Friday, July 8, 2011

Is Too Much Caffeine Gonna Kill Us?

July 8, 2011 (Port Orange, FL) - The results are in for 2011 and caffeine products are consumed by eight out of every ten people in the United States. Caffeine products such as coffee, tea, and soda are consumed more than any other beverage except water. Many of us also depend on that "kick" that caffeine delivers to start off the day. Others have a genuine addiction to caffeine and consume the alkaloid chemical throughout the entire day. But is the caffeine you had today killing you?



Caffeine is a substance found in over 100 plant species around the world including various barks, berries, leaves, and seeds. The most widely used sources of caffeine are found in coffee beans, kola nuts, yerba mate leaves, and tea leaves, with coffee beans leading the way in popularity and demand in the U.S.

Caffeine unfortunately has a host of long ignored ill health effects and is causing harm to many people especially when used in excess amounts. Those who drink more than two cups of coffee per day are considered excessive users. With regards to coffee, the risk is two fold. It starts with the coffee plant which is the third most sprayed crop in the world, only behind cotton and tobacco. Coffee bean crops are heavily sprayed with pesticides. Detectable amounts are found in over 70% off all coffee beans for sale. The coffee companies claim that the roasting of the bean destroys the pesticide residues but those statements are only partially true. Testing on several different varieties of coffee beans showed significant amounts of the chemical DDT before and after roasting. People have to be smart in this new age of chemically laden products and weigh the risk versus reward scenario. It would be much wiser to choose an organic decaffeinated brand of coffee than face the risk of serious health problems later in life. The problem with coffee is that we drink too much of it and usually every day. It would be a different story if was consumed it only a few times per year, like eggnog, but this beverage is killing us. The heavy amounts of pesticides found in coffee beans accumulate in our body and cause undue stress on our immune system. It is only a matter of time until these levels reach a breaking point and cause unrepairable damage to our tissues, organs, and cells. Organic decaffeinated coffee, while absent of the caffeine boost, provides a worthwhile tasting beverage without the use of pesticides, which are silent killers.

Caffeine belongs to the uric acid group of substances. The human body treats uric acid as an invader, metabolizes it into urea, and then disposes of it as waste. As a result, every time caffeine enters our blood stream our liver is handed the stressful task of metabolizing it. This puts an unnecessary burden on our liver, sometimes many times per day.

Caffeine also contains compounds that are involved with the structure of our DNA. We all have heard of DNA, especially if we watch TV shows like CSI. Messing around with our DNA is not a good thing. This is why caffeine is strictly off limits for pregnant women - it has been linked to birth defects in infants! But what are these silly little DNA compounds doing to the adult body? Do we even know? Has there been any studies done on it? We searched and searched but found no relevant studies done involving these chemical compounds and long term effects on humans. One would have to make an educated guess and determine that any substance that has the potential to interfere with our DNA structure should be considered a formidable health risk and thus avoided. We already have enough Helter Skelter going on inside our bodies without adding DNA problems. Maybe this explains why caffeine has been linked to a myriad of health problems, the most significant being abnormal heart rhythm, bladder cancer, type 2 diabetes, heartburn, heart disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, kidney cancer, prostate problems, sleep disorders, stroke, ulcers, and more. Caffeine also contributes to significant calcium loss which increases the risk of osteoporosis in women. It increases miscarriages by 3% too!



Since coffee seems to be the single most consumed caffeine product, and one with the highest levels of caffeine, we went searching for alternatives to the traditional coffee bean. This led us to a small company in Florida named Florida Herb House where we met up with Lee Sharp, the owner of the herb store, who told us there were many alternatives for those wishing to kick the caffeine addiction. We were very surprised to learn that people in the U.S. and other countries worldwide have been secretly making the switch to a healthier morning brew instead of the common coffee bean. Herbal products such as cleavers fruit, dandelion root, hawthorn seeds, milk thistle seeds, hemp seeds, and soybeans have been designated the new "good for you" hot drink of the morning. While we were unable to find any health food stores who sell the roasted versions of these herbs, the unroasted versions are widely available in the U.S. The only thing missing is the roaster. Who knows - this may be something to think about. An alternative to coffee that works like coffee, but without the caffeine, and is healthy for you? Wow! Does the next "green" Starbucks lurk in the near future? For more information on these herbs contact Steven Sharp at info@FloridaHerbHouse.com or visit Florida Herb House online at www.SharpWebLabs.com.    

Steven Sharp
Green Gossip by Florida Herb House

No comments:

Post a Comment