You can ween off with tea, that's what I'm saying.

These "experts" the media feeds us on dietary issues... um, needless to say, they're more than a little questionable. I've seen "study results" in the mainstream media that say that four cups of coffee is good for you. Study funded by the coffee industry, perhaps? Thats how this system works, ya know....

CAFFEINE PIRATE

Sociologically “caffeine,” especially coffee, may be the Borg’s drug of choice that shuts down our multidimensional awareness and turns us into capitalist robots, slaves and exploiters. By stealing from our future reserves and future health we commit an act of piracy, ie: an act of violence or depredation and also strangely enough, the theft of Intellectual Property. Coffee keeps us hard at work, striving, producing, attaining, doing and avoiding…so much so that we fail to stop and fully metabolize our chemistry and so we become entrapped in a simplistic-habitual track…and as exhaustion sets in we fail to become in-formed by the deeper, quieter, insightful layers of our Self. As such coffee is an end in itself: Coffee consumed leads to the myopia in which more coffee needs to be consumed to upkeep the consciousness in which coffee can be consumed. Coffee thus is the darling of the consumer culture, that keeps us ever hungry for a deeper experience of our Self and starving for the satisfaction of our true nature. As with all addictions, habitual use of caffeine robs us of our energy reserves, thereby over the long term it reduces the profundity, subtlety and peace of being and thereby could cause a loss of direction and throw us off our highest destiny.

In Stephen R. Braun book “Buzz: The Science and Lore of Alcohol and Caffeine,” he says caffeine heads right for the adenosine receptors in your system and, because of its similarities to adenosine, it's accepted by your body as the real thing and gets into the receptors. Adenosine plays an important role in energy transfer—as adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine diphosphate (ADP)—as well as in signal transduction as cyclic adenosine monophosphate, cAMP. Every moment that you're awake, the neurons in your brain are firing away. As those neurons fire, they produce adenosine as a byproduct, but adenosine is far from excrement.

It is also an inhibitory neurotransmitter, believed to play a role in promoting sleep and suppressing arousal, with levels increasing with each hour an organism is awake. Your nervous system is actively monitoring adenosine levels through receptors. Normally, when adenosine levels build up in our brain and spinal cord, the body nudges us toward sleep, or relaxation. Because caffeine actually binds to the Adeno-A1 receptors, but doesn't activate them—they're plugged up by caffeine. With those receptors blocked, the brain's own stimulants, dopamine and glutamate, are free to do their work…thereby interfering with one of the brain's primary brake pedals.

Caffeine also inhibits the enzyme that breaks down the messenger molecule Cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). cGMP is a common regulator of ion channel conductance, glycogenolysis, and cellular apoptosis. It also relaxes smooth muscle tissues. In blood vessels, relaxation of vascular smooth muscles lead to vasodilation and increased blood flow. cGMP is the byproduct of sugar metabolism that alerts the muscles to go. So the additional 'energy' may actually stress your body out extensively, synergizing with the already existing acute withdrawal symptoms to leave you with a terrible aftereffect.

Caffeine's half-life of approximately 8 hours leads us into a constant catch-up with our addiction. Because caffeine binds the Adenosine A1 receptor without activating it, as caffeine gets depleted from our system we go through acute withdrawal. All of that adenosine build-up causes a crash, and in the morning our body STILL hasn't metabolized all that adenosine that was waiting around in the first place. Adenosine can only get metabolized when it informs the body of its concentrations, which it cannot do because it is blocked from binding to the Adeno-A1 receptors. So you wake up in the morning, still full of exhaustion metabolites, and as soon as you get your caffeine fix you re-block the receptors, and lose the acute withdrawal symptoms. This is the caffeine train which you can’t get off without falling.

Humans become tolerant to their daily dose of caffeine. As with any drug addiction, the brain strives to return to its normal function while under "attack" from caffeine by up-regulating, or creating more adenosine receptors. But regular caffeine use has also been shown to decrease receptors for norepinephrine, a hormone akin to adrenaline, along with serotonin, a mood enhancer. At the same time, your body can see a 65 percent increase in receptors for the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, meaning we need more and stimulants to set neurons firing. By keeping your brain from using its normal "fatigue" sensors, though, caffeine may be causing the brain to change its homeostatic regulation. Because there are adenosine receptors all over the body, including muscles, means that caffeine can make us stiff and sore, with a tender lower back, and prone to spasm.

The main thing about coffee with regards to sovereignty is that we fail to "plug in" if we ceaselessly keep pushing ourselves with stimulants or blahing ourselves out with dense foods or alcohol. The ego-driven desire to control cannot perhaps ever be stopped while we are in coffee soaked consciousness. To "plug in" we need to cease and desist the known.
Coffee used occasionally in a shamanistic fashion would be useful for creativity, as with the other mind-altering plants. Especially if it is grown on remineralized, permacultural land say in Hawaii. The terroir of the land would infuse the coffee which particular qualities of consciousness useful for breaking through thresholds.

"abandonment of the industrial mode of existence is not self-renunciation, but a healing return." Twilight of the Machines by John Zerzan

We must also take into account just what we create of our lives on consumption of any substance. “In 1995, NASA’s Dr. David Noever and his fellow researchers at the Marshall Space Flight Center studied the webs spun by common house spiders (Araneus diadematus) dosed with several drugs, including LSD, marijuana, benzedrine, chloral hydrate and caffeine. The more toxic the drug, the less organized the web the spider created. the surprise of Dr. Noever et al, caffeine did the most damage of all the substances tested. The spider dosed with it proved incapable of creating even a single organized cell, and its web showed no sign of the “hub and spokes” pattern fundamental to conventional web design.” [curezone.com]

Jana, thanks for your informative post on caffeine. I am so glad that I am free of my caffeine addiction.

The thing about using coffee for creativity: I would have some of my best creative ideas in my job under the influence of coffee. I am not sure my mind has been that sharp since then, or perhaps I've just lost the motivation to serve the Borg.

Jana, thanks for your remarks. I have read some of your past ones, and I find them very intriguing because you combine the spiritual with health matters and they resonante with me.

I think everyone works at there own pace and should not be judged for "straying" off the straight and narrow of raw foods. I look at raw foods as the Kaizen of life...continual, incremental improvements=huge pay offs. Those suffering from addiction will find the right life space to over come it...if that is their true desire.

Organic, fair trade coffee isn't all bad. Great for enemas! And, you can get no brew coffee at whole foods-which is a raw cold coffee. FYI. So while my personal preference is to live a life free from caffeine, there are definitely options out there!

Good Vibrations,
Trox

I agree with what you say Trox, its about moderation at the end of the day, a little something considered bad now and again isn't detrimental to those who are healthy and is often good for boosting overall mood etc.

But i cant agree with the coffee enemas, i know alot of people like these but they do still stimulate the adrenal glands so its not something im keen on.

[www.amlaberry.co.uk]

banana who Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jana, thanks for your remarks. I have read some of
> your past ones, and I find them very intriguing
> because you combine the spiritual with health
> matters and they resonate with me.

Thanks Who, perhaps you might like my sovereignty blog
[jana-sovereignstate.blogspot.com]

Janabanana Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> banana who Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Jana, thanks for your remarks. I have read some
> of
> > your past ones, and I find them very intriguing
> > because you combine the spiritual with health
> > matters and they resonate with me.
>
> Thanks Who, perhaps you might like my sovereignty
> blog
> [jana-sovereignstate.blogspot.com]


Wow! I just clicked on it and I can tell I am gonna have a ball reading your blog! Thanks for sharing!

Janabanana Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> CAFFEINE PIRATE
>
> Sociologically “caffeine,” especially coffee,
> may be the Borg’s drug of choice that shuts down
> our multidimensional awareness and turns us into
> capitalist robots, slaves and exploiters. By
> stealing from our future reserves and future
> health we commit an act of piracy, ie: an act of
> violence or depredation and also strangely enough,
> the theft of Intellectual Property. Coffee keeps
> us hard at work, striving, producing, attaining,
> doing and avoiding…so much so that we fail to
> stop and fully metabolize our chemistry and so we
> become entrapped in a simplistic-habitual
> track…and as exhaustion sets in we fail to
> become in-formed by the deeper, quieter,
> insightful layers of our Self. As such coffee is
> an end in itself: Coffee consumed leads to the
> myopia in which more coffee needs to be consumed
> to upkeep the consciousness in which coffee can be
> consumed. Coffee thus is the darling of the
> consumer culture, that keeps us ever hungry for a
> deeper experience of our Self and starving for the
> satisfaction of our true nature. As with all
> addictions, habitual use of caffeine robs us of
> our energy reserves, thereby over the long term it
> reduces the profundity, subtlety and peace of
> being and thereby could cause a loss of direction
> and throw us off our highest destiny.
>
> In Stephen R. Braun book “Buzz: The Science and
> Lore of Alcohol and Caffeine,” he says caffeine
> heads right for the adenosine receptors in your
> system and, because of its similarities to
> adenosine, it's accepted by your body as the real
> thing and gets into the receptors. Adenosine
> plays an important role in energy transfer—as
> adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine
> diphosphate (ADP)—as well as in signal
> transduction as cyclic adenosine monophosphate,
> cAMP. Every moment that you're awake, the neurons
> in your brain are firing away. As those neurons
> fire, they produce adenosine as a byproduct, but
> adenosine is far from excrement.
>
> It is also an inhibitory neurotransmitter,
> believed to play a role in promoting sleep and
> suppressing arousal, with levels increasing with
> each hour an organism is awake. Your nervous
> system is actively monitoring adenosine levels
> through receptors. Normally, when adenosine levels
> build up in our brain and spinal cord, the body
> nudges us toward sleep, or relaxation. Because
> caffeine actually binds to the Adeno-A1 receptors,
> but doesn't activate them—they're plugged up by
> caffeine. With those receptors blocked, the
> brain's own stimulants, dopamine and glutamate,
> are free to do their work…thereby interfering
> with one of the brain's primary brake pedals.
>
> Caffeine also inhibits the enzyme that breaks down
> the messenger molecule Cyclic guanosine
> monophosphate (cGMP). cGMP is a common regulator
> of ion channel conductance, glycogenolysis, and
> cellular apoptosis. It also relaxes smooth muscle
> tissues. In blood vessels, relaxation of vascular
> smooth muscles lead to vasodilation and increased
> blood flow. cGMP is the byproduct of sugar
> metabolism that alerts the muscles to go. So the
> additional 'energy' may actually stress your body
> out extensively, synergizing with the already
> existing acute withdrawal symptoms to leave you
> with a terrible aftereffect.
>
> Caffeine's half-life of approximately 8 hours
> leads us into a constant catch-up with our
> addiction. Because caffeine binds the Adenosine A1
> receptor without activating it, as caffeine gets
> depleted from our system we go through acute
> withdrawal. All of that adenosine build-up causes
> a crash, and in the morning our body STILL hasn't
> metabolized all that adenosine that was waiting
> around in the first place. Adenosine can only get
> metabolized when it informs the body of its
> concentrations, which it cannot do because it is
> blocked from binding to the Adeno-A1 receptors. So
> you wake up in the morning, still full of
> exhaustion metabolites, and as soon as you get
> your caffeine fix you re-block the receptors, and
> lose the acute withdrawal symptoms. This is the
> caffeine train which you can’t get off without
> falling.
>
> Humans become tolerant to their daily dose of
> caffeine. As with any drug addiction, the brain
> strives to return to its normal function while
> under "attack" from caffeine by up-regulating, or
> creating more adenosine receptors. But regular
> caffeine use has also been shown to decrease
> receptors for norepinephrine, a hormone akin to
> adrenaline, along with serotonin, a mood enhancer.
> At the same time, your body can see a 65 percent
> increase in receptors for the inhibitory
> neurotransmitter GABA, meaning we need more and
> stimulants to set neurons firing. By keeping your
> brain from using its normal "fatigue" sensors,
> though, caffeine may be causing the brain to
> change its homeostatic regulation. Because there
> are adenosine receptors all over the body,
> including muscles, means that caffeine can make us
> stiff and sore, with a tender lower back, and
> prone to spasm.


Wonderful, thought provoking post; it has inspired me to release my caffeine usage. Today is my first day sans caffeine in almost four years. I had been on the fence about letting it go, and this was the push I needed.

One aspect of coffee that I think is very appealing is the full-bodies quality. Even tea can seem a bit light compared to it. So I was wondering if anyone has ever had rooibos (pronounced ROY-BOSS). It tastes a bit like black tea and it is caffeine-free plus has medicinal properties and antioxidants. I bought some chai-flavored rooibos from Trader Joe's and it seems like a great substitute for coffee. I just don't really like the taste of chai though, LOL. I love cardamon and all those spices but just not together...

Blech. I don't like rooibos or yerba mate. Tastes like sticks and dirt to me, both of them. There are a few coffee substitutes I've had, inka, caf-lib, one made with some sort of mushroom. They are all ok for transition away from coffee/tea but my want for them went away very quickly. Sort of like quitting smoking, the lobelia and mullein I was smoking to help quit became nasty within 2 weeks. As soon as I wasn't addicted anymore I didn't want any of it.

Correction: full-bodied. I am always amazed at people who say they have never liked or have never drunk coffee...Who are these alien beings and what planet do they hail from...?

ONE MUST HAVE SELF DISCIPLINE IN THIS WORLD TO BE HEALTHY. THAT SELF DISCIPLINE INCLUDES NO COLAS,CHIPS, ICE CREAM,COOKED FOODS,AND OF COURSE COFFEE. AS ONE THAT WOULD SIT ON THE COUCH WATCHING TV, EATING AN ENTIRE QUART OF HAGEN DAAS CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM THEN STUFFING MY FACE WITH CAPE COD DELICIOUS POTATO CHIPS IN THE PROCESS, I HAVE LEARNED THAT IS THE ROAD TO A SHORT LIFE AND I JUST WISH I COULD PIG OUT ON THAT GARBAGE EVERY DAY. THE RESULTS ARE WELL WORTH THE EFFORT SO GET YOUR MIND RIGHT AND REFUSE THE COFFEE, AND REFUSE TO EAT THE COOKED FOODS. IF I CAN DO IT, YOU CAN DO IT AND THERE IS NOT A DAY THAT GOES BY THAT I DON'T THINK ABOUT THE JUNK I USED TO SHOVE INTO MY FACE. ALL YOU NEED TO SHAKE YOU OUT OF IT IS ONE OR TWO TRIPS TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM AND SOME TUBES STICKING OUT OF YOUR ARM WHILE YOU ARE IN THE HOSPITAL GETTING FED THE BOILED CARDBOARD THEY CALL FOOD. NURSES JAMMING NEEDLES INTO YOUR ARM WHILE YOU ARE ASLEEP TAKING BLOOD FOR TEST AFTER TEST. WATCHING THAT DAYTIME TV AND GETTING BORED OUT OF YOUR MIND AND THEN HAVING THE DOCTOR SAY YOU HAVE TO BE ON A DANGEROUS MEDICATION FOR LIFE, THEN THEY EXPECT YOU TAKE IT AS THE ONLY WAY TO STAY ALIVE.. THERE IS ANOTHER WAY AND A BETTER WAY AND THATS WHY WE ARE HERE.

HERE'S WHAT I DO, RON: I EAT ORGANIC JUNK! THEN I DON'T FEEL BAD IF I MUNCH ON NATURAL CHEEZE PUFFS AND ICE CREAM AND SHADE-GROWN, FAIRLY TRADED, ORGANIC COFFEE. LOL

OMG WHY IS EVERYBODY YELLING ALL OF A SUDDEN?!

BECAUSE!!!!!!!!!!!! THEN YOU REALLY CAN MAKE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE SAYING! RON HAS THE RIGHT IDEA! I HAVE BEEN ALL MEEK AND MILD AND DEMURE!!! NOW I AM GONNA SHOUT IT OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry my typing skills are poor and using all caps means I don't have to use that finger to make a cap. I will try to do better with my typing and not shout as you say.
In the meantime there is no such thing as organic junk food and just because a food is organic does not mean it is a healthy food. The only organic food I want to do is fruit and vegetable juicing, hemp hearts, and spirulina, with some wheat grass tossed in there. My junk eating days are long gone and you can say I have been scared into it since my body slowly starting edging closer and closer to death. Twenty five pounds less in weight,eighty points down on cholesterol,better skin,better overall health are the result of my life change and thats only the beginning, the real cleansing will come when I do my twenty or perhaps thirty day juice fast. I am already getting rid of parasites long festering in my colon,candida,and over acid condition. Much disease and ill health is caused by the over acid condition and since most fruit and vegetables are alkaline its better than any drug.

Sorry, Ron...I get a little "waspish" sometimes...I was teasing you a bit. I am glad you went into detail about your health practices. I was being a bit flip when I said that about "healthy" junk food but I can tell you that there are plenty of people who think that if they buy organic potato chips and ice cream that they are in the clear. I have done this myself. Well, I know better but I think "at least it's organic" or "at least it's all-natural."

I wouldn't read too much into the acid/alkaline cause of all ill health its pretty flawed in my opinion. But great that you have seen a dramatic health improvement.

[www.amlaberry.co.uk]

Whew, that's so much better you guys. Ron, I was only joking with you too. I do prefer no caps to all caps though, easier to read all around .
You are right, for some it really does require a high level of discipline to keep from backsliding into bad habits. I have to say though, after a while some things really become second nature and don't take a lot of effort to keep up. It gets easier, especially when you have had a bad scare to motivate you onto the straight and narrow path.

Why do you think the acid alkaline theory is flawed? I am very curious to know another opinion.

ron Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why do you think the acid alkaline theory is
> flawed? I am very curious to know another opinion.

Just that the body has many redundant systems to keep the PH from going either too acidic or too alkaline. The majority of the world would be walking around with acidosis if the theory was true. Much like those who follow an alkaline diet would alkalosis it just doesn't work like that. These sites attribute pretty much every disease to acidic PH when many have been proven to have nothing to do with it such as viruses etc.

Not only that they forget many parts of the body have to be acidic to function properly such as the stomach. Check a few of the other threads around here there was some good information posted in them. Nothing wrong with basing your diet around alkaline foods these are mostly all healthy anyway such as fruits and vegetables.

But i would stay away from any of these crazy baking soda, alkaline PH bicarb salts that manipulate parts of the body that need to be acidic to function such as the stomach to digest food properly. Many vitamins, minerals, protein etc are acid dependent for absorption. Not only that stomach acid and the acid producing good bacteria are what stave off opportunistic organisms such as candida.

[www.amlaberry.co.uk]

Other than using minerals to buffer the acids what other systems are there to keep the balance? Using minerals to balance the PH causes mineral defiency that causes all kinds of problems and leads to disease in many people. Of course those whose diet is mostly alkaline do not have the mineral depletion because the body does not need to call on those mineral reserves. I know of no other way the body balances the ph other than using minerals like calcium as an example. What else do you know about it?

I have to rush off for an appointment but will be back later heres something i found:

7 Bodily Responses That Fight To Maintain pH

All metabolic processes, including immunity, depend on a delicately balanced pH, which harmonizes electromagnetic energies. The body constantly fights to maintain a blood pH at around 7.35 -7.45 much like our internal thermostat that tries to maintain a 98.6-degree body temperature. There are seven homeostatic adaptation responses that fight to maintain this pH balance.

1) Using high pH bodily fluids such as water as a solvent to neutralize acid residues.

2) Pulling bicarbonate from the pancreas into the blood (an alkalizing agent). Bicarbonate ions are generated into the blood cells from carbon dioxide and diffuse into the plasma.

3) Protein buffers of glutathione, methionine, cystine, taurine, just to name a few, act as buffers intra-cellularly to bind or neutralize acids during cellular disorganization.

4.) Electrolyte buffers of sodium, calcium and potassium work in the blood, lymph, and extra-cellular and in­tracellular fluids to bind acids, which are then removed through the urine.

5.) Pulling stored calcium and magnesium from skeletal bones and teeth to neutralize blood acids.

6.) Filtration and elimination of acidic residues through the skin, urinary tract and respiration.

7.) Pushing blood acid residues and accumulated toxins into outer extremities as a storage bin away from vital organs. The wrist, joints, fingers, toes and skin are the major target areas to keep the toxins from saturating internal vital organs like the heart and lungs.

How much i agree with that i dont know as i havent had time to read properly lol.

[www.amlaberry.co.uk]

In time as one ages those stores of buffers gets low and disease occurs. Older people seem to get those chronic degenerative diseases and I think its because the body has called upon the minerals to the point where the body just gets exhausted and then the disease sets in. One of those diseases is cancer, another is arthritis, and on and on.

powerlifer, if the body is constantly fighting to maintain pH, then would it not behoove us to assist that effort by consuming pH balanced foods? As ron says, the stores must run out eventually if they are constantly pulled to balance pH. (Besides, having calcium pulled from the bones does not sound like a "good" thing.) The analogy of body temperature is a good one. Yes the body is capable of maintaining temperature within limits. But if we spend too much time in cold water, we will end up with hypothermia just the same. Too much time under the scorching sun and we will overheat. The body has a lot of regulating mechanisms, but I think many of them can be overloaded as a result of our choices.

I don't know if ive said that above but i did on my blogpost, sure there is no reason not to base your diet around alkaline forming foods, the good point is pretty much most of these are healthy anyway such as fruits and vegetables.

But there are other factors such as exercise that effect PH. I didnt read the 7 points i listed above i was in abit of a rush and it does look like it was pulled from your average site thats scaremongering those about acidity and selling alkaline PH products.

[www.amlaberry.co.uk]

Ok, I still drink my morning coffee but tea later on. I love rooibos chai and mate. Hot tea is lighter, easier on my stomach and my adrenals and emotionally satisfying. Coffee is just a good jolt of caffeine to get me on my roller coaster in the morning. I aspire to be a tea only person for now. Although hot lemon water is wonderful

februarygirl

My mom used to drink warm water with a bit of apple cider vinegar (and honey, not vegan, sorry for mentioning it!) in the mornings. Supposed to be so amazing for you. Also, I have read that green apple juice is just as stimulating as a cup of coffee first thing.