Good morning, everybody. Welcome back to Food
for Thought, Thoughts of It Were You, Season
3. I'm your host, Neogentrix, and we're kicking
off a brand new series today, one that touches
the lives of almost every single person who listens.
Think about your morning routine, okay? What's
the first thing you reach for, for millions and
billions of people around the world? It's a cup
of coffee, a can of soda, an energy drink, a
hot cup of tea. Personally, I love those. It's
the ritual that signals the start of the day,
the fuel that powers our late -night work sessions
and the social lubricant for our conversations.
But then that now begs the question, what is
this substance we're so willingly consuming every
single day? What is it actually doing to our
bodies, our brains, our well -being? Well, I'll
tell you. Today, we're taking a deep dive, honest
dive, into caffeine. We're going to explore the
science of how it works, the surprising benefits,
and the significant, often hidden, costs of our
daily habit. We'll also look at why caffeine
you get here in the United States might be a
completely different animal than what is consumed
in the rest of the world. And we will also explore
healthier, more beneficial alternatives, like
the ever -increasing popular mushroom coffee,
just to give an example. our transition in talking
about different things today so this essential
guide is basically to understand the world's
favorite drug caffeine all right let's get started
with part one first we'll start with the science
of coffee what is it really okay this is not
really a no this is a no -brainer okay we all
have a pretty good idea or at least a core thought
of what we think coffee is right so let's start
with the basics what is caffeine well at its
core caffeine is a natural Central nervous system
stimulant. Okay. It's basically found in leaves,
seeds, fruit of, well, more than 60 different
plants. And the most common sources are, of course,
the coffee beans that everyone knows about, right?
Tea leaves, because tea actually has caffeine
in it. Cacao pods, which basically gives us chocolate.
Yeah, you can get caffeine from chocolate. That's
completely reasonable. It's also classified as
a psychoactive drug, which simply means it's
a substance that crosses that blood -brain barrier
that we've talked about in previous episodes
that temporarily alters our mental processes,
how we feel, think, behave, act, things like
that. You know what I mean? But how does it work,
right? The magic, or perhaps the mischief, if
you will, happens at a microscopic level in your
brain. Throughout the day, as your brain works,
it produces neurotransmitters called adenosine.
Think of adenosine as your brain's natural sleep
inducer, okay? As adenosine levels build up,
they plug into special receptors in your brain,
which slows down the nerve cell activity and
makes you feel tired, okay? It's your body's
way of telling you, hey, stupid, it's time to
rest. It's time to recharge. Hit the hay as it
will, you know? Now, caffeine has a molecular
structure that's remarkably similar to adenosine,
right? So when you drink coffee, the caffeine
travels to your brain, fits perfectly into those
same receptors that that goes in there, like
a key fitting into a lock. But instead of slowing
things down like adenosine does, it blocks them.
It's essentially a bouncer at the club door telling
adenosine, yeah. By the way, you can't come in
right now. You're not allowed here. By blocking
these sleepy signals, caffeine allows your brain's
natural stimulants like dopamine and glutamine
to run wild. This creates a heightened state
of alertness, focus, even improved mood. You're
not actually gaining energy here, by the way.
I just want to go ahead and set the record straight,
okay? You're just borrowing it. for uh from later
by tricking your brain into ignoring its own
fatigue signs basically you're pulling more energy
from other parts of your body to do whatever
it is you want to do for a little bit longer
and if i'm being perfectly honest that's not
healthy sure you'll complete whatever task you're
trying to complete but then that begs the question
what are the risks you know Next, we're going
to go ahead and take a look at the upside, and
then we're going to go ahead and look at the
downside of that, too, while we're at it. Sounds
like fun, doesn't it? Alright, let's start on
part two, the upside, and why we love coffee.
I'm speaking about people in general, not me.
Believe it or not, if I'm being perfectly fair,
I don't like coffee. I've never liked the way
it tastes, I've never liked the way it functions,
because unlike tea, which is a gradual increase,
allowing your body to still produce some energy,
coffee doesn't do that. But we'll cover that
in a second. First, here's the reasons why people
seem to love coffee, okay? Now, the reason caffeine
is the most popular drug on the planet, when
used correctly and in moderation, of course,
it has some undeniable benefits. First off, right,
it increases alertness and concentration. This
is the biggest one, right? The morning cup clears
the cobwebs, sharpens your focus, helps you power
through tasks that require sustained mental effort.
It's a powerful tool for productivity. You need
to stay up a little bit longer. You need to be
able to complete that extra assignment for class
or get that job done for your boss so you're
not in trouble the next morning or running the
risk of being fired. It's perfect for that. The
second reason is it improves physical performance.
Caffeine is one of the most studied and effective
performance enhancing supplements. It stimulates
your nervous system and increases adrenaline
and helps your body mobilize fatty acids to use
as fuel, which can improve both endurance and
high intensity exercises. It's wonderful for
that. Hell, even the third thing, it even improves
a mood elevation, which being perfectly fair.
You know, is great for people who are just kind
of like sad, depressed, mean for whatever reason
when they wake up. By improving or influencing
the dopamine levels in your body, caffeine can
have a mild but noticeable mood boosting effect.
Feeling of being well -being motivated after
your first cup of coffee isn't in your head.
There's a real neurochemical basis and explanation
for that, which I will not go into because that
would be. lengthy and boring, and y 'all didn't
come here for that, right? Y 'all came here for
the basic core facts, so you know why you're
even drinking coffee in the first place, right?
So those are the first three. The last one is
it's packed with antioxidants, or at least it
used to be, but we'll get to that in a minute.
This is often overlooked as a benefit. The natural
sources of caffeine, especially high -quality
caffeine, and tea, particularly green tea, but
still tea. are loaded with antioxidants. These
are compounds that fight against cellular damage
and inflammation in your body. In fact, in fact,
for many people in the Western world, coffee
is the single largest source of antioxidants
in their diet. Even though they may not drink
as huge amount of it, it's processed differently.
So it's handled a little bit differently in other
countries versus here. Some long -term studies
have even linked moderate, regular coffee and
tea consumption to lower risks of certain diseases.
That being said, you know, because people here
in America can't be normal by any sense of the
word, the key words here are always moderate
and regular. This is where the dark side of this
starts to emerge in, you know, like I said, the
downside of this. So, let's get on with part
three, the downside. The hidden costs of your
habit, okay? I know I keep slightly hinting at
this and that about how coffee isn't as great
as it should be, but there's a reason behind
that, right? Like, it has a lot of good potential.
It has a lot of good benefits. It's a great aesthetic
to your everyday life. And since it's a drug
that just anyone can basically go to the store
and buy, it's almost free. Hell, you can grow
it in your backyard if you know how. There's
something wrong with that. Although, considering
the type of coffee that you're trying to grow,
keep in mind that different coffees come from
different places, and while it may seem disgusting
as to how they grow and raise it, it still gets
cleaned, washed, roasted, if it's roasted, or
smoked, because apparently smoked coffee beans
is a thing, before it's ever ground up, put in
a package, and served to you, okay? If you want
to know the history of select specific coffees,
I can... I'll gladly do an episode on that if
y 'all want to hear it. But for the most part,
like I said, there is a downside. There are hidden
costs to your habit of drinking coffee. For all
its benefits, our relationship with caffeine
often comes with significant hidden costs, like
everything, everything in moderation, right?
First things first. Like I said, it makes you
energetic. However, the first downside is sleep
disruption, okay? This is without a doubt the
most significant and damaging downside. Caffeine
has an average half -life of about 5 -6 hours
in your body. This means if you drink a cup of
coffee at around 3pm, half of that caffeine will
still be circulating in your system up until
at least at the latest 9pm. While you might be
able to fall asleep, that lingering caffeine
will prevent you from entering the deepest sleep
for your body to enter what's known as the most
restorative stages of sleep to actually do anything.
Thus, you'll wake up not so refreshed, which
makes you what's the word i'm looking for want
to reach for more caffeine the next morning creating
a very vicious self -perpetuating cycle of poor
sleep and dependency you know like in those old
cartoons where the parents get up they're groggy
don't want to be bothered don't want to be talked
to until they have their first cup of coffee
that type of thing because you started you put
your body into a position where it's dependent
on that not something it should have had like
a little bit here a little bit there no it's
like i gotta have it or i can't function type
of thing you know second anxiety and drip jitters
sorry caffeine triggers the fight or flight response
by stimulating the release of adrenaline adrenaline
who lord have mercy adrenaline and cortisol for
individuals who are sensitive to its effects
or for anyone who consumes way too much of it
this can lead to feelings of anxiety nervousness
heart palpulations or the uncomfortable jitters,
as it's called. And when I say heart palpitations,
it means you've pushed yourself to the point
where if you slow down for like a second and
just take a breath, you can feel your heart racing
in your chest, beating like crazy, and you're
not doing anything. That means your body is exhausted.
It has way too much caffeine in it, and it's
trying to process it, and it can't. It's basically
just your body being in a state of high alert
with absolutely no threat to fight or flee from,
and trying to figure out what to do. With all
that extra energy and everything else it has
now circulating through it that it should not
have, it should not be there, you know? And on
that note, for some people who have so much of
it, it also creates another issue, which brings
us to my third point. Dependency and withdrawal.
Yeah, you wouldn't think too much of that, right?
You wouldn't think, but it's just something I
buy over the counter. I can't become dependent
on it. I can't have withdrawal symptoms. Yes,
you can. Because at the end of the day, this
is where this drugs aspect becomes undeniable.
When you're consistently blocking those adenosine
receptors with caffeine, your brain adapts. It
says, okay, if you're going to block those sleepy
signals and you're not going to listen to me,
I'm just going to build up more of them. Just
so I can catch up and get what I need since you
won't give it to me. It turns up the volume on
the fatigue signals. It basically says that,
okay, now... Since you want to drink so much
of it, and I need you to actually be able to
sleep at a certain point, when you skip your
morning coffee, all those receptors are suddenly
open all at once. And the adenosine that you
have comes flooding in from what you have built
up overnight. This is what causes those brutal
symptoms of caffeine withdrawal. And when I say
caffeine withdrawal, I'm not talking about like
drug withdrawal where you gotta have it, gotta
have it, gotta have it. No, no. Something different
entirely. More on the side of like... What's
it called? Splitting headaches, for one. Crushing
fatigue, being just worn out for no reason and
you haven't done anything. Brain fog, not being
able to think straight, right? Or, and I've seen
this happen very often, intense irritability,
okay? At this point, at this point, you're not
even drinking coffee to get ahead anymore. You're,
you're, you're, what's the word I'm looking for?
You're thinking. I'm sorry, you're drinking just
to feel normal, just to go back to what you consider
to be your normal everyday life. But this isn't
normal. This isn't you. I know we all laugh.
It was like, no, that's not normal. People don't
do that. And then we laugh and say, you know,
but what is normal? Think about this for a minute,
okay? People in the past. Let's use the Bible,
for example. It's probably the easiest example
I can do. You know, we all have read the story
about the children of Israel, the exodus from
Egypt, all that stuff, right? Think about this
for a minute. Caffeine wasn't a thing back then.
These people had to get up early in the morning
to tend to sheep, their lands, take care of everything.
They had to do this throughout the day. If they
had crops, they had to take care of their land.
They had to do the crops, turn the crops to cook,
take care of their families, do a whole bunch
of different things throughout the day. Coffee
wasn't a thing. Tea, maybe. I won't put that
past them, unless we're talking about them wandering
in the wilderness, and of course, you know, it's
whatever it was there. But, I mean, in the rest
of the Bible, most of them lived in well -to
-do areas where there was access to sea, fish,
and a whole bunch of other stuff, but caffeine
wasn't a mainstay. They didn't drink this to
get up in the morning. They didn't drink this
to keep going. Life was a lot simpler back then,
even now. You can go about your normal everyday
doing everything you need to do. Get up in the
morning, go to bed in the evening. If you plan
your life around this, you don't need this. This
is not a necessity. Yet, people feel the need
that they have to have coffee to function. Especially
here in America. And that's, you know what? Let's
talk about that. Alright, so part four. This
is going to be a quick segment, okay? The American
coffee machine. You can hear the irritability
in my voice. Now, it's important to understand
that not all caffeine is created equal, and the
way caffeine is delivered and consumed here in
the United States is often fundamentally different
from the rest of the world. The issue isn't just
caffeine. It's the package it comes in. The United
States market is absolutely dominated by what
I would like to call caffeine delivery systems,
if you will. energy drinks massive sodas i mean
you name it it's here like how how do i uh how
do i put it these products don't just contain
caffeine they combine it with like artificial
sugars staggering well status staggering amounts
of sugars but still artificial sugars high fructose
corn syrup which we've learned is not good for
you. I'll do an episode on stuff like that a
little bit later to contribute to what we covered
in Season 2 about it in Season 1, but artificial
flavors, a cocktail of other stimulants like
tuorin and guana. I'm pretty sure I butchered
that, but my point is that, you know, it's not
exactly great. As far as the body's concerned,
this chemical combination creates a much more
intense and addictive spike in energy, followed
by an even more dramatic crash. Like, it just
seems like it's... How do I put it? Let's contrast
it with the rest of the world first off, okay?
The... In many countries, regulations on coffee
and sugar are far stricter. Standard Italian
espresso is about one ounce. A large American
coffee canteens about 20 ounces or more. We've...
Not only supersized our addiction, we made it,
as we say here in Texas, Texas -sized. For no
reason. Have we gained in this? Like, it just
seems like, I don't know. Anyway, part of this
is due to a regulatory loophole in the FDA. Okay?
It basically... states that the FDA regulates
caffeine as a food additive in sodas. Not something
your body may need. It's just an additive. You
can put caffeine in this. You can put caffeine
in this. You can put caffeine in this. You can
put it on the label. But they can put it in pretty
much whatever they want, which is why a can of
Coke has a relatively modest amount of it because
they're like, oh, it's just an additive. It's
not an additive. And then on top of that, you
know, many energy drinks classify them as a dietary
supplement. which allows them to bypass these
regulations and pack about two or three times
or four or five times as much in caffeine. It's
not okay. It's just, how do I, I don't know.
It's not something that a lot of people should
be getting a lot of. Let's just put it that way.
All right. Let's go ahead and finish up with
the last section. Part five of the stuff I have
listed here. Healthy alternatives, okay? The
search for basically a better buzz, right? We're
all looking for a better buzz, druggies specifically.
But I mean, if you look at it from the perspective
of caffeine being a drug, I mean, it's so different,
right? So what's the solution? Is the only answer
to quit entirely? Well, no, you don't have to
quit, not necessarily. The goal is to move from
just mindless consumption to mindful energy.
You know, if you know you need it, get it, but
don't just chug like, two or three or 15, 20
shots of caffeine. I know a guy who was working
overnight as a pharmacist, and he had a cup of
coffee with him. That's one of those sealed cylinders,
and he had about 15 shots of caffeine in there.
And I'm looking at him like, you're a pharmacist,
dude. Are you trying to kill yourself? Like,
for real? You know, anyway. Thankfully, there
are some incredible alternatives that provide
focus and alertness without severe downsides.
First thing on this list is tea. I mentioned
it before, but I'll say it again. The original
smart drug is tea. Tea is the perfect example
of an intelligent design. Yes, it does contain
caffeine, but it's in lower doses than coffee.
And more importantly, the tea contains unique
amino acids like L -thiamine. L -thiamine promotes
a state of calm, relaxed alertness. When you
combine the stimulant effect of caffeine... With
a calming effect of alpha, I mean, you get a
smooth, focused energy that comes out as needed
in little bursts, little here, little there,
little there, little there, and doesn't burn
you out, okay? It gives it to you without the
jitters, the anxiety, and it also gives your
body time to try to relax in a state where it
can reproduce some of that energy a little bit
at a time so you're not so worn out later. This
is why monks have used tea for meditation for
centuries. The other one is one that's a little
more common now. It's becoming more popular.
The modern -day challenger, if you will. Mushroom
coffee. It's a newer innovation that's gaining
incredible popularity for a good reason, too.
It's a blend of ground coffee with extracts of
medicinal mushrooms. No. No. First off, it doesn't
taste like mushrooms. Okay. Let me go ahead and
say that now. It tastes like coffee. It's just
made with mushrooms. But it has a... more smoother,
less acidic profile. Because sometimes when you
drink coffee, it makes your stomach acidic and
you have acid reflux from coffee. This doesn't
have this effect, okay? The key is that it typically
contains less caffeine than a regular cup of
coffee, immediately reducing the risk of jitters.
And it adds benefits like adaptogens or nootropics.
These are the most common mushrooms. I'm going
to list them off right quick that have these
in here. And they basically help improve how
your body reacts, how it acts, and helps you
understand more what it... How do I describe
this? In context, adaptogens, these are natural
substances believed to help your body adapt to
stress, basically exert a normalized effect on
bodily processes. Cordyceps, for example, is,
as I'm about to mention, are in a type of adaptogen
that supports physical stamina, energy production
at a cellular level. Nootropics, on the other
hand, these are substances that are believed
to enhance cognitive functions, such as memory,
creativity, motivation, things of that nature.
With that being said, the first mushroom that's
used is lion's mane. First off, lion's mane is
a powerful nootropic believed to support brain
health, memory, and focus by stimulating nerve
growth factor. The next is chaga, an antioxidant
powerhouse that supports your immune function,
so an immunity booster. And then, of course,
the cordyceps I mentioned before for supporting
physical stamina, energy production, and basically
at a cellular level, okay? The result of using
these is a more balanced energy, a gentle lift
from the caffeine without the supporting undergrowth
of becoming addicted to it by the cognitive and
physical benefits of the mushrooms. Although
there are other fantastic alternatives, like
matcha, which is basically a powdered green tea
with an exceptionally high level of L -thiamine,
providing a long -lasting state of calm focus.
There's also Yerba Mate. I'm not a huge fan of
it, but it does do pretty good. It's a traditional
South American tea known for providing a sustained,
robust energy boost that many describe as being
a more balanced, less jittery effect than coffee.
So it's like an in -between between the mushroom
coffee and regular tea. I'm sorry, the tea, mushroom
coffee, and regular coffee. And then there's
Chicory Root Coffee. Now, for those who want
to quit caffeine entirely but miss the taste
of the coffee, this is the one for you. It's
caffeine -free as an alternative, and it's made
from roasting chicory root that has a surprisingly
remarkably similar dark, rich flavor and contains
a prebiotic fiber that is also great for your
gut health. So keep that in mind. Like I said
before, not a fan of coffee, wouldn't drink it
to start with, so as far as I'm concerned, I
wouldn't care for chicory root either. I would
probably just stick to tea to start with. But
this is just a me thing, right? But that basically
wraps up my quick run -through of what coffee
is, what it does, and whether or not it's good
for you or not. Long -term answer, no, it's definitely
not good for you. But in the short term... It
could be fine, right? Okay, so with all that
being said in today's episode, what's the takeaway
here? Caffeine is not the enemy. Well, yeah,
that's true. It's not. It's a tool. And like
any tool or any powerful tool, it needs to be
understood, used with respect. The problem here
isn't the substance itself, all right? It's the
culture of mindless overconsumption that surrounds
it. Partially, America is to blame for that,
because most other countries don't really have
this issue. But, I mean, the giant sugar -laden
drinks that we use to mask our deeper problems,
and then the chronic sleep deprivation issue
that we deal with here, I mean, they have to
be addressed. The goal is to become more conscious,
okay? Ask yourself this. Why am I even reaching
for this in the first place? The next time you
go out and you want to grab a cup of coffee or
you think that you need it or you're like, I'm
feeling a little sleepy, let me grab this. Think
about that. Why am I reaching for this? To explore
alternatives that fuel our bodies and brains
in a more susceptible and healthier way would
be the better way to go about it. But most people
are going to go for the quicker, cheaper option
that they can find. Now, whether it's the ancient
wisdom of tea or the modern innovation of mushroom
coffee, there are better ways to find your focus
and your energy. I mean, this is a call I'm making
for people to start moving from being a slave
to your stimulants to being the master of the
energy that you actually have and need. It's
just some food for thought, if you will. Anyway,
this has been Food for Thought by Neogentrix.
Thank you for listening. I'll see you guys next
time. Don't forget to look for me on YouTube
under Evergreen Nexus Media. If you want to leave
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you guys later peace