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)