Monday Morning Comin' Down

I'm quitting caffeine. I know that I can do it and will do it, but I'll tell ya folks, this is not an easy thing to do.

I'm Scottish. When I was a toddler my parents gave me black tea with milk and sugar in a bottle. I had a cup of tea every morning, and tea throughout the day. A few years ago I decided that I would try to kick drinking Coca-cola, and it occurred to me then that I had never, NEVER gone even a single day in my entire life without caffeine, (with perhaps the exception of when I was a baby baby but I don't remember.)

My first effort was a struggle, but I did it, and managed to stay off of caffeine for a week or 2. Since then I've tried again once or twice with similar results. But this time I have more riding on it.

In the past I've quit caffeine more on principle than with any specific goal in mind. I had wanted to be addiction free, wanted to cut down on the sugar that went with caffeine, but I hadn't really attached any major life benefits to quitting.
However, since my brother had an early heart attack, and since I've been running again, I've become a lot more focussed on my health. Caffeine is one of the only remaining bad things that I'm doing to my body, and it's for heart health reasons that I want to quit.

I'm on day 2 and close to breaking as I write. Similar to quitting smoking caffeine (or sleeping)is the only thing that I can think about right now. Apparently I just need to get through the next 2 days and I should be okay. Days 3 and 4 are the worst.
Here's the strategy that I'm following so far.

You have a great shot at it if the desire is there. First of all, the world's number one soft drink happens to be the nation's largest importer of "spent coca leaves," as part of the secret formula. If they were totally spent, why import 'em? I've always wondered if that might be part of the craving for some caffeinated drinks ...

Anyway, the first thing is that you must be very careful to avoid swings in your blood sugar, which cause chemical cravings to increase tremendously. Try to snack instead of a few big meals. Avoid sugar at all costs! Use fresh nuts, seeds, cheese, veggies (complex carbohydrates), but avoid refined flour of all sorts. Real whole grain breads and pastas (hard to find) are OK, if you chew them well and eat them slowly.

There are tons of vitamins that help, but a quickie regimen would be a good multi (Halth Food- store capsule-type), much extra vitamin C, one-two grams (1 gram=1000mg) three times per day or more (it's a major anti-toxin, anti-stress nutrient, but a lot is needed), and chromium, 200mcg/day (GTF or picolinate).

The first few days will be the worst, as very real withdrawal symptoms can haunt you. (Amazing how dependent we can become on a drug ... almost scary.) A mild (over-the- counter) analgesic may even be required.

For the energy drain that is not uncommon, consider a good ginseng supplement. Your adrenal glands have been tortured by the caffeine drug, and will need support when you remove their "fix."

Another good addendum would be extra amounts of the B-vitamin pantothenic acid, which in high doses (250-500 milligrams/day), can augment adrenal function. Some people claim good results with adrenal "glandular," an adrenal extract that contains no hormonal fraction. I have not tried it myself, but I have had results with thyroid glandular for other things, so it may help.

I'm also educating myself on the evils of caffeine as well. The more negative conditioning the better.