Is Your Beverage Causing Your Anxiety?
We are a dehydrated people here in the U.S. We don’t drink enough water and the fluids we do drink tend to make the matter worse. Caffeine is a potent diuretic, as is alcohol. However, your drink choices do more than decide if you’re hydrated or otherwise.
There is more to it than just waking you up. It can cause people to become nervous, jittery and anxious, as it triggers your body’s fight or flight phenomenon. If you stop it cold turkey after drinking large amounts of it, you will develop a headache that will last for until you give in and give your brain it’s fix.
Coffee: If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard “I can’t get out of bed without my coffee,” I’d be a very rich person. Many people depend on it to wake them up and get them moving. In fact, depend is too mild a term, addicted works much better. Coffee has the highest amount of this tannic acid in the beverage world. Coffee has more than just this one ingredient. It has acids that can upset the stomach to a fare-thee-well.
Tea: Whether it’s black, white, green or another color, tea also contains caffeine. It has about a quarter the amount found in coffee, which makes it a safer choice of beverages. It also contains several health benefits including fighting cancer. It has some powerful antioxidants, also.
Energy Drinks: If you knew what these beverages do to your body, you may not be so fast at guzzling them. They have a lot of caffeine, usually more than naturally found in coffee. Many also have guarana, which has a component similar in nature. With this double dose, it’s more likely that you will become too hyper to accomplish anything. As most students use these to get extra study hours in, they may be doing so without benefiting from the extra study time.
Colas: Various soda pops contain this tannic acid, and some contain a lot of it. In fact, a few products have been pulled from the market as unsafe. Overdosing on caffeine can kill you, especially if you exercise right after consuming them. It doesn’t matter whether it’s regular or diet, watch the soda if you have anxiety disorders.
Decaffeinated Drinks: In a way, that is a misnomer. True, some of it is is gone, but not all of it. In coffee, for example, they can only get rid of a third to half of it out.