GP suggested that I try quitting caffeine to see if it impacts my blood pressure. From two coffees and two to three cups of tea a day I haven’t had any caffeine in 12 days. I’m surprised how easy it’s been given I suspect I was barely a teenager last time I went a day without.
Had a few headaches, sometimes bad enough to wake me up in the night but aside from that I feel like my energy is much more even throughout the day. Have done a couple of six hour drives without feeling mildly sleepy.
But it’s made f-all difference to my BP.
Try beetroot extract (tablets), it's good for blood oxygen transport and BP.
Other option is drop some weight if carrying a bit more timber than you'd like. I've lost 8-9kg over the last few months by cutting out snacks, having overnight oats for breakfast (fill you up) and reducing carbs generally. I've cut my milk intake (I used to drink loads). It works, and the plus side is I'm quite a bit quicker going to work on the bike as it also improves insulin response (I was heading the wrong way with my HBA1c).
My BP must be coming down as I've noticed I get a little light headed if I suddenly get up, or get up fast from crouching - that's not happened since my 'racing' days.
I love my coffee. Caffeine free ?
Yeah I lost 7-8kg doing the same and it’s made stuff all difference. I get the light headedness in the evening standing up… but it doesn’t translate to the BP measurements.
Might look at the beetroot stuff. I’ve eaten oats for breakfast most mornings aonce since I was born 🤣
In the later evening i've been drinking a lower caffeine coffee called TrueStart-Lightly caffeinated. Seems its half caffeine.
Reviews
"TrueStart Lightly Caffeinated (Half Caf) Instant Coffee receives overwhelmingly positive reviews, earning an average of 4.5 to 4.8 out of 5 stars. Fans praise its smooth, rich, and naturally sweet flavor profile, which lacks the bitter aftertaste typically associated with mainstream instant coffees"
I quit caffeine a while back, I was drinking far too much coffee/tea/cola and it wasn't doing me any favours. Withdrawal was horrendous.
It was, ahem, sobering to discover just what an affect it has. Those early morning "Christ I need a coffee" cravings were simply fending off the hangover from yesterday's consumption. It's a myth that caffeine gives you energy, it just steals it from tomorrow.
Today I have one coffee, most mornings, but it's a nice treat rather than a desperate need.
It was, ahem, sobering to discover just what an affect it has. Those early morning "Christ I need a coffee" cravings were simply fending off the hangover from yesterday's consumption. It's a myth that caffeine gives you energy, it just steals it from tomorrow.
Today I have one coffee, most mornings, but it's a nice treat rather than a desperate need.
Yeah that’s how I feel about it already. I’m on holiday now so it’ll be interesting to see how I go when I’m back at work.
I don't drink anything caffeinated after about 11am - I do have about 4 coffee's before that from 7am though.
I gave up caffeine about 3 months ago. Got through 24hrs and thought I'd avoided any headches. And then they hit! 2 days solid of a tight headache. But after that all fine.
I did it because the caffeine seemed to really irritate my bladder and a even one coffee could have me needing to pee a lot more than normal. To the point I knew not to have a coffee on a morning if we were going out somewhere for the day.
It's definitely helped. I still have one or two decaff coffees most days but mostly have peppermint tea now. I also learnt (having never previously thought about it) that green tea also has quite a bit of caffeine in it.
Alcohol? I completely stopped last November. Blood pressure has dropped from averaging 138/85 and is now 117/70. Resting heart rate has also dropped and HRV gone up. All good! No other lifestyle changes or medication in the same period. (Male aged 57 btw).
I'm so glad I quit the alcohol. No intention of changing my fairly high caffeine intake though!
I gave up in 2019 after a heart scare - don't miss it. There are some great decaf coffees out there. Pepsi Max caffeine free is good (as opposed to Coke which is flavourless fizzy brown water). I never drank Red Bull, Monster or any of that stuff anyway.
The only place I have struggled was in Greece and Poland, where they seemed to not understand the concept of decaf.
Alcohol? I completely stopped last November. Blood pressure has dropped from averaging 138/85 and is now 117/70. Resting heart rate has also dropped and HRV gone up. All good! No other lifestyle changes or medication in the same period. (Male aged 57 btw).
I'm so glad I quit the alcohol. No intention of changing my fairly high caffeine intake though!
^^ pretty much the same here, knocked alcohol on the head a few months back, blood pressure numbers and resting hr much better, sleep better, bike strava numbers better. A little older at 60. Will likely have the odd pint on occasion moving forward but it will be gone from any routine.
I stopped caffeine last year and it was like finding a superpower. I woke up every morning feeling fresh and ready to go. Literally, alarm went off and I got up. No snooze button. Whilst I was never aware of 'needing' caffeine, I realised that my sleep was not great, because of caffeine, so I would then drink coffee throughout the next day, then the cycle would start again.
I slipped back into the habit so this thread has reminded me, my next order of beans will be decaff.
