What Can I Drink Instead Of Coffee And Tea?
The Psoriasis Diet is quite a strict protocol, with a long list of foods that are forbidden. However dieters often complain that the hardest thing to give up is not the junk food, the fruit or the alcohol. What many people have the most trouble with is actually giving up their morning coffee.
There are a number of reasons why you need to avoid coffee and tea while on the Psoriasis Diet. Happily, there are also several very good alternatives that you can use to replace your caffeine hit. So read on for a few options that you can use to ease your way on to the diet.
Why Those With Psoriasis Should Avoid Caffeine
Sadly caffeine is one of the items that you definitely need to avoid on the Psoriasis Diet. The good news is that caffeine is really not that good for your health anyway, so when you quit the coffee remember that you’re really doing your body a favour.
Firstly, caffeine drains your immune system by stressing your adrenal glands. Every time you drink coffee you are stimulating your adrenals to produce adrenaline. If you do this several times a day for a few years, your adrenals will get worn out and fatigued. When this happens, the adrenal glands fail to do their regular job properly, which is to regulate hormone levels in your body. This leads to symptoms like weight gain, mood disorders and disrupted sleep. Importantly, it also weakens your immune system response, which drops your defences against Candida and bad bacterial overgrowth.
Secondly, caffeine also causes spikes in your blood sugar that feed the Candida and bad bacterial (as well as parasite) overgrowth. A 2008 study found that caffeine increased glucose levels in the blood by as much as eight percent. And this effect was even more pronounced after meals. As you know, sugar is the one thing that you really need to avoid on the Psoriasis Diet – it feeds the yeast in your gut and contributes to Candida overgrowth.
Thirdly and lastly, coffee can also contain mold that can trigger an allergic reaction in those already suffering from Candida overgrowth. If you leave coffee beans out long enough, you will often see a light green or white moldy coating appear. This is trichoderma or one of a group of molds that frequently grows on coffee. Most teas also contain mold, so you need to be very careful which ones you choose.
Although decaffeinated (‘decaf’) coffee is certainly better than normal coffee, it still contains small amounts of caffeine. When you’re trying to find a substitute for your morning beverage, you need to look a little further afield.
Herbal Teas
Herbal teas are another alternative, but you need to be careful which one you choose. Be careful to get one that doesn’t contain mold, as this will just feed your Candida. One of the best options is Nettle Leaf tea, which contains flavanoids (antioxidants), Vitamin C and Iron. It also helps with your blood circulation, which will get the toxic byproducts of Candida out of your body faster. Alternatively, try cinnamon tea, camomile tea, peppermint tea, ginger tea or licorice tea. All these have antifungal properties that will help with your Candida overgrowth.
Coconut Oil
This last one might not be a drink, but it deserves a mention because it should be an integral part of your Candida treatment anyway. Even better, it gives you an energy boost too! In addition to containing a natural antifungal named caprylic acid, coconut oil also contains a unique form of saturated fats (named MCTs). Your body doesn’t store these like it does with other fats – instead, it uses them as an energy source. Start with 1-2 tablespoons a day and see how you feel.
Don’t Like Water? – Then Improve The Flavor
“You must drink eight glasses of water a day” is a mantra you may well have been hearing for many years. Healthy diet and nutrition as well as exercise is the key to good health, but what is often overlooked is drinking for health. Because water tastes bland, it is often the least favored beverage, unless the weather is hot and then nothing quite quenches the thirst like ice cold water on a hot summer’s day, and plenty of it. Incredible as it may seem, but your body is mostly composed of water and there are so many different biological functions which are dependent on water that it necessarily follows that water will certainly boost your health and well being. Some patients have told me they don’t like water for its lack of taste. If you don’t like the taste of water, there are many options to add different flavours to the water. It is possible to have great taste and drink healthy too. Also, when you choose not to drink water, try to find a drink that has vitamins, minerals, and is low in trans-fats.
Soda Drinks Are Best Avoided
You don’t need these cheap and nasty candy waters in your life, they are full of colours and sugars and are best avoided. This stuff is just assembly line made plastic bottled water with sugar added under high pressure. The colours and flavours are totally chemically derived. Carbonated drinks were the first to introduce carbon dioxide into the cheapest drink available (water) and by making the drink more acidic (carbonic acid) it became more enjoyable to the tongue when sweetened along with these bubbles. This carbonic acid tends to sharpen the flavour with a slight burning sensation. Being slightly more acidic, the drink is preserved somewhat longer as well. Soda drinks also include diet soda and “sports” drinks too, they are best all avoided. Many people don’t realise how high the fat content is potentially in different beverages. For example, a mocha could have over 480 calories in one drink, and every gram of red wine is equal to 7 calories. So it is in your best interest to switch to healthier drinks, and stay away from the unhealthy beverages; by making the switch, you will reduce your calories and start loosing weight. So choose carefully what you habitually drink.
Why on earth do people drink so much of that fizzy stuff? It is full of artificial colours, flavourings and preservatives, not to mention sugar – real or artificial. Did you know that commercial beverages that people consume (i.e. cola beverages and other soft drinks) are made from ….distilled water? Studies have consistently shown that heavy consumers of soft drinks lose substantial amounts of calcium, magnesium and other trace minerals into the urine. A good way to wreck your health is to drink soda drinks every day, you will either end up obese or with a chronic illness like heart disease, diabetes or cancer. You will also contribute to making a large international company very rich as your health becomes very poor.