Caffeine - Going Cold Turkey

I have to admit it, I love coffee. I love the smell of it brewing. I love the taste of it, Tim Hortons, in particular. I have been drinking coffee since I was in high school. We would stop at the local donut shop and fill up our own mugs and drink as we drove to school.

My love affair with coffee continued through college and into chiropractic school. The caffeine delivery systems have changed over the years. Energy drinks have become quite popular. I was never a huge fan of Red Bull, but I would tolerate it from time to time to change it up from coffee. I steered away from the sugar loaded energy drinks and always picked up the sugar free ones.

I have since given up the energy drinks. The high amounts of caffeine combined with the aspartame was frying my nervous system. I opted to only drink coffee.

The only problem with coffee was I was drinking it all day. I would brew a pot in the morning and go back to it throughout the day. I would reheat it in the afternoon just to get a slight caffeine fix. Here's the real rub: I didn't need it for energy. I exercise, eat properly, take quality supplements, so the coffee fix was always for the taste. I believe my body was craving the caffeine so my mind was being tricked into wanting to get another cup of coffee for the taste.

My blood pressure has always been on the elevated side, never considered hypertension. This has bugged me because of how well I take care of my body. The only two culprits: caffeine and sodium.

I had an eye exam recently and the doctor indicated he could see evidence of arterial attenuation in the eyes. This finding is linked to high blood pressure and is typically seen in older populations.

My family has a history of macular degeneration, so I don't need any further challenges to my eyesight later in life.

This was my wake up call: it is time to cut caffeine out of my diet so my blood pressure can normalize. I believe my blood pressure remains elevated due to the habitual use of caffeine, not because of individual incidences. I believe there is a cumulative effect. Once my blood pressure normalizes I may reintroduce milder sources of caffeine or I might not. Time will tell.

I will blog about my experiences with caffeine withdrawal symptoms. The one I fear the most is the withdrawal headaches. I tend to get those fairly quickly upon cessation of drinking coffee. I am focusing my mind to get through the next 72 hours then I will see where I am.

Stay tuned...