Dump the Junk: Reasons to Dump Caffeine

I recommend to all my patients that they limit caffeine intake and completely detox for at least 14 days twice per year. And I getta lotta push back. Why? Probably because mostly of my patients have some degree of adrenal dysregulation, and caffeine gets them going in the morning, and keeps them going during the day.

What's so bad about that? I took a page out of Dr. Daniel Amen's book, Change Your Brain, Change Your Body. He's the psychiatrist who is all over PBS with his cute black jeans and balding head.

Caffeine restricts blood flow to the brain. When you restrict blood flow to the brain, you get premature aging, lousy memory and brain fog.

Caffeine makes your sleep suck. Sleep, you know, is key to brain health, skin rejuvenation, repair work globally in the body, and weight management (particularly appetite control).

Caffeine dehydrates your brain and your bod. Your brain is 80% water and needs lots of water to keep hummin' along. Result? You're less likely to think quickly.

Caffeine inflames you. Amen quotes two studies which showed that 200mg caffeine (about 2 cups of coffee) raises homocysteine, a biomarker for inflammation and heart disease.


Caffeine linked to the muffin top. Come for the vanity and stay for the sanity. Caffeine raises cortisol, which makes you store fat at your mid-section for a rainy day.

So if you have not yet completely kicked caffeine, do it slowly over the next 7 days. Stay off for 14 days. Report back what happens with your sleep and executive functioning. Bet it'll change for the better. And if you think you may have adrenal fatigue, test your cortisol and DHEAS levels.

Dr. Amen's Boost Brain, Get the Bod You Want

Heard of Dr. Amen? His main premise is this: your brain is your integration station -- boost your brain function and your body will look better too. His latest book, Change Your Brain, Change Your Body, was just published. Just took his test to assess my brain. His counsel: eat the foods and take the supplements that we're taking in the Gottfried Cleanse (from N-acetyl-cysteine to amino acids plus fish oil and SAM-e).

Dr. Daniel Amen MD is a psychiatrist and has published 24 books, so chances are you have heard of him. Here's an excerpt:

Most people throughout the world... care more about their faces, their boobs, their bellies, their butts, and their abs than they do their brains. But it is your brain that is the key to having the face, the breasts, the belly, the butt, the abs, and the overall health you have always wanted; and it is brain dysfunction, in large part, that ruins our bodies and causes premature aging.
It is your brain that decides to get you out of bed in the morning to exercise, to give you a stronger, leaner body, or to cause you to hit the snooze button and procrastinate your workout. It is your brain that pushes you away from the table telling you that you have had enough, and that gives you permission to have the second bowl of Rocky Road ice cream, making you look and feel like a blob. It is your brain  that manages the stress in your life and relaxes you so that you look vibrant, or, when left unchecked, sends stress signals to the rest of your body and wrinkles your skin. And it is your brain that turns away cigarettes, caffeine, and alcohol, helping you look and feel healthy, or that gives you permission to smoke, have that third cup of coffee, or to drink that third glass of wine, thus making every system in your body look and feel older.
Your brain is the command and control center of your body. If you want a better body, the first place to always start is by having a better brain.

While he's a bit bombastic, I like it so far. Check your brain health with his questionnaire right here.