake. But I also really like the increased focus, and ability to drive away exhaustion when I need to stay up later than usual, or put in an early morning. As another long time coffee addict, did you find the transition to green tea very problematic? How was the tiredness and headaches? The last time I tried to give up caffeine completely, I was still feeling as if I had a permanent hangover two weeks into my coffee-free life.

[ajnast4r]

Green tea is definately superior to coffee and I agree that the biggest difference is the lack of the "I'm so jacked up but I don't know why!" feeling lemon described.  I was a coffee addict for well over 30 years, using it and meth to stay awake (problem with apnea).  I was often an asshole, edgy, irritable, and quick to anger.  Once I began to rethink my life and the things I put into my body things improved greatly but coffee was soooo hard to quit, as I love the taste of Peat's coffee and still enjoy it from time to time. 

However, I've gradually switched almost entirely to green tea.

I've had a bit of a coffee and caffeine pill monkey on my back for quite a while now. Over time, I'm also starting to become increasingly annoyed by the highs and lows coming from my heavy intake. But I also really like the increased focus, and ability to drive away exhaustion when I need to stay up later than usual, or put in an early morning. As another long time coffee addict, did you find the transition to green tea very problematic? How was the tiredness and headaches? The last time I tried to give up caffeine completely, I was still feeling as if I had a permanent hangover two weeks into my coffee-free life.

i had the same thing, with the 2 week hangover.... i went for 2 weeks feeling like complete shit and i ended up drinking coffee again. ALCAR & lots of vit-C helped with the fatigue. but the fatigue i can deal with, the depression is what was killing me...i bought some rhodiola, which sounded like it should be a good herb to help the transition to no caffeine... ill update in a week.

btw, the coffee migraines can be avoided by gradually lessening your coffee intake over a week... as opposed to cold turkey

[vastman]

If you are addicted to coffee, which I would say I was a year ago, it's definately best to taper off gradually... The easiest way is to switch to "half decaf" or if you brew your own, begin mixing more decaf into the blend....just pick a time period... 2 weeks? a month? start mixing less and less of the caffene portion into the blend....and use tea to substitute when necessary.

I found the switch to green tea to be quite easy... Jasmine green tea is very tasty and if it's caffeen you want, you can get all you need from tea. Plus, lots of health benefits minus the attitude.

[ajnast4r]

a few days into taking rhodiola... it hasnt helped my fatigue, but has completely reversed the depression/foul mood which i was getting from not having caffeine.

im using the AOR rhodiola, taking 150MG every morning.

[emerson]

a few days into taking rhodiola...  it hasnt helped my fatigue, but has completely reversed the depression/foul mood which i was getting from not having caffeine.

im using the AOR rhodiola, taking 150MG every morning.

Glad to hear it's going well for you too. My gamble was that selegiline would give me similar results, and thankfully that seems to be the case. I'm using 5mg in the morning, and 5mg again in the afternoon, with a previous use of 2.5mg twice a day for about ten days. I'm at the end of day two of the caffeine withdrawl, and while the headache and tiredness are a huge pain, at least I feel like 'me'. I usually felt the same depression you mention, and I think it was one of the main factors which allowed me an excuse to head back to caffeine. It's just too easy to start panicking and wondering how much of ones interests or personality came from the drug, and might not return on recovery. Now, at least I feel a strong desire to do the things I usually enjoy - I just don't have the energy to do so. While still unpleasant, in my opinion this is a huge improvement.

I also came accross an interesting article done through John Hopkins about caffeine dependance.

[ajnast4r]

I usually felt the same depression you mention, and I think it was one of the main factors which allowed me an excuse to head back to caffeine. It's just too easy to start panicking and wondering how much of ones interests or personality came from the drug, and might not return on recovery. Now, at least I feel a strong desire to do the things I usually enjoy - I just don't have the energy to do so.

i could not have said that better.... now my mood is somewhat improved, but i just dont have the energy to do anything

good article btw.. [thumb]