Kick the caffeine habit

Caffeine has both a good side and a bad side, did you know....

• Caffeine is found in black and green tea, coffee, cocoa and some soft drinks.
• Caffeine works like a mild drug, acting directly upon the central nervous system.
• Caffeine brings about an almost immediate sense of clearer thought and lessens fatigue.
• Caffeine also stimulates the release of stored sugar from the liver, which accounts for the "lift" coffee, cola, tea and chocolate give.

• Release of stored sugar places heavy stress on endocrine system.
• Heavy coffee drinkers often develop nervousness or become jittery.
• Excessive intake can cause or irritate prostrate, heart and bladder problems.
• Can be related to irritability and insomnia.
• The effects of caffeine can last up to 20 hours so some people will have disturbed sleep patterns even when they had their last caffeine drink early in the morning.
• Drinking coffee can be related to eczema. In a study of eczema sufferers, on avoiding coffee, their symptoms were shown to improve.
• Total caffeine elimination has been shown to reduce the symptoms of fibro cystic breast disease.
• Drinking caffeine containing beverages increases urinary calcium loss. Long term caffeine consumers are reported to have an increased risk of osteoporosis.
• Pregnant women should limit caffeine intake to approximately 300mg per day. Research links caffeine amongst other things to low birth weight children.
• PMS can be further aggravated by caffeine.

The average caffeine content of some drinks is shown below stated in mg per 150ml:

• Ground coffee 115
• Instant coffee 65
• Decaffeinated coffee 4
• Tea 40
• Cocoa / drinking chocolate 4
• Cola 18

If you want to avoid caffeine, the good news is that many caffeine-free drinks are now available.

From GoodnessDirect you can buy:

• Barley Cup: made of roasted barley, rye and chicory.
• Symingtons Dandelion Coffee Compound: roasted dandelion roots
• Carob Powder: a great substitute for cocoa.
• Rooibos: tea bags
• Hazer Baba Turkish Apple Tea: an instant granulated fruit drink

  PLUS a huge selection of herbal teas.

  Click here for a full listing of our caffeine free products

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