
A year without caffeine (part 2) - sramsay
http://bryanalexander.org/2013/01/06/a-year-without-caffeine-part-2/
======
jperras
The title seems a tad misleading. The author describes some relatively major
lifestyle changes (huge changes in diet, sleeping habits, large increase in
aerobic/anaerobic physical activity), of which the elimination of caffeine is
but a small part.

I used to have some very bad problems with acidity as well, to the point where
my doctor thought I might have had acute ulcerative colitis, but what fixed it
for me was sleeping more, eating better, and exercising more frequently.

I still drink 1-3 cups of coffee a day (every few months I go for a week
without coffee, just to make sure I can still function without it), and have
had no flare-ups or problems since I changed the rest of my lifestyle habits.

~~~
jessriedel
FYI, the dominant theory is that ulcerative colitis is an autoimmune disease,
and the inflammation in the colon has _nothing_ to do with what is eaten.
Instead, it's due to the immune system deciding to attack the intestinal
tissue. It might be provoked indirectly by things like stress, but coffee or
other food are not thought to trigger flare-ups.

(That said, some people find they can reduce their discomfort by modifying
their diet once a flare-up begins. But there is no evidence that diet either
provokes flare-ups or induces remission.)

~~~
IamBren
While that may be the dominant theory it doesn't appear to be true. I follow a
doctor out of NJ who uses dietary intervention to successfully treat a lot of
diseases most doctors will say are "incurable", including ulcerative colitis,
IBS, lupus, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes (the adult onset
type). He has an entire newsletter devoted to the following:

Inflammatory Bowel Disease – Aggresive dietary modifications hold key to
relief and recovery.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome – Recovery requires adherence to high–nutrient,
fiber–rich diet.

Nutritional and Dietary Protocols for IBD – These nutritional basics have
helped hundreds of patients.

A Crohn's Success Story – IBD patient makes recovery even after two surgeries.

Specific Carbohydrate Diet – Lack of scientific support and low success rate
on this diet.

Eat For Health Recipes – The highest scoring recipes from Dr. Fuhrman's newest
book.

[https://www.drfuhrman.com/members/NewsletterDownload.aspx?is...](https://www.drfuhrman.com/members/NewsletterDownload.aspx?issue=36)

He shows (with references to back every claim, as with all of his writing)
that these diseases DEFINITELY have a LOT to do with what is eaten.

The newsletter is $7. I wish it were free for as important as I feel this
issue is. I would hope that before you continue to make such definite, and
possibly dangerous claims, that you would fork over the money to at least make
sure you're not helping to send people down the path of needless pain and
suffering.

~~~
crntaylor
If you're a lone voice in opposition to the medical and scientific
establishment, then to take you seriously I'd expect to be seeing some pretty
extraordinary evidence.

Things that would make me more sceptical of your claims would include:

1\. A glossy website with slick before/after photos that appears to be
primarily an advertisement for your (expensive) courses.

2\. Putting all of your evidence in a non-peer reviewed newsletter that you
then charge $7 / month for. He's clearly heard of journals (he's even
published in some of them, although none of them particularly prestigious) so
why isn't he using them?

3\. The invention of bogus mathematical equations to "back up" your claims
(Health = Nutrients/Calories... please).

4\. Any claim to be able to cure a wide variety of unrelated illnesses with a
simple treatment (cf. allergies, asthma, acne, autoimmune disease (!), chronic
fatigue syndrome, depression, diabetes, migraines, and, somewhat mysteriously,
"others").

5\. Any association at all with Mehmet Oz.

This guy doesn't even begin to pass the smell test.

~~~
MDS100
@Newsletter subscriber: Also some other very common quack sign: > Overly
focused on nutrition and supplements for healing all kinds of maladies.

> Toxins everywhere

> Fear mongering

Seems very much you are wasting your 7$:
[http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/your-
disease-y...](http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/your-disease-your-
fault/)

His formula doesn't make any sense. Health=micronutrients/kcal is a useless
approximation. Implies that if you reduce kcal by switiching to more
micronutrient dense foods, you'll always be healthier. Which is untrue (there
are problems such as starvation, hypervitaminosis, drinking saltwater would be
a great idea...) and highly depends on a plethora of other factors.

It's pseudoscience.

(And I say that as a future MD who also does science based sports/nutritional
consulting, so be assured I know of the importance of diet and exercise in
disease&health.) There are far better sources out there.

~~~
IamBren
> His formula doesn't make any sense. > It's pseudoscience.

This "formula" appears to be meant as a shortcut to remind people following
his plan to eat higher micronutrient per calorie foods. I don't think it was
ever meant to be a proper math equation or anything, and I'm surprised people
are picking this one aspect out of context to ridicule it endlessly without
truly understanding what Dr. Fuhrman means by it.

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ChuckMcM
This is pretty inspiring. It is always amazing to people how much diet and
exercise affect their health, which I find amazing that they are amazed. Its
fundamental. Of course the ulcers could have been cleared up with the right
antibiotics [1] but regardless, Bryan is in a much better place than he was
and it doesn't matter which path he took.

[1] <http://www.cdc.gov/ulcer/consumer.htm>

~~~
Evgeny
_It is always amazing to people how much diet and exercise affect their
health_

This is true. It is equally amazing to me how much abuse the human body can
take before it actually breaks down. Sometimes I think it would be better if
the results of bad dietary or exercise habits revealed themselves faster - I
suppose it would be more convincing and easier to undo the damage.

~~~
gfunk911
This is a very interesting observation. Fail fast....

~~~
marcosdumay
Not a very good tought when you can only fail once.

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tsahyt
2 years ago, I was drinking 12 cups of coffee on an average day. More than
that on days when I had night shifts. For some unknown reason I suddenly
started reacting weirdly to all the caffeine. Somehow it sparked anxiousness
in me. So I decided to stop drinking coffee altogether, since only a single
cup would make me feel and behave strangely.

At first it was hard to concentrate, I had headaches, it was harder to wake up
in the morning, etc. However, after two years I wonder why I was drinking
coffee in the first place. I feel calmer and more relaxed nowadays and I'm
capable of greater workloads now without feeling too exhausted.

Going without caffeine also made me appreciate the power and importance of
sleep. In the fast-paced world we're living in, I believe people underestimate
that. I honestly know people who think they can achieve more by sleeping less.
In my opinion they couldn't be more wrong about it. A good night's sleep is
what productive days are built upon.

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rcthompson
I personally have never been a caffeine user. I had always assumed that if I
used it regularly, my body would eventually counteradjust so that I would
require coffee just to bring me back to my original baseline level of
alertness. Can anyone comment on whether this is the case?

~~~
Posibyte
I have a purely anecdotal case. Before my Junior year of college, I had drank
about four cups (two coffee cups) of coffee every morning since I was twelve.
That's about nine years of coffee consumption for me. I stopped one day a
year-or-so ago, and besides the two-day migraine, it didn't have any
noticeable effect on me thereafter. I still drink coffee every now and then,
especially during points where I'm lodging with my parents. I can't tell a
difference when I drink coffee or not, other than I think more clearly with
coffee. I'm not jittery with or without, or craving coffee abnormally.

Again, anecdotal. I have no idea if this is the general case.

~~~
Dylan16807
That means you adjusted back quickly, but it doesn't really answer the
question. Which is: If you have coffee almost every day, does it still provide
you an alertness boost?

~~~
killahpriest
I drink coffee everyday (somedays four or more espressos). I also stop
drinking coffe for a few days at least twice every semester, just in case.

Even at peak coffee, more coffee still stimulates my mind and makes me
infinitely more focused. The only times coffee hasn't worked is when I'm
genuinely sleep deprived, although I typically get 6-8 hours of sleep.

~~~
Joeri
I would not conclude an effect of caffeine ingestion. You may be getting the
alertness boost from placebo effect, conditioned response or even just the
fact of taking a break. I get an alertness boost from getting up to fill a
glass of water, for example. I don't have to actually drink from the glass to
get the effect.

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geoka9
Reading this gave me chills - the symptoms of withdrawal described here are
not unlike those of a heroin addict gone cold turkey.

I can't imagine normal healthy people routinely taking a drug and teaching
their children to take one. And yet this happens with coffee all the time.
Many are even proud of their addiction ("coffee snobs").

~~~
desbest
There was a heroin addict who filmed himself going cold turkey for his family,
and at the end of the video, was himself on camera, having a brain hemorrhage.

Very unlike caffeine.

~~~
ahelwer
Anecdotal evidence I know, but I was a three cups/day guy for a while then
quit cold turkey. After about a week of feeling a bit fuzzy and irritable I
was back to normal. Is this atypical or something?

~~~
jessriedel
Nope, that's typical. I looked up the data a while back. 1-2 weeks is the
general timescale for developing dependence and for withdrawal. Once your
neurotransmitters reset, you're pretty much back to normal.

------
kysol
I've been without coffee for two months now. Having been someone that loved
coffee and needed it to "survive" the daily work environment, if I was to have
just quit it voluntarily, it wouldn't have happened.

For me I was on a business trip where I fell ill prior to the flight home.
Lets just say that it wasn't pretty, my girlfriend picked me up from the
Airport struggling to stand up. The next week I wasn't able to eat anything
surviving on water.

Seeing that I consumed an unhealthy amount of coffee daily, and how I hadn't
had one in a week, I decided to make the break while I could. I was already
weak from what ever I had picked up on that trip, but it was nothing to the
next few weeks. I was lucky to only get mild headaches, but the lethargy and
the sleepless nights drove me insane.

Having read this article, I'm now re-thinking what I eat as well. I too
challenge the heat of my curries... and thanks to desk jobs I don't get out
that much. Looks like I'll be changing things shortly.

One kicker that has happened to my health since this change, an ailment that I
had never had prior to the removal of coffee, has caffeine as a way to help
reduce the effects. My body... hates me.

------
vasco
Never having liked the taste of coffee, I rarely drink it. I think the first
time I had one was in a school field trip where everyone decided to pull our
first all-nighter. Now I only use it when I need to finish something with a
deadline and I can't possibly sleep to do it (this would be mitigated with
better time management, but alas, this is how it is).

Never having made an habit of it though, a single espresso (1 once) gives me
the jitters, a slight disturbing feeling in my heart area and keeps me fully
pumped up for about ~4 hours if I am falling asleep when I take it.

I think this way of using it is much more valuable than "wasting" it by
accustoming my body to a morning "pick-me-up" ritual.

~~~
zanny
I used to be addicted to soda as a kid, but quit it in high school. Now 21, I
can count the number of caffinated beverages I've drunk on my hands since 16.
I get the same reaction to caffeine now.

It is really scary to think the _norm_ is to guzzle that stuff like candy
daily.

~~~
jrockway
It's less scary if you realize that different people react differently to
caffeine.

------
Sindrome
I think I could do a year without caffeine. But a year without alcohol?
IMPOSSIBLE.

~~~
peteretep
I just finished my first year without it. First few months were pretty hard,
but I got over it. Saved a bunch of money, got more confident in social
situations, lost some weight. It was good enough, I've just started my second
year...

------
hobbyist
Why is green tea not included in the drinks to be avoided. I thought green tea
also contains caffeine.

~~~
wsc981
Since both green teas and black teas are made from the same plant -a plant
that contains caffeine- it seems likely both tea variants contain caffeine.
The withering & oxidation processes might increase the caffeine in black teas
though: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_processing>

If you want a caffeine free tea that tastes well (imo), consider Rooibos tea.
It contains no caffeine whatsoever: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooibos>

~~~
rdtsc
I like Rooibos tea. Just ordered a huge bag from Amazon. But because it
doesn't have caffeine, it doesn't have the same wakefulness effect that tea
does.

I also drink coffee sometimes. And even though both contain caffeine there is
big difference. When I talk about tea's wake-fullness it is more like
alertness, a much more gradual and pleasant effect than coffee. Coffee is like
having someone constantly slapping me on the face. It is more noticeable and
it is too distracting. But I also happen to like the taste of a good cup of
coffee so I drink it then quit after a while, get headaches, go back to my tea
and then after a month of two do it again.

------
yawgmoth
Sort of an odd question, but have you found that the flora of your mouth
changed when you cut out all of the acidity and sugary drinks? Less plaque \
bad breath?

How long does it take you to go from first opening your eyes when you awake,
to being 'normally awake'? One of my big things is to get out of bed ASAP and
get a dose of caffeine right away (powdered, usually). It's a fairly small
dose (50mg) but I found that I really despise the first few waking moments
enough to keep it up.

~~~
mtrimpe
I quit caffeine cold-turkey about a month ago and when I was still drinking
caffeine I was much like you brewing a killer espresso at home or having an
energy drink on the way to work.

The basic gist seems to be that caffeine allows you to _not_ have a healthy
morning ritual. After you quit you'll have to learn to have a decent breakfast
and ideally some exercise as well, since otherwise you'll most likely just be
a zombie until lunch every day.

This post, which includes some self-reflection, is the best on the topic I've
come across: [http://zentofitness.com/a-story-about-100-caffeine-free-
livi...](http://zentofitness.com/a-story-about-100-caffeine-free-living/)

~~~
omegant
Well I don't drink coffee (i can't remember if I've ever finished a cup), and
I love to sleep (not an early bird). I can tell you that I have to wake up at
Retty early hours (like 5 in the morning or earlier, never the same hour) due
to my work, and I never feel sleepy the way coffee drinkers do. Neither I need
to exercise. I am also aboe to have heavy breakfasts very early, unlike coffee
drinkers who usually can't eat more than a toast. I don't know that many
people who doesn't drink coffee, so I don't know if my experience is common or
not.

------
jakeonthemove
Going off caffeine gives me 2-3 days of indescribable headaches, then it's a
pronounced fatigue for another 2 weeks. It ain't pretty.

However, if coffee must be eliminated from your diet, I believe you can always
use caffeine pills - same energy without any side effects on the stomach.

~~~
rdtsc
I like the taste of coffee but don't feel like a need or want the caffeine
boost. Decaf coffees don't taste the same though either. So once in a while I
go for about a week or so of drinking coffee, then quit and pay for it with
headaches.

~~~
jacques_chester
Decaf taste depends a lot on the process. Out of the different kinds I've
tried, CO2 distillate is best.

~~~
alexkus
I switched to decaffeinated coffee a couple of years ago (why?[1]). I was
drinking about 250mg worth of caffeine a day before I stopped. I had a week of
bad headaches, interrupted sleep, night sweats and crankiness and I was done.
It's not nice but it's only a week or so. I avoided taking painkillers to mask
the symptoms as some contain caffeine (especially the "Express" versions) to
speed up the body's metabolism and get them into the bloodstream quicker;
suffering the full symptoms also serves as a reminder of why I was doing it.

Decaf still contains some caffeine, so my 5 cups a day are probably still
giving me ~25mg or so of caffeine. I drink it because I like the taste of
coffee although I'm considering giving it up completely. I'm not a coffee snob
and I'm happy with the taste of instant coffee.

25mg is still less caffeine than is contained in a single can of Coke (36mg).

Years ago I stopped eating chocolate and drinking soda for both dental and
health reasons (I want to avoid the increased risk of Type II Diabetes from
large intakes of sugary drinks).

I still, once a week maybe, have a non-decaf coffee if decaf isn't available,
but I try to limit myself to one that day as I do notice the buzz from having
a full strength coffee again.

1\. Primary driver was in preparation for some long distance cycling where I'd
be getting <10 hours (in total) sleep[2] over 4 days. I needed caffeine to
have its old effect of giving me a temporary boost in case I was a few hours
from somewhere where I could comfortably get some sleep[3]. Secondary driver
was that it's a pernicious drug that I wanted to drop any dependency on.

2\. I cope with sleep deprivation very well, indeed I coped a lot better with
lack of sleep than a lot of other people on the event. Having children is good
training for sleep deprivation (or at least not getting more than 3 hours
sleep in a single stretch).

3\. My planned naps (one or two hours a day) staved off most of the problems
but I did get caught out a couple of times. One was at night and so I loaded
up with coffee (many locals along the route set up roadside stalls giving out
free coffee and food to riders) to keep myself awake for the three hours to
the next control where I slept; the other was during the day when it was nice
and sunny so I had an hour long nap on some grass by the road side.

~~~
jacques_chester
When I'm coming up to weightlifting competitions I wean myself off coffee (by
progressively substituting regular coffee for decaf in my espresso machine)
for the same reason: I want to increase the effect on mental energy, but not
have the side-effects such as sweaty hands or shakiness.

------
mleonhard
> I get as much work done as I used to.

I get _more_ work done without caffeine. When I use caffeine, my attention
level spikes and plunges. The increased productivity of the spikes doesn't
make up for the dips.

------
andrewcooke
if you haven't (though i suspect you have) i would suggest giving napping one
more try now you're caffeine free. it's seriously good if you can get it to
work.

~~~
doctornemo
Good thought, andrew, but it still doesn't work for me. It's hard to wake up
from a nap, and I'm dazed - and tired! - afterwards. I've tried this all times
of day, and each time it's like being clobbered by a baseball bat.

~~~
nedwin
I have had similar issues so mostly a "nap" for me is closing my eyes while
laying down in a dark room for 20 minutes at most, often with my hands behind
my head.

I always feel really refreshed afterwards. YMMV

------
chimpinee
Coffee withdrawal headaches and tiredness can be reduced by taking caffeine
pills (approx 50mg per day for five days).

------
Mz
I am medically curious and would like to hear the dehydration story. :-)

------
phormula
Why wouldn't he just get treated for H. Pylori if he had stomach ulcers

~~~
doctornemo
I should have mentioned this, and will revise the post: yes, I was tested, and
no, H. Pylori wasn't the culprit. Which is rare.

------
NeilRShah
Thanks for the article - that was a good read.

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drivebyacct2
This is scary to read. GERD, Barrett's Esophagus and acid reflux is _not_ to
be taken lightly. It is life altering. I have a relative who has to take 3
days every year to be sedated and have their throat stretched, another 3 later
to have it scoped and this is _after_ the surgery that effectively tied her
esophagus in a knot (she can't physically vomit).

If you're popping antacids all of the time, be wary.

~~~
evincarofautumn
Not to mention the hazards of excessive antacid use, such as bezoars.

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prtk
I guess deleting facebook account will have similar healthy effects on peoples
minds.

