Tony said:
I have also stopped drinking coffee except for the odd cup on the weekend.
I have never had an energy drink. Never even tasted one as i dont believe the principle of them is good. I am teaching my kids they are poison.
I believe that most of the issues related to anxiety these days come form too much cafeine because it is cumulative in your system. It builds up and stays there.
Caffine does NOT build up in your system like mercury or lead. It is processed and removed by the liver (much like alcohol). If caffine remained in your system permenantly it wouldn't take too many coffees to kill you.
From our good friend Wikipedia:
"Caffeine from coffee or other beverages is absorbed by the small intestine within 45 minutes of ingestion and then distributed throughout all tissues of the body.
[122] Peak blood concentration is reached within one hour.
[123] It is eliminated by
first-order kinetics.
[124] Caffeine can also be absorbed rectally, evidenced by the formulation of suppositories of
ergotamine tartrate and caffeine (for the relief of
migraine)
[125] and
chlorobutanol and caffeine (for the treatment of
hyperemesis).
[126]
The
biological half-life of caffeine – the time required for the body to eliminate one-half of the total amount of caffeine – varies widely among individuals according to such factors as age, liver function, pregnancy, some concurrent medications, and the level of
enzymes in the
liver needed for caffeine metabolism. It can also be significantly altered by drugs or hormonal states. In healthy adults, caffeine's half-life has been measured with a range of results. Some measures get 4.9 hours,
[127] and others are at around 6 hours.
[128] Heavy cigarette smokers show a decrease in half-life of 30–50%, oral contraceptives can double it, and pregnancy can raise it even more, to as much as 15 hours during the last trimester. In newborn infants the half-life can be 80 hours or more; however it drops very rapidly with age, possibly to less than the adult value by the age of 6 months.
[32] The antidepressant
fluvoxamine (Luvox) reduces the clearance of caffeine by more than 90%, and prolongs its elimination half-life more than tenfold; from 4.9 hours to 56 hours.
[127]
Caffeine is
metabolized in the
liver by the
cytochrome P450 oxidase enzyme system, in particular, by the
CYP1A2 isozyme, into three dimethyl
xanthines,
[129] each of which has its own effects on the body:
Each of these metabolites is further metabolized and then excreted in the urine. Caffeine can accumulate in individuals with severe
liver disease, increasing its half-life.
[130]
Some
quinolone antibiotics exert an inhibitory effect on CYP1A2, thereby reducing clearance of caffeine and thus increasing blood levels.
[131]"
I do find it interesting however, Luvox can increase the half-life of caffine up to 10x (that can not be healthy).
