It may surprise you that the most commonly used drug in the world is caffeine. Caffeine can be a great pick me up that helps get you through the day. Plus, quitting caffeine can cause annoying side effects like headaches and nausea. However, while it may seem harmless enough; there are studies that suggest negative effects of excessive caffeine use. Before you make a decision to give up or cut back on caffeine, be sure you have all the information.

Having been a college student, I know the negative effects of too much caffeine. While caffeine may help you get a jump start during the day or stay up all night studying, too much can make you nervous and shaky. It can also cause your heart to race and even affect your breathing. If you find yourself a bit jittery or shaky, caffeine may be the culprit. Plus, caffeine can make you feel more stressed during the day, even if you haven't had too much.

Your afternoon caffeine boost may be to blame for your insomnia. A lot of people think caffeine won't keep you up if you don't drink it before bedtime, but the stimulating effects of caffeine can last up to 6 hours. If you cut back your afternoon caffeine consumption, you may find yourself more rested in the morning.

Along with the side effects of caffeine; studies have suggested that there are more serious consequences from excessive use. Its stimulant properties can have negative effects on the heart including high blood pressure. Its diuretic effects may cause calcium loss, leading to osteoporosis. In addition, it's been suggested that caffeine can raise cholesterol, cause stomach irritation, and may even be linked to certain cancers. While most of this research is inconclusive and linked to high consumptions of caffeine, it's something to think about.

Caffeine has not only been linked to low birth weight, and miscarriages; some also suspect that it could prevent conception. If you're pregnant or trying to conceive, you should seriously consider giving up caffeine.

While research suggests that caffeine may be bad for you, quitting is ultimately a personal choice. If you feel you just can't get through the day without your coffee, try drink less throughout the day. You may feel withdrawal symptoms to begin with, but you'll be much better off in the long run.

Did you know that smoking is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States and is the biggest cause of disease and death in most western countries. It is the leading cause of many forms of cancer as well as heart disease and stroke.

Virtually every organ in the body is harmed by smoking which is primarily due to the thousands of chemicals (yes it is thousands) that are present in tobacco smoke. Many of those chemicals have been shown to cause cancer and many other health problems are caused or made worse due to smoking.

Illnesses that relate to breathing such as emphysema and bronchitis are caused or made worse by smoking. Emphysema is where the cigarette smoke causes the air sacs in the lungs to become damaged and this makes it difficult for the oxygen to get transported to the bloodstream. Obviously with a reduction in the circulation of oxygen throughout the body it will deteriorate at an increased rate. In addition to this damage to the air sacs in the lungs the airways can become inflamed from cigarette smoke causing chronic bronchitis.

When the combination of these two illnesses strike a person it can be an extremely unpleasant situation where the shortage of breath becomes increasingly difficult and ultimately results in early death. Smoking also increases the problem of hypertension (high blood pressure) and along with that smokers are at more risk of having a heart attack than those people who don't smoke.

The deterioration of the ability to breathe freely stops smokers from participating in sports at higher levels and ultimately this reduction in the ability to exercise results in poor health and for many people the sedentary life that they will tend to lead causes many more related health problems.

Each day of smoking is another step in the wrong direction where many parts of the body including the major organs are exposed to danger that can ultimately lead to death. In light of all this (plus taking into consideration all that smoking does to your skin), the best advice I can give for looking good and feeling great at any age is..If you don't smoke, don't start now; if you do smoke, make Nov. 19th your stop smoking day!

Join Us For The Great American Smoke Out & Make Nov.19 Your Stop Smoking Day!

That’s right! If you or someone you know is thinking about “kicking the habit”, there is no time like now to stop. If you need help quitting, give our office a call to schedule an appointment. Remember, we’re always here to help.

Medicine is making significant strides. We are told that we have all but eliminated such diseases such as Small Pox. We have significantly decreased the incidence of childhood illness such as whooping cough and measles. We can now perform miraculous surgeries such as heart, kidney and other organ transplants. We are feverishly exploring Genes looking for cures. On the other side of this coin, we are presented with the increasing obesity epidemic. We are told that our risk as a nation for Type II Diabetes is increasing. We are quoted such dismal statistics as 1 in 7 women will acquire breast cancer in their lifetime. We are quoted such statistics as – nearly 2,500 Americans die of cardiovascular disease a day (AHA). How is it possible for two such extremes to exist? How can we be so advanced yet so vulnerable? Finally, are we helpless victims to statistics and our genetics?

Read more: Life and Health is about balance

Many of us when we approach the ages between 40-50 realize that things start changing. We have put a lot of our energies into achieving the perfect career and creating the ideal family. We labored under the illusion that when we have achieved certain goals then life will be perfect. Paradoxically this is the time when we realize we do not have the time or the energy (or sometimes both) to enjoy what we spent so much time creating. Fatigue sets in. He is very closely followed by brain fog who then decides to ask low libido and anhedonia to join in. What then follows is the ability for us to derive pleasure from our daily activities is decreased; our ability to stay focus and concentrate becomes affected, our ability to multi-task effectively goes down. The inevitable result is that our home life and/or career begin to feel extremely stressful.

Read more: Life Begins When You Do