It is one year today that I had my last caffeine. I was addicted to cola drinks. Drank them since I was 17, with the exception of three years when I had ulcers. Then I drank tea, which always gave me mouth ulcers and slight headaches. I never did like coffee. It only took one small drink of a Dr. Pepper and it all started again. When I drank coke throughout the day, I didn't want fruit, or care if I ate much of anything. I would drink a few sips at a time, but all day. If I didn't have any by 9:00, I would get a terrible caffeine withdrawal headache. So, this is a big deal for me. I made excuses about cutting back, but I just couldn't make myself stop. What changed was my stay in the hospital last January,  hooked up to oxygen and intravenous meds. I couldn't eat or drink because of the tests for my heart. My heart doctor said no caffeine. So, that changed my addiction. I haven't cheated even once, have not had any kind of caffeine (coke, tea, coffee, etc) for a whole year. Tomorrow will be my one year anniversary from getting out of the hospital. I can't do a lot of things I used to do, because my heart does not pump right and my valve leaks, BUT, with the various suppliments I take, (not meds), after doing LOTS of research, walking two miles at least every day, trying not to get stressed, and trying to lower my high cholesterol and triglycerides with a change of diet, and the grace of God, I'm still alive. Now starts the new phase ... Dr. D's plan. Here I go. Yeah, me!

Congratulations! I've never had a caffeine addiction but have seen friends deal with this problem. This is something to celebrate to be sure!

It's good to see you here, DL!  Welcome to this wonderful way of eating, which will bring improvements to you life in so many ways.  

DL,
non secretor issue
http://www.dadamo.com/knowbase/newbie/a.htm

Welcome DL!
I know you will be healthier from following either BTD, GenoTD or by getting your swami. Its all good! Congrats to you on a milestone and cheers for being good to yourself!

That is an accomplishment!  I stopped all coffee as of wed. decaf or reg.  Hope i can say coffee free for a year next year!

Congrats!

Congratulations DL on quitting caffeine for a whole year! You've basically achieved what I'm currently trying to do. I've tried probably 7 or 8 times to quit coffee. This new year I really decided to make it happen and have been off it since the 1st of Jan. I switched on January 1st from Coffee to Black Tea, and in a few days will be moving to green tea. I then plan in a month or so to switch to Kukicha Tea which Swami recommended. I'm giving up sodas with the black tea, and plan on even phasing out chocolate when I switch to Kukicha.

If you can believe it I've actually come up with a reward system, where I buy myself a really delicious meal at a great restaurant at different milestones in the process. I figure if thats what it takes to get me off this drug I'll do it!

I honestly have found caffeine extremely addictive but I think a lot is social psychological conditioning. The "idea" of cafe's and great lattes and socializing etc. A lot of it is just a kind of brainwashing or thinking many of us accept without question. Coffee is so prevalent, but to those of us that are highly sensitive to it like myself it starts this massive roller coaster ride that can be highly damaging and addictive. I literally can't sleep for 12 hours after a coffee, and thanks to Swami and subsequent research I now know it's in my DNA, and I have a gene that causes me to break down caffeine and other drugs much more slowly than other people.

Anyway kudos to you for what you've done! I am determined to be in your position in 2013, that is being off caffeine for 1 year.

Congratulations DL.   I am always so happy to hear when someone beats an addiction and hear that their health improved as a result. I beat my sugar, lottery ticket and alcohol addiction. Since then my cafine consumption has increased and water consumption went down as a result. I just discovered that the remaining issues I have may be due to an overly acidic body. I should and am trying to give up my coffee. I have been drinking coffee since I was a young girl. It is mostly habit for me. I was up to 7 cups a day. It does not affect my sleep at all but when I do try to quit, I get headaches. Went down to two cups a couple of times recently but mostly its 4 on average. I slip to 5 once in a while. That is a start at least. I would like to replace it with tea but really cant stand tea. I start a new health challenge March 1st which will force me to get back to my exercise regularily and eat vegetables. I really have a hard time with vegetables. I was so faithful to my exercise regime until the bus system here became a mess . I find it hard to be motivated at home. I am maintaining my weight though with this new way of eating but am losing tone which I do not like. You inspire me to go on to try beat this coffee addiction as well. Looking forward to the day that I am free of all addictions.

I too, used to be a pop fiend years ago.

Way to go!  Use that same motivation to kick start your ERFYT journey.

I know a lot of us wish we had discovered the BTD/GTD "way back then", so that we could have avoided the illnesses which we have suffered from.  I've accepted the fact that my past is what it is.  I didn't know about this way of eating and living and I truly injured my body in many ways due to a diet of nearly all avoids and a substantial coffee addiction.

However, I must say that the effort which has been necessary to overcome these obstacles and rebuild health has made me strong, determined and dedicated.  I'm grateful for the amazing healing power that these human bodies possess.  There is always hope for healing if we are willing to take responsibility and do the work!  

Quoted from PrincessMia

I start a new health challenge March 1st which will force me to get back to my exercise regularily and eat vegetables. I really have a hard time with vegetables.

Princess, you're correct that vegetables are important for keeping your health in balance.  

One thing that helped me during the early years of BTD, before I fell in love with vegetables, is that I invested in a good juicer.  On the days that I couldn't bear to eat veggies, I juiced them.  I tried to keep 8 or 10 different beneficial vegetables in my fridge at all times, and rotated them to give my body a good assortment of vegetable nutrients.  Every batch of juice contained at least 3 different veggies and I went for the deep colors - red, yellow, dark green, orange, etc.

It's not a perfect solution because I was missing most of the healthy vegetable fiber, but I did feel that it made a difference in my health at that time.  Somewhere along the line, I found myself enjoying eating them, but it took years for me.  

I just gave up black tea today, and already have a killer headache. Transitioning to green tea tomorrow. Wish me luck! I really hope I can stick with it this time and never drink coffee again.

I have been taking lemon juice with lime in the morning to decrease acid in my body. I work one day a week and leave quite early so I take my coffee to work in a thermos. Normally I drink my coffee right away. I could not believe the energy I had considering I did not get any sleep that night. I did not need to have my coffee until around 10:30, 11. That was when my headache started. Soon as I had it, the headache left me. I got home and turned on a program and they happened to mention that what I was drinking gives you energy and that you should drink it in the morning to boost your energy. It also gave me a lift in the afternoon yesterday. I have been cutting back. The past week I went to 4 once and the others days 2 or 3. Good luck CasimirJ.    

I thought coffee was good for As?     This article by Ray Peat says coffee is a vitamin like nutrient or adaptogen:
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/caffeine.shtml

Coffee drinkers have a lower incidence of thyroid disease, including cancer, thannon-drinkers.

Caffeine protects the liver from alcohol and acetaminophen (Tylenol) and other toxins, and coffee drinkers are less likely than people who don’t use coffee to have elevated serum enzymes and other indications of liver damage.

Caffeine protects against cancer caused by radiation, chemical carcinogens, viruses, and estrogens.

Caffeine synergizes with progesterone, and increases its concentration in blood and tissues.

Cystic breast disease is not caused by caffeine, in fact caffeine’s effects are likely to be protective; a variety of studies show that coffee, tea, and caffeine are protective against breast cancer.

Coffee provides very significant quantities of magnesium, as well as other nutrients including vitamin B1.

Caffeine “improves efficiency of fuel use” and performance: JC Wagner 1989.

Coffee drinkers have a low incidence of suicide.

Caffeine supports serotonin uptake in nerves, and inhibits blood platelet aggregation.

Coffee drinkers have been found to have lower cadmium in tissues; coffee making removes heavy metals from water.

Coffee inhibits iron absorption if taken with meals, helping to prevent iron overload.

Caffeine, like niacin, inhibits apoptosis, protecting against stress-induced cell death, without interfering with normal cell turnover.

Caffeine can prevent nerve cell death.

Coffee (or caffeine) prevents Parkinson’s Disease (Ross, et al., 2000).

The prenatal growth retardation that can be caused by feeding large amounts of caffeine is prevented by supplementing the diet with sugar.

Caffeine stops production of free radicals by inhibiting xanthine oxidase, an important factor in tissue stress.

Caffeine lowers serum potassium following exercise; stabilizes platelets, reducing thromboxane production.

I don't drink coffee because it doesn't agree with me.

Quoted from 14442

I thought coffee was good for As?     This article by Ray Peat says coffee is a vitamin like nutrient or adaptogen:
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/caffeine.shtml

Well unless you happened to be an A blood type Explorer. With coffee it really depends on the genes you have in your liver.

Check out the following links about how caffeine is linked to Heart attacks for those of us that don't process it well, based on a study published in JAMA:

http://www.stress-fat-heart-solutions-for-boomers.com/the-caffeine-metabolizing-gene.html

http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/295/10/1135

This is just another example of one size not fitting all as Dr. D always says. Coffee has many benefits if your liver has the right genes.

Well today I only drank Green tea, 2 cups actually. I found the Jasmine Green tea delicious! I only steeped it for 2 minutes which made it less bitter and then added a little sugar.

Only a slight headache also, and a little exhausted and nauseous. But definitely glad I've given up coffee in stages by switching to black tea first, much gentler. I feel so free. Now I plan to enjoy regular green tea for a while and then switch to the very low caffeine Kukicha tea as a final step in a month or two. It really hasn't been all that bad at all!

While in the hospital the past two days, they allowed me very little coffee and it was weak. I had terrible headaches. Even the meds they gave me did not work. I am really going to have to cut back even more before mid march. I wont be allowed coffee or anything with caffine in it for an entire 3 days for tests.

Yes the headaches are no small thing!  In the past when I quit coffee cold turkey I was in agony, with splitting headaches for days, with nausea and feeling totally weak.

Even this time around switching first from 1 or 2 coffees to black tea and then now to green tea, I've had headaches for 2 days and on the 3rd day feeling some headache again. It's not an awful headache but I have one nevertheless. Also feeling weak and faint headed. When you look it up online, caffeine withdrawal symptoms are supposed to last up to about a week in time.

Anyway I think all this illustrates is that giving up caffeine is not to be taken lightly and for those like DL who have given it up for a year, they deserve praise!

Quoted from CasimirJ

Well unless you happened to be an A blood type Explorer. With coffee it really depends on the genes you have in your liver.

Check out the following links about how caffeine is linked to Heart attacks for those of us that don't process it well, based on a study published in JAMA:

http://www.stress-fat-heart-solutions-for-boomers.com/the-caffeine-metabolizing-gene.html

http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/295/10/1135

This is just another example of one size not fitting all as Dr. D always says. Coffee has many benefits if your liver has the right genes.

Picked up my Genetic destiny book this morning. I am pretty sure my son is a hunter. Explorer seems to suit me well except I would not say I have above average intelligence or a good memory. Teacher seems to suit me well also. Will see what happens when I give up coffee.

Caffeine in Coffee and Women by Race

http://healthland.time.com/2012/01/30/study-caffeine-may-alter-estrogen-levels-in-women/

Recent Time Magazine article highlighted the differences of caffeine synthesis and metabolism in women by race. They found that while non-Asian women experienced a decrease in estrogenic activity due to drinking coffee, Asian women experienced the opposite.

I am Asian and estrogen dominant. I learned the hard way when I helped myself to a cup of black coffee recently. Black coffee is a black dot and I figured it was an indulged in over 3 months - so why not? Well, my lips swelled up like crazy like a duck bill. It turns out it was a reaction from being estrogen dominant. I am also using progesterone to control it.

People should be aware of the different effects of caffeine on their body. I am sure once my hormonal imbalance is under control, I can enjoy a cup of black coffee every now and then... but until then, I am being careful.

My loose leaf Kukicha tea arrived today! I'm excited even though I still have a month or so of drinking regular green tea before the final transition to low caffeine Kukicha green tea.

I still feel the caffeine in Jasmine green tea and get headaches and/or overly wired on days when I'm drinking too much of it.

I'm thinking of buying a Japanese Ceramic Kyusu Teapot to make the ritual of drinking green tea a special part of my life. So far I don't miss coffee at all and am loving the green tea, but I figure it can't hurt to make tea extra special and with it's own ritual.

Since I have been trying to cut my caffeine, I have been getting terrible headaches. I would think that they should have subsided by now. My chiro-practitioner thinks it is that. He says I just may be very sensitive to it.

Quoted from PrincessMia

Since I have been trying to cut my caffeine, I have been getting terrible headaches. I would think that they should have subsided by now. My chiro-practitioner thinks it is that. He says I just may be very sensitive to it.

Are you allowing yourself any kind of caffeine?  I think you said you don't like green tea.  Maybe some green tea capsules for a while to help you transition.  Coffee addiction is a heavy-duty one and not that easy for many people to break out of, especially if a person has been drinking several cups a day.  Green tea is mighty good for us (in moderation).  Are you sure you couldn't give it another chance - after your tests are finished?  

I don't like green tea Victoria but I have been drinking it. I add ginger to it. That does help the headaches but then they return. Maybe there is something else going on. I am down to one large coffee per day. The headache does not go away even after I have that.