This week a visitor named Ken is curious about the health effects of caffeine on the body. So read on to explore the interesting world of caffeine addiction and other surprising facts.

Dear Cynthia,

I have heard many comments about the effects of caffeine on a person. Could you give me the real fact about it’s effects? I am a big coffee drinker. Thank you very much for your help and advice. Sincerely, Ken

Great question, Ken, here’s the scoop, but I’m sorry to say you’ll probably be disappointed.

Caffeine is one of the most socially accepted and widely used stimulant drugs in our society. It is an addictive, mind altering substance that impacts the brain and body in a similar manner as hard drugs like amphetamines, cocaine and heroin and has a variety of detrimental effects on our health. In nature it is found in a variety of plants where it works as a natural pesticide by paralyzing the insects that feed upon the plant.

Caffeine fits the criteria of an addictive drug for four reasons:

1. It is used compulsively by the user
2. It stimulates what is called the reward pathway in the same manner as harder drugs
3. It results in building tolerance
4. After continued use, the user becomes dependent on caffeine to function normally
5. The user experiences withdrawal when they try to give up caffeine

These four criteria are what define an addictive substance and caffeine fulfills them all. This cycle can lead to addiction to other drugs or for the person who is in recovery from other addictions, such as alcoholism or harder drugs, it can lead to relapse as it simulates the physiological process of addiction in the brain.

Caffeine works by altering a chemical that functions as a neurotransmitter in the brain that makes you sleepy called adenosine. Because the caffeine molecule and the adenosine molecule look very much alike, it confuses your brain and when you drink caffeine, then the brain takes in the caffeine molecule instead of the adenosine molecule and this is what keeps you from falling asleep and feeling tired.

When you drink caffeine, it floods the brain with adenosine imposters. The brain adapts to the excessive stimulation by reducing it’s adenosine receptors, which means that you now need more caffeine to achieve the same results. This is known as tolerance. As caffeine consumption continues, eventually the brain will no longer function normally without caffeine and the user is now addicted.

Additionally, the health effects of caffeine also involve stimulation of other neurotransmitters like dopamine, norepinephrine, acetylcholine and glutamate and this is what gives the caffeine user heightened mood, euphoria and clearer thinking. It decreases production of serotonin and interferes with normal functioning of GABA. Disruption of these crucial neurotransmitters results in symptoms like depression, hyperactivity, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety attacks, inability to handle stress, addiction to harder substance and many more.

Other serious health effects of caffeine on the body is that it has a very destructive effect on the bodies stress response system because it increases the release of our stress hormones, adrenalin, norepinephrine, epinephrine and cortisol. When we’re dealing with a dangerous, threatening or emergency situation, stress hormones are needed to give us extra strength, energy and alertness to get us through the situation. Then when the stressful situation is over then the stress hormones subside. However, when drinking caffeine there is no threatening situation to deal with and it triggers these hormones for no reason continuously and keeps the body in a constant state of stress. This puts an excessive burden on the adrenal glands that can lead to adrenal fatigue. With adrenal fatigue, the adrenal glands are no longer capable of performing their functions adequately and results in a variety of negative symptoms and conditions like fatigue, irritability, inability to cope with stress, allergies, difficulty sleeping and hypoglycemia.

Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar occurs when the bodies glucose levels drop too low and results in a variety of symptoms like irritability, fatigue, headaches, depression, anxiety, cravings for sugar, weakness, inability to concentrate, shaking and trembling. Caffeine contributes to hypoglycemia because it triggers the liver to release high levels of sugar into the blood stream. High levels of sugar trigger the release of insulin to control sugar levels and cause the blood sugar levels to plummet to below normal.

Caffeine is also a major instigator and perpetuator in the overgrowth of Candida yeast because it triggers the liver to dump large levels of sugar into the blood stream. Plus, it perpetuates cravings for sugar and high carbohydrate foods. It is impossible to make significant improvement in reducing symptoms of Candida overgrowth if one continues to ingest caffeine. To learn more about the caffeine and sugar connection, you can find an in depth discussion about this issue in my book, How to Break Your Sugar Addiction Today.

All the aforementioned issues have a destructive impact on the sleep cycle. You’ll not be able to sleep or when you do it won’t be deep and healing. Adequate sleep is crucial for overall good health and functioning. It also aggravates or contributes to conditions like hormonal imbalances, depression, anxiety disorders, headaches, pms and is linked to other conditions like diabetes, heart disease and weight gain.

So, although it may be okay to indulge in the “occasional” organic chocolate bar, the bottom line is that caffeine is a destructive addictive drug that should be avoided for the most part. That means avoiding all products that contain caffeine, like coffee, chocolate, tea, soda pop — coke, diet coke, pepsi, etc., and green tea. It’s also important to note, that many products that call themselves, “caffeine free” actually still contain caffeine in smaller amounts. The health effects of caffeine on the body are serious and many. For anyone living with a chronic health condition it will only lead to continued decline in health and exacerbation of existing symptoms. For healthier individuals it can lead to addiction, adrenal fatigue, chronic fatigue, weight gain and the development of chronic health problems.