Hi, it's Dr. Sandy here. In this lesson, we're going to explore how caffeine keeps you from napping all night. Many health gurus label caffeine as the devil incarnate. But when it comes to taming your sugar Gremlin, caffeine is actually quite angelic. Many serious diet has resulted to a little pharmacological help. Caffeine is cheap, effective appetite suppressant.

So how does it work? Well, officially, caffeine acts as an antagonist at the adenosine receptors, specifically, the A to A receptor. I realized that meant very little to most of you, but I am a pharmacologist, I couldn't trace Anyway, remember your sugar Gremlin appears whenever you're facing an energy crisis. Now, over foods fuel your body cells don't actually burn food directly. The food you eat is broken down and packaged into a chemical called ATP. ATP is the energy your body runs on.

Think of it as your body's money. Now, if you want to run from here to there or digest power sec, you need to pay for it using ATP. You run around doing all the stuff you need to do, you're using up your supply. Now one way to deal with a problem is to stop for quick refuel. And the quickest way to refuel, is to indulge in a carbohydrate type snack. Well, this is what you're saying.

A Gremlin will tell you to do. But as the day proceeds, the supply of ATP dwindles. Despite the attempts to refuel. When you take the energy out of ATP, you end up with a substance called adenosine. adenosine has no money. If you have no money, there's no point in being out and about.

So as the adenosine accumulates, you feel flat as a pancake. ready for bed. In fact, you are experiencing a real energy crisis. At this point, the smart move is to go to bed as adenosine hops on its bed as special receptor. It signals a whole bunch of other chemicals in your head to take a load off and You're off to dreamland. But your boss is likely to disapprove.

So you reach for a caffeine fix. When adenosine tries to go to bed, it encounters caffeine. Caffeine prevents the adenosine molecule from climbing onto it spread the message your dog tired gets scrambled. And now you're going going going on borrowed energy, of course, but everybody is going, which is why you no longer feel bored and tired. Every much alive. The downside, you're walking around with an extra dose of norepinephrine or adrenaline.

This is Miss depending. In fact, in the medical fraternity, he's blamed for fight and flight response. Get a feel for what Mr. Panic does think how you would respond if suddenly, before you stood a bee woolly mammoth, okay? If you're not so good with visualizations, try your boss, your teacher, your mother in law, sweaty palms, your eyes as big as saucers. This makes you much scarier. And of course it also means your wide awake, your blood pressure will probably rise up.

So when your heart rate is the panic sets in your lungs will be taking in more oxygen and your muscles tense your digestive systems which is down again, the body doesn't waste time digesting food, if there's a possibility that it be digested by a big woolly mammoth. So oftentimes, you don't feel too hungry and your sugar levels will rise. Since your body will be looking to mobilize energy stores. Your sugar Gremlin is cup of coffee can be a powerful weapon. But it must be deployed strategically. A few rules, timing counts, you must drink a strong cup of coffee before the meal.

If you're wait watching, go for black, no milk, no sugar, and latte tastes fabulous. But the calorie count makes it pretty close to those Kremlin mentions. The other thing You need to know when to stop. So when should you stop? Can't help you there. It really does depend on you.

Jeans matter. For some it could be 12 o'clock midday for others you could enjoy a cup just before bed. For me, I day not indulge in a cup of coffee. Much of the 6:30pm. Size matters too. And we're not just talking about the size of the cup of coffee.

Your size matters. The bigger you are, the tougher you'll be, except when you're pregnant. Babies often object to mom having coffee. Finally, age also matters. The very young and the very old are seldom fans of too much caffeine, as many abrasive Mom has in advertently discovered deploying the neck all night weapon is one of the toughest to do, but it will have a whole heap of other health benefits. Join me for the next sugar Gremlin besting women, which will involve a little tough love, sugar gremlins to flutter.

They're too busy getting up to mischief to sit down for a good dinner. But you need to dig in your heels and only feed your Gremlin at dinner time.