The Question of Caffeine

People with heart disease or some other reason for needing to avoid caffeine must not only stop drinking coffee entirely or switch to decaffeinated, they must stop drinking colas, eating chocolate, and watch out for other soft drinks. The new one, Jolt, isn't the only drink with a heavy dose of caffeine. Mountain Dew has been around for a long time and it'll wind you up just as much. Stick to clear sodas and read labels.

Products are decaffeinated through a chemical process but research is well under way to develop coffee and tea plants which don't contain caffeine.

Should you stop consuming caffeine? Experts believe that just restricting caffeine intake to less than 150 mg per day may be effective in headache treatment.

If you do stop cold turkey, be prepared for a few days to 5 weeks or so of withdrawal headaches. Some people may be able to avoid withdrawal woes by gradually decreasing their consumption of caffeine, until they finally stop.

My answer has been to drink half and half. I put one scoop of regular coffee and one scoop of decaffeinated coffee in the basket when I make a pot. That has greatly reduced the number of headaches I suffer from.

Caffeine will always be problematic for headache sufferers. All I can recommend is that you experiment until you find the right amount for you.

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