How much caffeine is in your diet?

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When we have imbalanced blood sugar levels, we often wake up in the morning with not enough energy to start the day. Another drop is often experienced between 2-4 pm. To get moving, both in the morning and afternoon, we start to reach for a cup of coffee and addiction occurs.

Caffeine, and similarly smoking and sugar, makes us feel good, because it raises blood sugar levels.

Constant rising and dropping of blood sugar and using stimulants to overcome tiredness can be very dangerous for some of us. It may take several years to show but slow depletion of adrenal reserves can lead to abnormal fatigue, often this happens after we experience some stressful event.

Adrenal glands produce hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which are helping us to get on with everyday life and stress. Stress can be anything like cold weather, hot room, too much toxins, noise, or emotional stress.

Overusing stimulants such as coffee, chocolate, Coke or smoking can cause exhaustion of adrenal glands and this can lead to

• depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue and impaired stress hormone production 
• headaches, migraines, dizziness, insomnia, irritability, nervousness 
• poor mental performance

Each of us has own limit, which for some could be just 1 strong cup of tea a day. If you have sleep problems, even this could be too much. Tea (black, decaf and green) and chocolate also contains theobromine, another potent stimulant.

1 cup of ground coffee	115mg
1 large bar of dark chocolate (125g/4oz)	80mg
1 cup of instant coffee	65mg
2 painkiller tablets	60mg
1 cup of tea	50mg
1 can of cola	40mg
1 large bar of milk chocolate (125g/4oz)	20mg
1 cup of drinking chocolate	3mg
1 cup of decaf coffee	3mg

Source of table 1: M Glenville "Natural Solutions to Infertility"

COFFEE
Brewed (8oz/240ml)	95-200mg
Instant (8oz/240ml)	27-173mg
Espresso (1oz/30ml)	40-75mg
Decaf Espresso (1oz/30ml)	0-15mg
Decaf (8oz/240ml)	0-15mg
TEA
Black (8oz/240ml)	14-61mg
Green (8oz/240ml)	24-40mg
Black decaf (8oz/240ml)	0-12mg
SOFT DRINKS
Diet Coke(355ml)	38-47mg
Pepsi (355ml)	32-39mg
Diet Pepsi(355ml)	27-37mg
Coca Cola(355ml)	30-35mg
Dr Pepper(355ml)	36mg

Source of table 2: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeine/AN01211

CHOCOLATE
Dark  70-85% (100g)	80mg
Milk (100g)	20mg
Cocoa powder (1 TBSP)	12mg

Source of table 2: USDA database

WHAT ARE ALTERNATIVES?

Tea 

- most herbals

- Roiboos (red bush)

- use one bag of ordinary (black or green) tea per litre of water, not per cup

Coffee 

- Caro and other chicory and grain based

- powdered mushrooms (Chaga with Reishi tastes great)

Drinks 

- molases cola (mix with lemon, stevia to sweeten and mineral sparkling water),

- filtered tap water with lemon

- pure mineral water

Chocolate
- Carob powder
- mushroom powders (1/4tsp of strong Chaga + 1 tsp of Reishi per cup tastes like Moca)

MCT Superfood Bar

MCT = medium chain triglycerides or MCFA = medium chain fatty acids.

These saturated fats found in large amount in coconut oil do not have negative effect on cholesterol – they were shown to lower the risk of heart disease and atherosclerosis. They are metabolised immediately for energy and do not need emulsification (which is done by releasing bile from the gall bladder). Coconut oil is therefore suitable for people without gall bladder and with weaker liver and compromised digestive function. Lauric acid changes to monolaurin, which is known to destroy viruses, bacteria and fungus. 

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/036156_Coconut_oil_superfood_healing.html 


One-day portion for one adult - makes 3 bars or 6 small sweets.

  

INGREDIENTS	HEALTH EFFECT
Virgin coconut oil 3-4 TBSP	MCT fats – lauric, caprylic and capric acid – easily digestible, antimicrobial, immune supporting – similar amount of these fats is known only in breast milk.
Walnuts or other nuts and seeds - handful	Walnuts have balanced amount of omega 3 and 6 with anti-inflammatory action. All nuts and seeds are high in minerals such as magnesium, zinc, copper and are good source of fibre and also contain some protein.
Carob powder 1 tsp	Helps to lower absorption of heavy metals from food.
Cacao (optional) ½ tsp	Stimulant action. Contains minerals such as magnesium and polyphenols
Bee pollen 1 TBSP	Supports endocrine (hormonal) balance and re-charges adrenals. High nutritional density.
Himalayan salt - pinch	Helps to form and release digestive juices. Balances fatty taste. Do not add if using Seagreens powder.
Dried fruit i.e. dates 1 TBSP	As a sweetener, source of fibre and minerals.
Honey (optional) 1 tsp	As a sweetener. Raw honey supports immunity and its antimicrobial.
Oats 1 TBSP	Added mainly to bulk up the bar – source of fibre, protein, B-vits and minerals.
Green powders 1 tsp altogether	Spirulina, chlorella, Barley grass, kelp, Seagreens ..Alkalising, detoxifying, high nutrition density.
Other powders 1 tsp	Depending on your needs – Slippery Elm good to calm inflamed gut, maca is hormone-booster, Reishi is immune supportive …

METHOD 

1. Put coconut oil in Pyrex or metal dish and place on top of the pot with hot boiled water and leave to melt down. 

2. Crush down nuts or seeds in mortar. Can be briefly ground or chopped. 

3. Chop the dried fruit to small pieces. 

4. Mix all the ingredients together. 

5. Spread the mass on grease-proof paper and form about 1.5 cm thick, even layer. 

6. Cover up and place in the fridge, leave to cool down and harden for at least 20 min.

7. Cut to required pieces, keep cool, especially in hot weather or warm room. Coconut oil melts at 24-25C.

 

Wheat shown to cause weight gain

Are you addicted?

...Sadly, (this) tsunami of chronic illness is increasingly caused by eating our beloved diet staple, bread, the staff of life, and all the wheat products hidden in everything from soups to vodka to lipstick to envelope adhesive...

...The Super Starch
The Bible says, “Give us this day our daily bread”. Eating bread is nearly a religious commandment. But the Einkorn, heirloom, Biblical wheat of our ancestors is something modern humans never eat.

Instead, we eat dwarf wheat, the product of genetic manipulation and hybridization that created short, stubby, hardy, high yielding wheat plants with much higher amounts of starch and gluten and many more chromosomes coding for all sorts of new odd proteins. The man who engineered this modern wheat won the Nobel Prize – it promised to feed millions of starving around the world. Well, it has, and it has made them fat and sick...

... The Super Gluten
Not only does this dwarf, FrankenWheat, contain the super starch, but it also contains super gluten which is much more likely to create inflammation in the body. And in addition to a host of inflammatory and chronic diseases caused by gluten, it causes obesity and diabetes...

Read in full http://drhyman.com/blog/2012/02/13/three-hidden-ways-wheat-makes-you-fat/


The latest research about gluten shows a clear connection to weight gain (published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry in January 2013). The following words are from an article based on this research.

...Cheap, unhealthy foods for many with massive profits for a few...

"... the weight gain associated with wheat consumption has little to do with caloric content per se; rather, the gluten proteins ... disrupt endocrine and exocrine processes within the body, as well as directly modulating nuclear gene expression ... to alter mamallian metabolism in the direction of weight gain."

Read in full http://www.hungryforchange.tv/article/gluten-confirmed-to-cause-weight-gain

The "Leaky Gut"

Finally, if you have heard about gut permeability or „leaky gut“ and suffer from chronic recurrent problems listed below, the following information is vital to consider.

Gliadin is a part of gluten, present in large amounts in modern wheat. Less gluten is found in rye, barley, spelt and other older wheat varieties. Different types of gluten are found in oats and corn. Most of the coeliacs claim they can eat these without problems. Remember that modern bakery products, cakes and snacks have often added extra gluten. Many of us consume it every day, all day long, for most of our lives.

" When exposed to luminal gliadin, intestinal biopsies from celiac patients in remission expressed a sustained luminal zonulin release and increase in intestinal permeability that was blocked by FZI/0 pretreatment. 

Conversely, biopsies from non-celiac patients demonstrated a limited, transient zonulin release which was paralleled by an increase in intestinal permeability that never reached the level of permeability seen in celiac disease (CD) tissues. Chronic gliadin exposure caused down-regulation of both ZO-1 and occludin gene expression. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our results, we concluded that gliadin activates zonulin signaling irrespective of the genetic expression of autoimmunity, leading to increased intestinal permeability to macromolecules. "

Link to research http://www.greenmedinfo.com/article/gliadin-causes-intestinal-permeability-both-celiac-and-non-celiac-intestinal

Zonulin = a protein discovered in 2000, which regulates permeability of tight cell junction in intestines.
If you avoid gluten or wheat for at least 3-4 weeks and will start to feel better, this could be the reason why. It may not be the only reason for a „leaky gut“, as zonulin can be activated or stay active by other means, such as ongoing inflammation. However, it is the first step and worth trying. The only side effect is losing weight (if you need to) and having less inflammation and pain.

The connection between chronic or recurrent illness and gut permeability has been known for many years. The common link of many diseases is an inadequate mucosal layer formed by healthy gut flora. People are not encouraged by modern medicine to connect their various ill-health symptoms to their gut. Bacteria in our intestines are responsible for over 70% of immune functioning, and if our belly is not kept healthy, our body will struggle to stay in optimal health.