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Give Your Body A Break Virtual Detox
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Caffeine

This is the one people try to negotiate with me about.  "I can't give up my coffee, I need it to function!"
Health Risks and CaffeineWhy We Elminate It
Caffeine from Coffee and Sodas is among the "5 acid forming foods". 

Caffeine can contribute to adrenal insufficiency; essentially your adrenal glands are so overwhelmed by stress and caffeine that they are "blown out".  A good way to tell if your adrenals are working correctly is when you have a "stress event".  Your adrenals SHOULD respond by flooding your body with adrenaline to give you "super-human" power to deal with the stress event.

If your adrenals are not working correctly or you have adrenal insufficiency you will feel like you can't function at all; instead of being "super-human" you will feel like a wet dishrag.


According to Dr. Peter D'Adamo, The Blood Type Diet, Caffeine in moderate amounts (1-2 cups a day) can be OK and even beneficial to people with the blood type A.  People with blood type O do better avoiding caffeine from coffee and sodas all together as a blood type O is already highly acidic naturally and so these acid forming foods overwhelm the body with acid.

My take on the Blood Type Diet.  You can find all kinds of conflicting information on the Blood Type Diet, many people discredit it according to science.  There is one scientific fact that cannot be refuted.  You can change your hair color, your breast size, even your sex but you CANNOT ever change your blood type!

I have found many of the assertions regarding foods good for different blood types, stress management, and disease relationships to be true in my experience with people.  I do not ascribe to the philosophy of the different blood types, one of evolution, however, just because someone has a wrong reason why truth exists, doesn't make the truth wrong.

In our program we use the blood type diet lists to help eliminate foods that cause different blood types to be acidic.  We also recommend you follow certain blood type recommendations over the long run.  You will be able to listen to your body and know what works for you and what does not.
 During the detox you are going to Give Your Body A Break from:

Toxic foods:  Too many acid forming foods are toxic and potentially lethal to the human body.  Caffeine is extremely acid forming.  The goal of the detox is to bring your body to an alkaline state, clear the body of toxins and stimulate your own body's detoxification system.   Drinking coffee, decaf or soda will not allow this to happen.

You are also giving your adrenal glands a break from over-stimulation due to too much caffeine.  A healthy amount of caffeine on a non-detox diet would be 1-2 cups (6 or 8 oz) per day.  If you get one tall coffee at Starbucks you have already exceeded that amount. 

Dr. Lawrence Wilson MD, an integrative medicine MD,  lists these symptoms you may experience if your adrenals are not working correctly:
  • Fatigue
  • Decreased tolerance to cold
  • Poor circulation
  • Low blood sugar level (hypoglycemia)
  • Low blood pressure
  • Allergies
  • Apathy/lethargy
  • Depression
  • Low stamina
  • Low self-esteem due to low energy output
  • Aches and pains in joints
  • Low levels of gastric hydrochloric acid (which digests food in the lower portion of your stomach)
  • Tendency to constipation
  • Muscle weakness
  • Need for excessive amounts of sleep
  • Fear due to low energy and secondary copper toxicity
  • Lower resistance to infection
  • Subnormal body temperature
Give Your Body A Break from toxic lifestyle habits.  Too much caffeine gives you the feeling you can do more than your body can actually handle.  For many people, navigating an all too busy life is impossible without the use of caffeine.  So let's be honest, what is the difference between that and being an alcoholic, speed or meth addict?  Not much.

When you give up coffee for 28-days your body begins to return to normal function.  The food you are eating nourishes all your organs and glands.  You will begin to feel more energy than you had with all the coffee and soda and at night you will be TIRED and SLEEP!  Yeah!

After your 28-days you will be able to decide if you want to add coffee back in and how much is truly reasonable.

Extra Bonus:  You will save $5.00 per Starbuck-type drink!  Give Your Wallet a Break too!
What to use instead
You may replace your coffee with 1-2 cups Green Tea per day.  If you must still stop by Starbucks, ask for a Green Tea Miso (with soy milk) and bring your own Stevia or Agave Nectar to sweeten it!

Use Organic Green Tea.  Bottled Teas are OK if they are organic, with purified water and no sugar or artificial sweeteners like Splenda, Nutrisweet, Equal, etc.

Why is Green Tea OK; it has caffeine too! 
The caffeine in Green Tea does not cause acidity like the caffeine in coffee, soda and other teas.  Green Tea could almost be called "Raw Tea".  Made from the exact same plant as black tea, Green Tea is dried green.  Black Tea is fermented and then dried.  Oolong Tea is partially fermented.

Green Tea is also high in antioxidants and is known to assist in fat burning....there you go!

Herbal teas are also a great choice

Sweeten any tea with 1 tsp of Raw Agave Nectar and 2-3 drops of liquid Stevia for a "Starbucks Sweet".
The Wellness Workshop 2500 Venus Ct, Chapel Hill, TN 37034 615-975-0186