Caffeine Addiction and Stimulant Drugs

By Bonnie Jenkins, Advanced Natural Medicine

If you’re like most folks, your day probably starts sometime after your first cup of coffee. The heady aroma and rich taste seem to take the chill out of the morning. And the shot of energy you get from your cuppa joe – well, I admit that there are mornings when caffeine is the only thing that gets me going. Caffeine is the world's most popular psychoactive drug – and four out of five adults consume it each day. It’s so widely used that few people even realize it's a drug, let alone one that can be addictive and contribute to many health problems.

Like other stimulant drugs, caffeine activates the sympathetic nervous system, which increases your heart rate and blood pressure. Although caffeine can make you feel more alert and energetic, it can also make you jumpy, anxious and fearful. In addition, caffeine acts as a diuretic and can irritate the urinary and gastrointestinal tracts.

Beyond the Jitters

How much caffeine is too much? People vary in their sensitivity to caffeine, so the answer depends more on your physical reaction to the substance than the amount you consume. If you suffer from a physical withdrawal – sluggishness, irritability and a throbbing headache —whenever you go more than a day without caffeine, you’re addicted.

Caffeine's pick-me-up is inevitably followed by a "letdown," so it's easy to become dependent on caffeine to get through the day. And, while caffeinated soft-drinks contribute to the problem, coffee is the strongest of all caffeine sources, the one that's most irritating to the body and the one most associated with addiction.

If you suffer from migraine or tension headaches, tremors or anxiety, insomnia, cardiac arrhythmia, hypertension, a urinary or gastrointestinal disorder, prostate trouble, fibrocystic breast disease, PMS or seizure disorder, it’s also a good idea to cut back or eliminate caffeine, since it can make these conditions worse.

Caffeine may have an even darker side. A recent study found that drinking four or more cups of coffee a day may boost your odds of developing rheumatoid arthritis. Concerns have also been raised that high caffeine intake may boost homocysteine levels and increase the risk of heart disease.

On the Flip Side

Even so, the news about coffee isn’t all bad. A few studies have linked coffee consumption with a lower risk of Parkinson's disease, and other studies have shown that drinking coffee may lower the incidence of gallstones.

Two recent studies have also come down on the side of coffee’s benefits. In the first, a two-part study to see if the antioxidants in coffee could protect against colon cancer, a group of German researchers exposed human colon cells to both a caffeinated and a decaffeinated coffee extract. After three days, the team found that both extracts significantly boosted activity levels of phase II enzymes in a dose dependent manner. In other words, the higher the quality of the coffee, the more impact it had on the enzymes.

What’s more, they found that one particular antioxidant, methylpyridinum, showed the most anti-cancer activity. They also noted that stronger coffee seems to pack an even greater antioxidant punch – expresso contains two to three times more methylpyridinum than medium roast coffee.

To determine whether the compound had a similar effect in living systems, the researchers divided a group of 24 rats into three groups and each group was fed either a standard diet, a diet mixed with coffee extract or a standard diet containing pure methylpyridinium. Blood tests showed that rats fed the coffee extract had a 24 to 40 percent increase in phase II enzyme activity compared to control animals. Pure methylpyridinium also significantly boosted the enzymes' activity levels.

Coffee may also help lower the risk of diabetes. According to a small study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the caffeine and chlorogenic acid in coffee can alter glycemic response. In the three-way, randomized crossover study, nine healthy volunteers consumed either a glucose solution, full-strength coffee with sugar or decaffeinated coffee after fasting. Although the researchers found that glucose and insulin concentrations tended to be higher during the first 30 minutes in the group that drank the caffeinated coffee, over the course of three hours both the caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee significantly slowed the secretion of glucose-dependent insulin compared with the control group. The researchers also noted that the subjects who drank coffee experienced delayed intestinal glucose absorption.

This isn’t the first time researchers have linked coffee to a lower risk of diabetes. A study in the Lancet last year found that people could cut their risk of Type II diabetes in half if they drank more than seven cups of coffee a day – way too much java if you ask me.

While an occasional visit to Starbuck’s probably won’t hurt you, if you need to rely on coffee or colas to get you through the day, you may want to rethink your caffeine intake.

One Last Thing ...

You may be consuming more caffeine than you think, since you'll also find it in tea, chocolate, many prescription and over-the-counter drugs (especially pain relievers and diet aids) and some herbal products (yerba maté, guaraná and kola nut). The FDA doesn't require the caffeine content be displayed on product labels, but you can find out how much caffeine is in various items at http://www.cspinet.org/new/cafchart.htm.

A caffeine addiction can be hard to break, and since withdrawal symptoms can last up to 72 hours, you may want to try it when you have three days with few responsibilities. Some people report that taking ginseng for a week or two before going “cold turkey” helps diminish some of the withdrawal-related fatigue.

If you want to give up coffee but still want some caffeine, the best alternative is green tea, which has less caffeine, is less irritating to the body and may also protect against heart disease and cancer. Coffee drinkers who want to cut out caffeine entirely can switch to decaffeinated green tea, caffeine-free herbal teas or grain-based coffee substitutes. I'm not a big fan of decaffeinated coffee, which contains other substances that are irritating to the body, but it may be a good first step in your quest for a caffeine-free life. And a healthier choice than soft drinks is sparkling water mixed with fruit juice.

This Just In ...

A new study reveals that low blood levels of an important mineral can significantly affect heart health. And even if you think you're living a healthy lifestyle, you may not be getting enough of it.

I'm talking about magnesium, a mineral that is naturally present in water (especially hard water) and foods like green leafy vegetables, avocados, nuts and seeds, and whole grains. The recommended amount of magnesium is about 320 mg. per day for women and more than 400 mg. per day for men - yet studies show that most people regularly take in about half of that. And now new research reveals that this lack of magnesium may put your heart - and your health - at significant risk.

Researchers from the University of Virginia examined the dietary magnesium intake in 7,172 men who took part in the Honolulu Heart Program. Within 15 years of the first dietary assessment, the researchers found that the rate of heart disease was significantly lower in those with the highest daily magnesium intake (340 mg. or more) compared with those with the lowest intake (186 mg. or less).

If you’re concerned you aren’t getting enough of this important mineral, ask your doctor to check your magnesium blood levels. A normal range is anywhere between .66 and 1.23 mmol/L. While eating a variety of magnesium-rich foods can help increase your levels to the normal range, relying on food alone usually won’t do the trick since most sources only offer small amounts. To make sure you're getting enough of this important mineral, take magnesium supplements. Most nutritionists recommend supplementing with 250 to 350 mg. a day. More than that may lead to toxicity and could damage your kidneys.

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References:

Douglas D. “Magnesium in diet may alter heart disease risk.” Reuters. 10 October 2003.

Esposito F, et al. “Moderate coffee consumption increases plasma glutathione but not homocysteine in healthy subjects.” Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 2003;17:595-601.

“Highly active compound found in coffee may prevent colon cancer.” EurekAlert! 10 October 2003.

Johnston KL, et al. “Coffee acutely modifies gastrointestinal hormone secretion and glucose tolerance in humans: glycemic effects of chlorogenic acid and caffeine.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2003; 78:728-733.

Van Dam RM, et al. “Coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus.” Lancet. 2002;360:1477.