Show HN: You Need Less Caffeine Than You Think
garden.sparrow.zone
garden.sparrow.zone
About six years ago I changed my diet and started Keto. Now that I'm keto-adapted I drink a cup of green tea each morning more out of habit than necessity. Sometimes I need a little 15-minute nap in the afternoon but otherwise I'm good. On a recent 5-day trip I had no caffeine at all and didn't miss a beat.
So, for people who say they need caffeine to get through their day I say, take a look at what you're eating. You might be surprised at how it's slowing you down.
n.b., I'm not saying everyone must do keto. That's just what worked for me. I'm convinced after six years of researching nutrition that eating real[1], idealy organic food and moving their body on a regular basis is all anyone needs to generally stay healthy and have energy.
1: If you look at the ingredients of the food you're about to eat and you can't find them in your kitchen, then it's not real food.
It’s a complex system of cellular receptors and substances that activate them, and the receptors can become upregulated and downregulated. Histamine is also a pro-inflammatory substance.
I do better with my insomnia and autoimmune disorders if I am… attentive towards carbohydrate intake. Less sugar is better, slower carbohydrates are better. (I can reliably induce an insomnia awakening at precisely 05:30 by eating dessert after dinner. I’m not yet sure why or how exactly, but the histamine connection makes sense. It also has to do with cortisol I believe.) However, I am also more alert and sharp if I get enough carbs – including sugar. At the right time of day.
Here’s my source for histamine being involved in glucose metabolism: Histamine metabolism in diabetes mellitus and vascular disease, dr. Dalvir Gill’s 1991 PhD thesis: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10120875/
Regarding histamine as an alertness neurotransmitter, I point to early antihistamine medication being sedative. This is because early antihistamines were molecules small enough to cross the blood-brain barrier. Histamine receptors in the brain regulate alertness. As well as the hunger response, interestingly. Old allergy meds make you hungry and then you pass out.
Ketone salts are ok but ketone esters are fantastic.
People that understand how ketosis effects the brain will understand why this works.
There are days that I KNOW I won't have time to eat, and those days I either fast completely or I start my day with a (Bulk.com - not affiliated) hydrobeef protein shake (2 scoops). Those days I feel steadily energized 8am-8pm as if I've had 2 espressos.
I find it all to be in the food. I remember listening on Huberman Lab that caffeine doesn't give you energy, it merely 'blocks fatigue' (which means fatigue is still there - just suppressed).
Decent sleep and food that doesn't hurt you is the only way to thrive.
When I came off of it, I stopped having anxiety attacks and had a huge reduction in anxiety. To the point where I think most of my anxiety throughout my life has been due to caffeine intake.
Just something to keep in mind if you in general are a high key person and tend to drink a lot of coffee.
I don't drink coffee to feel awake/energized or stay awake. I just drink multiple cups a day out of habit. I like having a hot drink to sip on while I am doing other things.
I've given up coffee for 1-2 months before and didn't feel any different. I didn't get any buzz when I started drinking it again. I've tried to replace coffee with just hot water but it's not the same.
Someone who quits caffeine long enough to end their dependence will realize most/all of the things mentioned above. But it takes weeks if not months. And you will inevitably go back because it's delicious and effective.
Or y'all are better than me and I am envious. Either way. That's my first hand experience :)
I finally had the thought that it might be the caffeine and if I stopped drinking it, the headaches would stop as well. I gave it a shot when I started college. It was a good time for it, as I was too lazy/cheap to go buy Mt Dew (my main source). I had a headache for a week straight, which was annoying, but then they stopped. Over 20 years later and I can probably count my yearly headaches on 1 hand.
I went several years without having any soft drinks at all, as the headaches weren't worth it for me. The soft drinks weren't good enough to risk the pain. Eventually I did try one after probably at least 8 years, and it tasted gross to me.
I will occasionally have caffeine, but use it as a tool... or it's just a mistake. If I eat some dark chocolate (a lot of it), that's a mistake as I don't always think about the caffeine in it when I eat it... I'll be up all night. As a tool I'll use it if I am tired and need to drive for some reason. This happens less than once a year. If I'm just tired in a place where there is no risk to my life if I fall asleep, I just suck it up. I spent 6 years working the night shift with no caffeine as well. It's all about what you get used to and what you'll allow. I just really don't want to go back to having chronic headaches.
Maybe if I was a coffee drinker at some point it would be different. There was no ritual to Mt Dew. I've never even tried coffee, and with the way people seem addicted to it, I'm not sure I want to.
ref: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1327743/coffee-consumpti...
As others in this thread have mentioned, the taste of coffee is just too good to give up for me. Instead, I limit myself to: 1) 2 cups of coffee a day before 12pm, 2) allow myself to drink decaf after 12pm
I also allow myself to become caffeinated if I have to drive in the dark for long periods at end (e.g. 2+ hours). These moments are rare enough for me to make caffeine one hell of a drug ;-)