Sugar & Caffeine
This is my response to the next question in my private conversation with Kelly McCausey (click here if you are new).
Kelly asked…. “What are your thoughts on sugar and caffeine? Good, bad or you don’t care?
Hey girlfriend. Sorry it took so long to reply. I've had a heck of a sore throat this week. I think it's nothing but allergies, but it's making me just curl up on the couch watching HGTV much this week. 🙂
This “gimme” question is actually a tough one for me. On a recent blood test, my doctor thought I might be pre-diabetic. This would make perfect sense since every time I do the South Beach Diet, I drop 10 lbs in a week, so a low-glycemic diet might actually be what my body needs.
I'm straying from your question a bit, because, this also fits with that food plan I promised to tell you about. This would be a really cool idea for a Work at Home Mom to start if she had access to a restaurant kitchen.
I'm getting my meals delivered from a company called Fitness Solutions Now. The food is made locally and I pick it up every Saturday. I get 20 meals per week, which is 5 days worth of food. I eat every 3 hours and it's working quite well. I'm still exercising every morning, too, but I hadn't been losing at all doing just that even though I eat a healthy diet — soo… this is working much better. Plus, while Joe coaches football, I am pretty close to a single mom, so having my food ready in the fridge makes my crazy week a little more manageable.
My gym said that your weight is decided 20% by exercise and 80% by diet, so I though that was interesting. The funny thing is that I'm eating a LOT more than I used to on this meal plan, and I've lost 5% body fat in under a month. So, obviously it's helping my metabolism to speed up and burn my food more efficiently.
So, to make a short story long… I do try to avoid sugar as much as possible, including fruit. If I do crave sugar or fruit, I make sure to get it in before 10 am so it's not spiking my blood sugar while I'm inactive at night or in bed. (Of course, my wine has sugar, but I'm not giving it up!) 😉
Caffeine doesn't bother me much, although our mutual friend, Diana, has shared some interesting information about it that has made me try to limit my caffeine intake, as well.
The thing that I'm still confused about is the talk about how artificial sweeteners are bad for you, too. Diana has an interesting post about that, too. I'm undecided in that, other than the fact that I won't give it to my kids, so, maybe I shouldn't be drinking it myself. (Otherwise, I feel like a hypocrite when they ask and I say “No, it's bad for you” and I keep drinking it.)
So, that's my answer, girlfriend.
I know I've been pretty tough on you with my questions, so here's an easy one for you…
What's your favorite TV show these days? And, what do you do for fun?
Talk soon, my friend.
N
(Keep an eye on Kelly’s blog for her reply.)
Diana Walker
October 27, 2007 at 10:03 amHi Nicole (and Kelly),
Thanks for your references to my Cravings Coach website and blog.
Sugar and Caffeine — 2 of my favorite subjects!!!
Of course, my thoughts are that they are both very destructive – our bodies were not designed to process them in the way that we ingest them both — with a Starbucks on every corner, and even 10 year olds having lattes and mochas, and sugar and caffeine in abundance in sodas.
Our poor bodies are breaking down — many of you in your 20s and 30s are already experiencing it — and your generation was probably not getting as much caffeine and sugar as children and teenagers are now.
Sugar is called “white death” for a reason!! I absolutely advise people NOT to drink or eat anything that has “diet” on the label, or that contains aspartame, Splenda and other artificial sweeteners. Our bodies need foods and drinks that are “whole”, that are closer to nature.
Our cells absolutely cannot live vibrantly on sugar and caffeine.
Drinking anything with caffeine puts a load on the liver. One cup takes 24 hours for the liver to detoxify.
Oh, I could go on and on….!!!
Thanks for thinking of me, Nik — I love our conversations, and I’m always pleased to be able to get people thinking about what they put in their bodies!!!
Diana Walker, Cravings Coach
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Susan
October 27, 2007 at 11:22 amTea, coffee, cola, energy drinks and chocolate share the same nerve toxin (stimulant), caffeine. Caffeine, which is readily released into the blood, triggers a powerful immune response that helps the body to counteract and eliminate this irritant. The toxic irritant stimulates the adrenal glands, and to some extent, the body’s many cells, to release the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol into the blood stream.
If consumption of stimulants continues on a regular basis, however, this natural defense response of the body becomes overused and ineffective. The almost constant secretion of stress hormones, which are highly toxic compounds in and of themselves, eventually alters the blood chemistry and causes damage to the immune system, endocrine, and nervous systems. Future defense responses are weakened, and the body becomes more prone to infections and other ailments.
The boost in energy experienced after drinking a cup of coffee is not a direct result of the caffeine it contains, but of the immune system’s attempt to get rid of it (caffeine) An overexcited and suppressed immune system fails to provide the “energizing” adrenaline and cortisol boost needed to free the body from the acidic nerve toxin, caffeine. At this stage, people say that they are “used” to a stimulant, such as coffee. So they tend to increase intake to feels the “benefits.”
Since the body cells have to sacrifice some of their own water for the removal of the nerve toxin caffeine, regular consumption of coffee, tea, or colas causes them to become dehydrated. For every cup of tea or coffee you drink, the body has to mobilize 2-3 cups of water just to remove the stimulants, a luxury it cannot afford. This applies to soft drinks, medicinal drugs, and any other stimulants, As a rule, all stimulants have a strong dehydrating effect on the bile, blood, and digestive juices.
Get the real scoop on caffeine at http://www.CaffeineAwareness.org
Test your caffeine smarts with the caffeine quiz.
And if you drink decaf you wont want to miss this special free report on the Dangers of Decaf available at http://www.soyfee.com
Nell Taliercio
October 29, 2007 at 6:18 amI stear clear of caffeine and sugar. Caffeine is a very rare treat actually…sugar comes into my diet a bit more often.
I really “can’t” have refined sugar without it affecting my health (not diabetes, but candida) so that is no fun LOL.
Are the meals delivered just for you or do you get enough for the whole family?
Administrator
October 29, 2007 at 9:27 amHey Nell. 🙂
I just get enough for me and an additional 5 for hubby so he can have one every night.
I find the kids are easy to cook for. (Plus, they’re too picky to eat a lot of the foods we get in our meal plan.)
Nicole
Annette
October 31, 2007 at 10:43 amBut wait…does that mean no M&Ms?????
I know, I should cut back on both. I do have caffeine once in the morning (especially easy with my new Senseo!) and then that’s it. I’ve pretty much given up colas and such. But a girl’s got to have her m&ms!!! Hmmm…maybe just not for breakfast anymore?
Great info here. Thanks!
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Patty
April 15, 2008 at 2:14 pmI have for the most part given up caffeine and it has been REALLY REALLY hard. I found that I was getting frequent headaches all the time and I think my caffeine addiction had a lot to do with it. Since I have given up caffeine I have almost completely gotten rid of my headaches. I still take excedrin once in a while but I practically used to live on it.
Now the sugar habit, I still haven’t broken and I really need to. My biggest problem is with drinking sugar in my tea or coffee. It has done a number on my teeth and I really want to give it up. I can’t seem to switch to splenda or other sweetners though. I am not really worried about sugar as far as weight gain or diet but I care about my teeth and if you eat or drink sugar a lot it will ruin your teeth.