What are the health effects of caffeine?

Caffeine has its perks, but it can pose problems as well. The best thing you can do is to find out how much is too much for you, as well as the overall health effects of caffeine. Once you know the health effects of caffeine you can properly determine whether you need to curb your consumption.

Your DNA Determines your caffeine tolerance

Do you rely on caffeine to wake you up and keep you going? Well you aren’t alone. Caffeine is used by millions of people every day to increase wakefulness, alleviate fatigue, and improve concentration and focus. This can be a problem.

Caffeine is a powerful stimulant, and it can be used to improve physical strength and endurance if used properly, but it can also have some very bad side effects on your health if over used and over consumed.

According to Chris Kresser:

Coffee is the primary source of caffeine for Americans. Caffeine is metabolized by an enzyme in the liver that is encoded for by the CYP1A2 gene. Unfortunately, about 50 percent of the population has a variant in the CYP1A2 gene that leads to slow processing of caffeine.

For these “slow metabolizers,” drinking coffee:

• Is associated with a higher risk of heart disease (1)
• Is associated with a higher risk of hypertension (2)
• Is associated with impaired fasting glucose (3)
• May not have the protective effects against some cancers that it appears to for “fast metabolizers” (4, 5)

That said, in some cases coffee appears to be beneficial even for slow metabolizers. For example, caffeine is neuroprotective and reduces the risk of Parkinson’s disease in both slow and fast metabolizers. (6) Other studies have even shown that fast—not slow—metabolizers of caffeine may be at higher risk of bone loss. (7)

Adding to the confusion, many of the large, observational studies I reviewed in my podcasts found that the overall effect of coffee intake in the populations studied was positive. If 50 percent of people are at higher risk of disease from drinking coffee because of their genotype, then why isn’t this showing up in these epidemiological studies?

What are we to make of these conflicting data?

The most obvious conclusion is that it’s impossible to make a general statement about the health impacts of coffee. The answer to the question, “Is coffee good for me?” is: “It depends.”

The most recent research on nutrition, including these studies on coffee and caffeine, confirm that this is true. While we share a lot in common as human beings, we also have important differences: genes, gene expression, metabolic activity, gut microbiome, lifestyle, activity level, and numerous other factors will differ from person to person, and all of these will impact how we respond to a particular food (or beverage, like coffee).

For example:

• There is wide variation in post-meal blood sugar among people eating identical meals, and diets that are personalized on the basis of dietary habits, physical activity, and gut microbiota are more successful than “standardized” diets. (8)
• Response to low-carb and low-fat diets in overweight people varies considerably and may depend on their insulin sensitivity and other factors that are not yet fully understood. (9)
• Caffeine consumed in the afternoon or evening significantly disrupts sleep in some people, but not in others. (10)

These studies represent the future of nutrition research. In fact, I’m quite sure that in a relatively short period of time we’ll consider the current notion that there’s a single, optimal diet for everyone as an outdated and ignorant idea.

Another conclusion that we might infer from the conflicting data on coffee is that even within a particular genotype the effects are variable. In other words, some slow metabolizers might be adversely affected by caffeine where others aren’t, and the opposite might be true for fast metabolizers. This also makes sense because there are a huge number of factors above and beyond the CYP1A2 genotype that would influence how coffee and caffeine affect an individual, from their baseline diet to their stress levels and sleep to their gut microbiota. It’s also true that being a fast or slow metabolizer of caffeine isn’t binary (i.e., two possible speeds: fast or slow), but more of a spectrum (ranging from very slow to very fast).

Now that we’ve established that coffee and caffeine can be both beneficial and harmful, how do you know how it affects you? Here’s what I suggest:

1. Listen to my podcast called Is Drinking Coffee Good for You? in which I discuss some of the non-genetic factors that determine individual response to coffee.
2. If you haven’t already done this, titrate yourself off coffee (reduce your consumption slowly until you’re off it completely) and other sources of caffeine for at least 30 days. Then add it back in and see how you respond.
3. Find out whether you’re a “slow” or “fast” metabolizer. You can get this kind of genetic data through companies like 23andme. If you’ve done 23andme, log in, go to “My account,” select “Browse raw data,” and type “CYP1A2” into the “Jump to a gene” search box. Once on the search results page, find the rs762551 SNP. In the far right column, it will give your variant of that SNP. If you are AA, you’re a fast metabolizer. If you are AC or CC, you’re a slow metabolizer (with CC being slower than AC).

Where can caffeine be found and is there a difference?

Caffeine is found in Coffee, Green Teas, Energy Drinks, soda, and in a pill form. Caffeine that you find in soda, pill form, or in the majority of energy drinks are synthetic versions of caffeine which is not a form of caffeine you want to be consuming.

Then add the sugar levels that are in soda and most energy drinks, and you are on the road to weight gain and an unhealthy body. If you are going to consume caffeine it should only come from coffee, green tea, or if you are using an energy drink you need to verify that it is coming from green tea or other natural herbs that have been found safe for consumption. 

A great natural energy drink is Energize by Beachbody. This product can found in their top selling Performance Nutrition Line.

How much is too much and what are the health effects of caffeine?

Some science says that up to 400 milligrams (mg) of caffeine a day appears to be safe for most healthy adults. The key word here is “Appears”. The newest science has shown that low doses of caffeine may have beneficial effects on the body, where high doses can hinder how the body operates.

Caffeine dosages really should be tailored to each individual. If you are new to caffeine or supplements that contain caffeine, keeping consumption at 100 mg or lower per dose would be a good idea. Typically, 200 mg or less of caffeine has shown to have fat-burning and performance improvement properties. Heavy caffeine use can cause unpleasant side effects, and caffeine may not be a good choice for people who are highly sensitive to its effects or who take certain medications.

Heavy daily caffeine use that is more than 400 mg a day may cause side effects such as: Insomnia, Nervousness, Restlessness, Irritability, Digestion issues and Bloating, Fast Heart Rate, Muscle Tremors, and Weight gain just to name a few.

High doses have been found to not improve performance or aid in fat burning because it causes sedation and relaxation effects by triggering those receptors in the brain. It also creates an inhibition of serotonin levels, acetylcholine, and your adrenaline system. When this happens to these systems you will see slowing in performance, and fat burning abilities.

Of course you only want the health effects of caffeine that are good. So you may need to take a look at your consumption and see how you can curb your caffeine habit to bring your consumption to the levels that will have a positive benefit.

Depending on your consumption, cutting back on caffeine can be challenging. An abrupt decrease in caffeine may cause withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, fatigue, irritability and nervousness. Fortunately, these symptoms are usually mild and resolve after a few days.

To have health effects of caffeine that will benefit you, try these tips to get your consumption in line:

• Keep tabs. Start paying attention to how much caffeine you’re getting from foods and beverages. It may be more than you think. Read labels carefully. Even then, your estimate may be a little low because not all foods or drinks list caffeine. 
• Cut back. Remember to do it gradually. Decrease the amount by a few ounces each day. Avoid drinking caffeinated beverages late in the day. This will help your body get used to the lower levels of caffeine and lessen potential withdrawal effects. 
• Go decaf. Most decaffeinated beverages look and taste the same as their caffeinated counterparts. 
• Shorten the brew time or go herbal. When making tea, brew it for less time. This cuts down on its caffeine content. Or, choose herbal teas that don’t have caffeine. 
• Check the bottle. Some over-the-counter pain relievers contain caffeine, and can be as much as 130 mg of caffeine in one dose. Look for caffeine-free pain relievers instead. 

The bottom line is that caffeine can be a part of your daily routine if consumed at doses that benefit your health versus hinder it. When done this way, most of the time it doesn’t pose a health problem. 

Be mindful of those situations in which you need to curtail your caffeine habit. If you plan on using nutritional supplements that have caffeine make sure that is a high quality product that uses naturally low doses of caffeine, such as the Energize from the Beachbody Performance Line. Also keep in mind that when consuming these products you may have to keep your other caffeine beverages to lower levels.

When taking these things into consideration it will provide you the positive health effects of caffeine versus negative effects.

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The truth about being a health coach

It was one of those sleepless nights for me.

It's been hot where I live, I spent the day out on the lake playing on a stand up paddle board, I got too much sun, didn't drink enough water, and didn't eat enough carbs before going to bed.

You see, it had been a long and fun-filled day, but I had gotten it in my head that I wanted to shoot for trying out nutritional ketosis, so instead of eating the bowl of oatmeal that I initially felt like I wanted when I got home, I ate an apple with a lot of almond butter, and then some more almond butter, and then some macadamia nuts.

You see, when aiming for ketosis, you want to keep your net carbs low (net carbs being total carbs minus fiber) and your fat high, so your body will utilize fat for energy instead of glucose. The way to do this is to eat more fat, but it takes a few days (sometimes a week or more) for your body to switch into ketosis, and it isn't usually pleasant, you feel lethargic, hungry, cranky, foggy, and all sorts of other unpleasant stuff when making the switch, especially if you've never done it before.

So why did I think I wanted to be in ketosis?

Well, the truth of the matter is, I'm a tinkerer, and a self-experimenter, and even though 90% of the time I have fabulous body-love, I'm still human and subject to all of the same insecurities and self-doubts that we're all subject too.

As a health coach I feel like this is particularly true. Many health people I know got in to it out of a desire to heal themselves, and when they started finding out what worked for them, they became passionate about it and wanted to start helping others feel as amazing as they do.
Most health coaches are also self-experimenters, mostly because if you don't know what something is like, how can you recommend it to someone else? So as a breed, I think we tend to be the kind of people who are always looking for the next best thing, the bio-hack to improve our health, because if we feel good, we can feel better right?

Maybe.

Recently the idea of nutritional ketosis had been showing up in my life in a few different ways, one in the form of another successful health coach who has an awesome 30-day guide all about it, and in the form of someone I know on social media talking about how amazing she is feeling being in ketosis and how lean it's getting her.

I'll admit, that the 'lean' part of both of their stories is what really prompted me to want to try it.

There are some know health benefits to being in ketosis, but for women there are also some known health issues, mostly when it comes to throwing off hormones, which will in turn affect EVERYTHING about a person's health. In (HEALTHFUL PURSUIT'S) book and blog she talks about the need for women to do carb-refeeds every 3-4 days in order to keep your hormones balanced, which means every few days you are intentionally taking yourself out of ketosis (after getting yourself in to it for 30 days).

Which begs the question, is it really a healthy and sustainable way to be?

For these two women it seems to be, which is awesome and a big party of the reason it appeals to me, that and the fact that they both talk about how sexy they feel and how their bodies are dropping fat left and right...who doesn't want that?

Well not everyone will, but a lot of women do for sure, and I'm not immune to the idea either. Despite the fact that I truly do want to live a healthy and happy life, and that I have a loving partner who adores the way I look no matter what, I am still subject to the same vanity everyone else is. I still want to look killer in a bikini, and to not have to worry about how my clothes fit.

It's hard to say if this is a natural part of being human, or if it's a product of society's focus on physical attributes, but I know that for me, those thoughts are always present in the back of my head.

The good side to our culture's obsession with looks is that it can often be a powerful motivator for people to change their lifestyle to just be healthier, in fact I'll freely admit that I capitalize on this all the time, and I'm ok with that. If someone's main motivation for coming to talk to me about fitness and nutrition is because they want to loose weight, great, then do exactly what I tell you to do and I promise you will be healthier, and most likely, because you're healthier and your body is getting what it truly needs, then you'll stabilize at a happy weight for you.

The problems arise when someone is at a stable place (like me) and yet they still feel like they need to do more. This is partly human nature, (at least for me, I always feel like there is more to do, perks of being an entrepreneur I suppose) and partly the influence of society telling us what we should look like.

It is important to always be paying attention to what you're doing, fueling yourself well, exercising regularly, sleeping, you don't want to just stop doing all this once you've gotten started down the path towards better health, because it truly is a lifestyle, forever, not just something you do for 6 months then go back to what you did before.

It's a problem when you're body is healthy and you are feeling good, yet you seem to think you need to change things.

In the middle of the night when I wasn't sleeping, I was reading other health personalities stuff ('cause that's what I do) and I came across this quote, which isn't new, but it reminded me of a really important thing:

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Duh.

My problem is that I was reading these other women's stories and somehow thinking I needed to be like them and do what they do, even though I'm already healthy and already happy. I've already found my homeostasis point, and sure, I fluctuate a bit here and there (we ALL do), but for the most point I feel pretty damn good. I don't need to try anything else because I've already found my happy place.

Now, if I hadn't, then maybe it would be a good idea for me to give their way of doing things a try, partly because that's another really important thing I've learned while doing this:

If what you're doing isn't working for you, you owe it to yourself to try something different.

That's what I did when I stopped eating dairy, and then soy, and then gluten and eggs. Those things weren't working for me, so I stopped doing them.

The same could be said for the time I tried to be vegetarian. I lasted a whole week. I seriously could not stop thinking about chicken, and I figured that if my body wanted it that bad then I must need it, so as much as a love the idea of being a vegetarian, it's not for me, and that's ok, it works great for some people.

So why do I think my need for carbs is any different? All I could think about as I was eating the almond butter was how much I wanted to eat my oatmeal. The almond butter tasted good, but I could feel myself eating more than I probably needed because I was trying to make up for the lack of giving myself what I really needed...not exactly a healthy thing to do.

Many people may hear this and say "well that's exactly why you need to try ketosis, so you don't crave those carbs," but I'm not sure it is really a craving, I know what a craving is and it doesn't feel like that, it feels more like a deep seated, my body is telling me it needs this specific nourishment kind of thing, and I ignored it.

Bad health coach.

So this morning the first thing I did was make my usually smoothie for breakfast, and then sat and listened to my body, and guess what, I still wanted the oatmeal, so I ate it.

The reason I felt all of this was important to write was because I think as health coaches, we get it in our heads that we have to be perfect, but there is no such thing as perfect, there is simply being perfectly you, whatever that is.

Do I really think I'm a bad health coach? Of course not, I think I'm a pretty darn good one, mostly because I know first hand what it feels like to be healthy and still want to do something else simply for the vanity of it, because I'm human, and I understand what motivates us to do what we do.

So next time you're considering making a decision to improve your health, make sure you take an objective look at what your motivations are behind it, and decide if the consequences of achieving it are worth it, because they may not be.

And if the idea of being a health has ever appealed to you but you were afraid of taking the plunge because you think you need to be in 'perfect' health and have the 'perfect' body before you do, then stop thinking that and just start doing it already! No one is perfect, even us health coaches, but what we do have is a desire to be healthy and to help others be healthy too, and that's all that matters.

If you need help getting healthy or have questions about being a health coach, get in touch with me, I'm here for you.

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