Simply put, caffeine is not good for you.  Caffeine effects every part of your body, most of which can be quite negative. So why do we crave it and pour ourselves another cup to help us through the day? It is an addictive drug and the only way to rid ourselves of this cure is to really understand just what it does to your body.

Mind you I’m writing this as I’m drinking a cup of Starbucks Coffee.

Haha.

What does caffeine do to your body?

Having too much caffeine can do wonders to your body. Some effects of a high caffeine intake include:

• Muscle Tremors
• Insomnia
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Nausea/gastrointestinal problems
• Restlessness
• Nervousness
• Fast or irregular heartbeat
• Headaches

Why is this happening?

Caffeine affects your hormones. It affects how your hormones function.

• Adenosine: A hormone to calm your body, however caffeine inhibits the absorption of adneosine. Therefore your body cannot calm itself.  If you have too much caffeine too late in the day, you’ll be awake and alert for a bit, but may have problems falling asleep.
• Dopamine: Caffeine increases the dopamine levels in your body – giving you a ‘feel good’ feeling after taking it and then a ‘low’ feeling when it wears off. Sounds similar to many addicting drugs, which is actually what caffeine can become, as many people feel they ‘need’ caffeine in the morning in order to function.
• Adrenanline: The boost caffeine gives us is the main reason WHY we drink it!  The increase in energy is a great feeling, however its only temporary. Once, the caffeine wears off you can find yourself even more tired than before, and sometimes even jumpy or easily irritated.
• Cortisol: Caffeine can lead to the increase of the levels of coritsol in your body.  Cortisol is also known as the stress hormone – which has numerous negative effects on the body such as weight gain, diabetes, heart disease or even extreme mood changes.

Caffeine and Your Flat Stomach Diet

Recent studies have found that the increase of cortisol in your body, caused by caffeine can have some negative effects when trying to get a flat stomach (and negative effects on your body in general). Some of these effects include:

• Increased cravings for foods high in fat and cholesterol. When this happens your body is more like to store the fat in the abdomen, making it harder to lose weight and get a flat stomach.
• Increased cravings for foods high in caffeine, thus creating a negative cycle.
• Decrease muscle tissue
• Decreased bone density
• Blood sugar imbalances
• Headaches
• Increase the risk of High Blood Pressure

Any of these situations, while directly or indirectly related to weight loss, can affect how quickly you reach your fitness goals.

To be fair, caffeine in small doses can have some benefits, like giving you energy and helping you focus. However, the long term effects of caffeine can cause more harm than good. So, next time you reach for your cup of coffee – think of your goals and exactly what the caffeine will do to your body – figuring out – is it really worth it?

For me – after all of this – my coffee has been finished – oops! However, I will be working towards eliminating caffeine from my diet, after all, I’ve got places to go where a flat stomach is required!

There are research labs all over the world doing studies daily about the human body and how we react to environmental factors – both natural and those we impose on ourselves. They are finding out how our bodies react to “X over Z time” or which type of hair care product is better for the environment or how much red wine you can drink daily and still be healthy.

The millions of dollars that goes into this research has found some pretty neat and interesting stuff – some things that we should take into consideration for our daily lives – to help us live longer, eat better and get a flat stomach.

So, here are 5 health related studies that I have recently come across that I thought everyone should know about (if you don’t already).

Study One: Slower eaters consume fewer calories than their ‘in a hurry’ counterparts.  Researchers at the University of Rhode Island have found that women who chewed each bite thoroughly and ate at a slower pace consumed 70 fewer calories (less calories = flat stomach).  Their studies have also suggested that paying attention to the smells, textures and flavors of food can help you slow down your eating.

Study Two: A recent European study has found a relationship between high protein diets and maintaining weight loss.  After tracking dieters over a six month time period they have found that those dieters who received 25% of their daily energy from protein (such as fish, chicken or ) gained back less weight than those people who ate less protein.

Study Three: People who quit smoking and start exercising are more likely to stay ‘non-smokers’, as reported in the journal Preventive Medicine.  They found that those who were encouraged to start some sort of physical activity after quitting smoking were 84% more likely to continue life without cigarettes. What’s the connection?  Exercise not only promotes a healthy lifestyle, but can help with withdrawal symptoms such as fatigue or sleep problems.

Study Four: If you are too busy to exercise daily, make sure you can fit in at least the government recommended workout time of two and a half hours of moderate exercise each week.  The Department of Health and Human Services suggests that at least two and half hours of moderate or one and half hours of vigorous exercise each week (such as a flat stomach workout) in order to improve your health and decrease your chances of heart disease, depression and type 2 diabetes.

Study Five: The study by the Center for Disease Control has found that there are millions of Americans who don’t know that they are prediabetic.  They have found that at least 25% of the American population have prediabetes, but only about 4% are actually aware that they have this condition.  Most people don’t know that they have this condition because there are no obvious symptoms, but to decrease the risk of full blown diabetes by 60% they recommend an increase in exercise, that will help you lose weight.

So, next time you get tired and don’t want to work out or scarf down your meal, keep in mind what the research has shown us.