Many office workers are as dependent on the coffee pot as a baby is on its bottle. Because coffee drinking is so common, they seldom stop to ask themselves, ‘is this healthful?’ Office workers need energy, after all, and everyone is familiar with that 4:00 slump. A cup or two of coffee can really get you through a tough day. Sometimes it even feels like that cup of coffee can be your only friend in the world!
But lately, many office workers have been switching to green tea, and there are some very good reasons for that. Green tea has anti-oxidant properties that reduce the signs of aging. It also has plenty of caffeine. Depending on the variety of tea you choose, you may drink a tea with less, the same, or more caffeine as your typical cup of coffee, so be aware! Of course, the taste is different. There is no denying that. But it is not a bad taste for most, just different, and if drinkers gradually switch over to the tea, they will soon learn to prefer the light, clean, slightly bitter taste of green tea to that of coffee. However, although green tea is more healthful than coffee, the caffeine it provides is still a danger to your health.
The problem with a coffee addiction (or any caffeine addiction, including tea) is that the constant influx of caffeine overstimulates your adrenal glands. Sounds fun, right? Stimulating the adrenals? Of course, adrenalin is what makes us run fast, jump high, and generally feel like supermen and superwomen. Who wouldn’t want to stimulate those? Well, there is a reason, and I’ll keep it simple. Most folks who feel the need to stimulate the adrenals on a regular basis, like with a constantly perking coffee pot, do it because their blood sugar is not giving them the energy they ought to have naturally. The energy from eating regular meals should keep you going with plenty of vim and vigor throughout the day without the need for additional stimulation. So if you need that additional push from caffeine, what that means is that your diet is not sufficient!
Are you eating junk food for lunch? Are you having complete breakfasts? Are you too tired for anything but a frozen dinner at night? These bad eating habits are where your lack of energy begins, and the coffee addiction is only a band-aid over that wound. As you continue your bad eating habits, your health will gradually deteriorate until eventually the coffee won’t be enough to perk you up any more. Don’t let it get to that point! Remember that you should be providing plenty of energy to your body through eating good, healthful food. That means plenty of protein in your breakfast: an omelet, not a muffin! That means plenty of protein as well in your lunch: ensure that it includes a protein and a vegetable! A salad for lunch is not enough to provide the energy needed for a long day at the office, and supplementing your salad with extra coffee is a recipe for long-term health disaster!
Sit down to a relaxing hot dinner with a loved one, if possible. Make sure that there is plenty of protein, sufficient vegetables, and enough carbohydrates to provide your body with the nutritional glucose it needs to run efficiently. Remember- coffee may seem like a wonderful panacea today, but in the long run, you are making your body work too hard for a little thing like daily energy. If you have been using coffee (or tea) to substitute for the nutrition that should be found in simple, healthy foods, do yourself a favor and gradually ease off your caffeine addiction and trade it in for an addition to square meals!
