Coffee and the Adrenals? page

[kiwigal]

So I'm a coffee addict.
With blood work and everything I am officially in Adrenal fatigue. I tried to go down to one cup per day but I'm an addict and it didn't work. Even though I am taking adrenal support pills per my naturopath I am still exhausted and am unable to lose any more weight.
Has anybody else given up coffee and felt amazing? Did the pounds melt off? I feel like I have no other option but to go cold turkey since I tried to get rid of the coffee slowly. Anyone know of some good supplements that can help with detox?


Sigh I love coffee but feel like I have no other choice LOL.

Thanks guys for your help!!

[jakey]

funny you ask, cause... this saturday (9/15), will make one month for me! no caffeine whatsoever, herbal tea only. now, as to adrenal fatigue, i have no idea. but will quitting coffee help lower your stress levels and help you maintain even energy levels? fuck yes. i never took it seriously until i tried it.

but... i had one helluva splitting headache for 2-3 days right up front. not fun.

now, though, i wake up and feel perfectly alert, and i love it.

[seaweed]

very timely this is. my problem with giving up coffee is i have been fed caffeinated beverages with milk in since i was prob under 1 year of age. i can quite easily drink several cups of expresso at night and go to sleep. i have noticed a link with the more coffee i drink, the more exhausted i feel and the more stressed i feel. what i have been trying to do is have a cup of real coffee in the morning. then i try to have rooibos tea or decaf for the rest of the day. i have found a decaf which is a bean, i grind it up and expresso it and it tastes the same almost as real coffee. i also read somewhere an abstract from some old medical paper from like the 1930s but they were talking about the role of vit C in diseases of the adrenals like diphtheria. totally extrapolating but i figured vit C would be good for adrenal support as well so i take 5g of sodium ascorbate before i go to bed. i've been at this since sunday and i am literally falling asleep at 7pm each night. feeling much better during the day. so we shall see. from memory last time i tried it took 2 weeks to get over.

[kiwigal]

funny you ask, cause... this saturday (9/15), will make one month for me! no caffeine whatsoever, herbal tea only. now, as to adrenal fatigue, i have no idea. but will quitting coffee help lower your stress levels and help you maintain even energy levels? fuck yes. i never took it seriously until i tried it.

but... i had one helluva splitting headache for 2-3 days right up front. not fun.

now, though, i wake up and feel perfectly alert, and i love it.

Tell me about the energy. I work three evenings per week and get home at midnight. Two days per week I have to be at school by 7.30am. IT's killing me. I"m exhausted constantly!! I thought it was because I wasn't a morning person but now I"m not able to lose any more weight so I"m wondering if it has to do with cortisol and my heavy reliance on caffeine which no longer does anything!!

Thanks for your help!!

[Drumroll]

I drink a lot of tea, but only the occasional cup of joe. For me, I don't like the way coffee tends to make me feel sometimes (but it does taste amazing).

I wonder if I have any of the symptoms of adrenal fatigue... I think probably not, because I haven't hit the stall just yet and am still pretty well able to maintain my energy levels and continue to eat well. However, the moment I get the slightest inkling that this might be the case, I'll be backing off a bit on the caffeine.

[otzi]

I'm a 3 cup a day guy. I give up all caffeine for 30-60 days once ayear, just to do it. I find myself getting jittery and maybe trouble sleeping if I drink too much, when I get like this, I quit cold turkey for a couple months, then ease back into it.

[jakey]

Tell me about the energy. I work three evenings per week and get home at midnight. Two days per week I have to be at school by 7.30am. IT's killing me. I"m exhausted constantly!! I thought it was because I wasn't a morning person but now I"m not able to lose any more weight so I"m wondering if it has to do with cortisol and my heavy reliance on caffeine which no longer does anything!!

Thanks for your help!!

listen, those hours are tough - the evening work to early morning school shift. no getting around that. but i will say that i feel perfectly alert now when i wake up, not like i need something or i'm waiting for something (hint=coffee) to get going. it's better. it certainly will help with cortisol, but i take an iconoclastic view when it comes to stress and weightloss, because in my case, stress has never impacted my weightloss. it almost seems to drive up my metabolic rate, i shit you not. but not everyone works the same way, and stress is bad for all of us, regardless. caffeine abstention will certainly help with managing the issue, but is not a complete panacea.

good luck, you got this!

[kiwigal]

listen, those hours are tough - the evening work to early morning school shift. no getting around that. but i will say that i feel perfectly alert now when i wake up, not like i need something or i'm waiting for something (hint=coffee) to get going. it's better. it certainly will help with cortisol, but i take an iconoclastic view when it comes to stress and weightloss, because in my case, stress has never impacted my weightloss. it almost seems to drive up my metabolic rate, i shit you not. but not everyone works the same way, and stress is bad for all of us, regardless. caffeine abstention will certainly help with managing the issue, but is not a complete panacea.

good luck, you got this!

THanks soo much!!!!

[JamesS]

So I'm a coffee addict.
With blood work and everything I am officially in Adrenal fatigue. I tried to go down to one cup per day but I'm an addict and it didn't work. Even though I am taking adrenal support pills per my naturopath I am still exhausted and am unable to lose any more weight.
Has anybody else given up coffee and felt amazing? Did the pounds melt off? I feel like I have no other option but to go cold turkey since I tried to get rid of the coffee slowly. Anyone know of some good supplements that can help with detox?


Sigh I love coffee but feel like I have no other choice LOL.

Thanks guys for your help!!

The pills your naturopath are giving you may be making things even worse. They tend to prescribe adrenal glandulars for adrenal dysfunction, but long term use of the glandulars actually atrophy the adrenals.

Vitamin C and pantothenic acid sources as well as adaptogenic herbs are much safer and more effective for rebuilding the adrenals.

As for coming off caffeine I recommend nettle leaf tea. I like to add a little lemon grass and a touch of stevia. Then I let it steep overnight until it is almost black. Delicious, nutritious and supports the adrenals.

[JamesS]

very timely this is. my problem with giving up coffee is i have been fed caffeinated beverages with milk in since i was prob under 1 year of age. i can quite easily drink several cups of expresso at night and go to sleep.

I explain why this happens here:

Why do some people fall asleep after drinking coffee?

i have noticed a link with the more coffee i drink, the more exhausted i feel and the more stressed i feel.

That is because the adrenals produce epinephrine and cortisol to help give us energy and keep us alert. The adrenals also control our ability to deal with stress. By crashing the adrenals with stimulants like caffeine energy levels will drop and stress increases. Other things that can happen are formation or aggravation of allergies and asthma, suppressed immunity, autoimmune conditions, hormonal issues, increased inflammation, disturbances in the body's water balance, hypoglycemic reactions when you don't eat, thyroid suppression, etc.

i also read somewhere an abstract from some old medical paper from like the 1930s but they were talking about the role of vit C in diseases of the adrenals like diphtheria. totally extrapolating but i figured vit C would be good for adrenal support as well so i take 5g of sodium ascorbate before i go to bed. i've been at this since sunday and i am literally falling asleep at 7pm each night. feeling much better during the day. so we shall see. from memory last time i tried it took 2 weeks to get over.

The adrenals do get priority of vitamin C over the entire rest of the body. Natural sources tend to be much stronger and more stable than synthetic vitamin C sources such as the ascorbates. Here is more on building up the adrenals:

Building up the adrenals