Over 80% of Americans drink coffee daily. Of that 80%, at least 60% consumer 3 cups or more, amounting to almost a gram of caffeine.
This jolt you get from caffeine feels amazing, especially in the morning. It allows you to wake from your slumber feeling refreshed and ready to go when you’re at work. Without it, you’re a total zombie incapable of doing even the easiest of tasks.
But all of that caffeine intake could be negatively impacting your body. New research shows that consistent intake of caffeine could be why so many people get sick more than 5 times per year.
Constant Intake of Caffeine Taxes Your Adrenal Glands
Most people don’t know this about caffeine, but it’s not actually a stimulant, it’s more of an inhibitor. When you drink coffee, the caffeine gets into your blood and shoots to your brain. There, the caffeine goes to work blocking the receptors that control the release of cortisol and adrenaline. The caffeine blocks these receptors from keeping these chemicals from being released, and they come out in full-swing.
This is where you get your jolt of energy from. But over time, with constant release of these chemicals, your body can’t handle it every day. This is when you develop adrenal fatigue syndrome. This is when your body can’t produce enough cortisol to maintain homeostasis in your body.
With a lack of cortisol production, your body’s immune system is weakened, allowing viruses and germs to multiple. This could be why you get sick so often.
Get Sick After the Gym? Could Be Lack of Cortisol Production, Too
Some people are always sick after the gym. They develop cold-like symptoms and can’t figure out why. Working out should make you healthier, not weaker.
But when you work out, you’re weakening your body’s immune system slightly, and when you work out, your body actually produces cortisol.
But when you’re already suffering from adrenal fatigue syndrome, your body can’t make any cortisol when you’re working out. This results in an even greater loss of immune system functionality.
This is why you get sick so often after working out.
What Can You Do?
The only thing you can do is limit your coffee intake or cut it out completely. Even taking a two-week break could be enough to allow your body to reset itself so you feel better again.
