Coffee and Tea on the Raw Food Diet
Let me see a show of hands. How many of you follow the raw food diet but still drink coffee or tea?
Consider this before you pour that next cup of coffee: When coffee is consumed, a great amount of caffeine enters the bloodstream all at once. This poison is rapidly absorbed by every organ and tissue in the body and is diffused through the bloodstream into all the bodily fluids. In some ways, caffeine is more dangerous than other toxins because, in a short time, it is everywhere in the body.
When caffeine enters the bloodstream, the body gets the signal that it is under attack. It declares a state of emergency, and, in an attempt to survive the siege, it will mobilize all bodily functions. Pupils dilate, heart rate and blood pressure increase, and digestive system circulation decreases. Therefore, coffee drinkers usually have digestive problems, even on the raw food diet.
The liver releases sugar and fat into the blood to fuel the fight-or-flight mode. Caffeine stimulates your nervous system and adrenal glands to give you a state of high alertness. And you thought that coffee just gave you energy!
100 Days to 100% Raw
A Step By Step Guide
Do you really have more energy? Stimulants, whether caffeine, guarana, or yerba mate tea, all work by blocking the effects of adenosine, a brain chemical involved in sleep. Stimulants fall into the category of substances that temporarily increase bodily functions to simulate energy. The quality of this temporary energy burst is artificial, short lived--like the false, brief energy boost you feel in the wake of a highway accident narrowly averted. And about as healthy.
The human body cannot maintain this high state of alertness without suffering serious consequences. Once the effects wear off, you will feel more groggy, you will require another cup of coffee and the vicious circle begins.
Many people rely on coffee to have a bowel movement, whereas a glass of hot water with lemon and raw honey would give the same effect. Caffeine is actually constipating because it pulls water from the digestive tract, hardening the stool. Caffeine exacerbates many problems such as skin dryness, itchiness and the jitters.
Just like alcohol and nicotine, caffeine is a vasoconstrictor that diminishes the water and blood supply to the skin. By contributing to dehydration, caffeine contributes to aging.
You drink your cup of coffee, and two hours later calcium, magnesium and potassium show up in your urine. Where did those minerals come from? They certainly weren't in your coffee. Caffeine contributes to mineral loss as well.
Your Right to Be Beautiful
The Miracle of Raw Foods
I could go on about the harmful effects of caffeine, especially on a raw food diet where your body is cleansing, becoming more sensitive and striving for a state of health and balance. You can read more in my first book "Your Right to Be Beautiful: Miracle of Raw Foods."
Caffeine is a psychoactive drug, much like morphine, nicotine and cocaine, which creates a physical dependence. When you act on the decision to quit coffee drinking, you will likely experience headaches, fatigue and depression. But remember, this lasts only a few days and then you are free of this dangerous addiction.
When the body expels toxins, either through the raw food diet or fasting, the body will experience withdrawal symptoms and you will feel bad. However, the short lived discomfort is worth every ounce of the health benefits you will receive.
There's no better time than now to make the break and experience the true energy that a healthy raw food diet can deliver.
Let me see a show of hands again. Who's ready?