With caffeine sensitivity, the adverse symptoms after consuming caffeine includeheadaches, jittery feelings,diarrhea, and insomnia.
Caffeine sensitivity is not a caffeine allergy, which would be an immune response to caffeine.
This article explains what caffeine sensitivity is and how it differs from an allergy.
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More study is needed to fully understand the role of genes.
But many other factors can affect your caffeine sensitivity, too.
They include:
Caffeine also interacts with many medications.
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Caffeine sensitivity is not an allergy, which would be an immune system response to caffeine.
Diagnosis
Caffeine sensitivity is hard to pinpoint because its biological mechanisms are poorly understood.
To reach a diagnosis, a healthcare provider would need to exclude all other possible causes.
Get our printable guide for your next healthcare provider’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.
Some people find, for instance, that they are sensitive to light-roasted coffee beans but not dark-roasted beans.
Treatment
The main treatment for caffeine sensitivity is cutting all caffeine out of your diet.
You may be dose-sensitive, meaning that symptoms only occur at certain higher doses.
Medications also can affect this process.
Speak with your healthcare provider first just to be safe.
Coping
Quitting caffeine is easier said than done.
Caffeine withdrawal can causeheadaches, fatigue, and irritability.
You may even experience nausea and flu-like symptoms.
Caffeine sensitivity is diagnosed based on the exclusion of all other causes.
The main treatment is the avoidance of caffeine.
Giving up caffeine can lead to withdrawal symptoms.
One tried-and-true method is exercise.
And, unlike a cup of coffee, the effects are absolutely free.
Get our printable guide for your next healthcare provider’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.
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