Caffeine and Oxygen
Lots of advertising out there about how caffeine does this good thing and that good thing. Bottom line to me is caffeine reduces the amount of oxygen that is supplied to the heart. That to me, regardless of what other benefits it supposedly has, is a bad thing.
Small doses of caffeine--even as little as that in one cup of coffee--can cause temporary stiffening of the blood vessel walls.
Researchers led by Dr. Charalambos Vlachopoulos of Athens Medical
School in Greece looked at the effect of caffeine in people with mild
hypertension, or high blood pressure, and in individuals with normal blood
pressure.
The researchers found that people with mild hypertension who took a
pill that contained 250 milligrams (mg) of caffeine, equivalent to the
amount contained in 2 to 3 cups of coffee, experienced a temporary
increase in blood pressure and in the stiffness of the aorta, the main
artery leaving the heart.
Vlachopoulos and his team measured arterial stiffness by looking at
pulse velocity in the aorta.
Arteries need to be supple enough
to expand when muscles--including the heart--demand more oxygen, and a
loss of elasticity spells trouble for the body. Arterial stiffening places
an extra load on the heart is a
primary cause of hypertension.
In the first study, Vlachopoulos and his team gave 10 mildly
hypertensive people a high-dose of caffeine pill and placebo. Caffeine
increased systolic pressure by 11.4 mm Hg relative to placebo.
In another study, the caffeine equivalent of one cup of coffee also
increased arterial stiffness in 10 non-hypertensive patients, and raised
their systolic blood pressure by 3 mm Hg and their diastolic reading by
6.5 mm Hg.
Pulse velocity eventually returned to its normal levels, Vlachopoulos
noted, but remained higher than average even three hours after patients
took the caffeine pills.
Vlachopoulos explained that the increased arterial stiffness that comes
with caffeine might worsen hypertension in people who already have high
blood pressure, and may also increase the risk that these individuals have
of suffering a serious cardiovascular event such as heart attack or
stroke. The increased stiffness also reduces the amount of oxygen that is
supplied to the heart, he noted.
Both studies used only a small number of patients, the Greek researcher
noted, and further research is needed before doctors can make specific
recommendations about who should avoid caffeine and who should simply
reduce the amount they consume.
From Mike: This technique related to arterial stiffness may become a major marker for artery health for years to come.
On another related note. I remember reading years ago that people researching chelation (removing arterial plaque with a IV administered substance called EDTA) reported that autopsies done on teen age and 20s aged Vietnam casualties discovered that arteriosclerosis was already developing in those young bodies. I believe it is safe to assume that most everyone raised on or eating with a Standard American Diet (SAD) of high starches, sugars, refined carbohydrates and red meat has already developed a significant stiffening of the arterial walls.
Coffee, Tea, Cola Linked to
SIDS
Pregnant women drinking four or
more cups of coffee a day are potentially putting their babies' lives at
risk, warns research published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, a
British medical journal.
Sudden infant death syndrome - cot death or SIDS as it is also known - was twice as likely to occur among babies whose mothers drank a lot of coffee, tea, or cola every day throughout pregnancy, the research found.
The researchers interviewed the parents of 80 per cent of cot death cases registered with the nationwide New Zealand Cot Death Study and a similar percentage of parents with surviving infants. The results showed that mothers whose babies had died suddenly were twice as likely to be heavy drinkers of coffee, cola, and tea throughout pregnancy as were mothers whose babies were still alive.
These results held true even after taking into account other risk factors, such as young age at motherhood, smoking, and bottle feeding.
Previous research has shown that coffee can harm a developing fetus, especially in the last trimester when the mother's ability to rid her system of caffeine is severely reduced. Caffeine intake has also been associated with low birth weight, miscarriage, and withdrawal symptoms in the baby, including breathing difficulties.
The most likely explanation for the link between coffee and cot death, say the authors, is its stimulant effect on the baby's respiratory system. When this effect is withdrawn after birth, the baby's respiratory drive may then be inadequate to withstand infection or other stressors.
"The importance of this finding," say the authors, "is that drinking coffee, tea, and cola is a common and easily modifiable behavior. Mothers, therefore, have the opportunity to alter this risk factor."
Contact Dr Rodney Ford, Community Pediatric Unit, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Too Much Caffeine? I believe that Caffeine is harmful in ANY quantity. At altitude even more so.
Continued caffeine usage causes the brain to become accustomed to a certain level and consequently more and more is needed to prevent fatigue.
Depression can be due to being addicted to caffeine need and not getting enough.
It may improve performance one day but long lasting effects can impair sleep the following day.
(HealthScoutNews) Sept 3, 2002 -- Without realizing it, you could easily be consuming enough caffeine to be affecting your sleep or other aspects of your health. Why? Because consumption of a little of this, a little of that and a bit of something else containing this stimulant will put far more in your system, far faster, than you may realize.
In addition to coffee, tea and many soft drinks, caffeine also is contained in chocolate and many prescription and non-prescription drugs. Scientists say that a combined consumption of more than 250 mg of caffeine a day can increase your metabolism, raise your blood pressure and heart rate, and accelerate breathing. It also can offset the effects of sleep deprivation, according to the National Sleep Foundation.
Because caffeine content levels vary greatly from one food or beverage to another, check out the NSF's Caffeine Calculator http://www.sleepfoundation.org/caffeine.html ( I disagree. "Therefore, drinking a couple of cups of coffee or a few cans of cola a day poses no harm, ....." because caffeine is HARMFUL), which reflects differences based on such things as the type of coffee bean, brands of coffee, the way coffee is brewed and the way caffeine is presented. This can be a highly valuable tool for those who want to avoid caffeine for health or dietary reasons.
From Mike:
The message is clear. Quit consuming caffeinated substances. drinking coffee
or caffeinated tea or sodas. Addiction is addiction. Phony
energy is phony energy.
In
addition to eliminating caffeine, another thing you can do to help offset the
negative influence of stiffened arteries is to learn to breathe better,
rebalanced the CO2/O2 relationship and
transport extra oxygen to your blood. This will help you not stay addicted
to the synthetic energy that caffeine gives you.
"Most of my colleagues agree that if caffeine were a new drug, it would never get approved for human use from the Food and Drug Administration because its side effects outweigh its benefits as a stimulant". W. C. Dement, MD PhD. The Promise of Sleep
More about coffee
as the drug of choice for 90% of Americans. How does it affect the body?
According to cancer researcher Dr. Bruce Ames, coffee is the number two
cause of cancer today. Coffee is a mind altering stimulant and produces
a surge of nervous energy, only to leave its victims exhausted, durable,
short tempered, depressed and depleted. Caffeine is converted to uric
acid helping return the body into an acid bag (low pH level), which is a
cause of painful gout, a form of arthritis. It stimulates the brain
cortex, which can cause poor balance, racing heart, poor memory,
fatigue, anxiety, hostility, hand tremors, and many other disorders. The
link between coffee and osteoporosis, high blood pressure, poor
circulation, miscarriages, breast cancer and raise blood sugar levels is
irrefutable.
These are only the short term effects. Another coffee chemical methylxanthines-actually alters the protoplasm of cells in concentrated amounts, and may remain there for life. They cause gene altering changes which can be seen in offspring. Dr. Agatha Thrash comments in "Poison with a capital C". "It is frightening to contemplate that such a widespread habit is most surely weakening the entire race and causing permanent loss of certain facilities of the mind, or resistance to disease through mutation damage of chromosomes!" Decaffeinated coffee has also released 100 potentially harmful chemical components. If you are a coffee drinker who wants to kick this detrimental habit, we have good news for you. Reports have come in that E3live will often offset the energy ones gets in the habit of needing from caffeinated coffee. Think of it. Replacing a deadly substance with what I call a Holy freak of nature.
When people use E3live they often cease needing or wanting caffeine entirely.Another great way of reducing or eliminating the need for caffeine is the our Optimal Energy Breathing:
Stand or sit with arms at your
sides with your chin above the horizon.
1. Raise your arms overhead as you breathe in to 9.0. Let your arms
lower as you exhale.
2. Breathe in as you bring your shoulders back and exhale as you allow
your shoulders to come back to mid resting point.
3. Breathe in as you bring your shoulders forward and exhale as you
allow your shoulders to com back to mid resting point arms. Repeat 20-50
times.
4. End with strapping position 4 included in the program at
www.breathing.com/video-ds.htm
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