caffeine narrative

[dsayers]

Does anybody know of any good resources that touches on the positive aspects of caffeine? I know that from a fitness and circulation standpoint, there are benefits. And I know the overarching narrative is that caffeine is "bad" and "addictive." I'm curious as to how these two columns compare. Thanks.

[EclecticIdealist]

In general, any stimulant which replaces the body's natural approach will be regarded by "naturalists" as bad. Any substance which when introduced into the body short-circuit's the body's natural processes in favor of that substance in such a manner that one experiences discomfort from the withdrawal or lack of such a substance is addictive.

 

Tim Ferris speaks of the positive benefits of caffeine in a number of his books.

Doing simple searches on the internet can also be productive in locating information, some of which may be accurate and backed by valid scientific studies.

Here is a list of many of the positive benefits of caffeine and/or coffee: http://www.caffeineinformer.com/top-10-caffeine-health-benefits

[thecurrentyear]

Coffee is prepared via "traditional" fermentation and has been consumed for thousands of years. There's not much "unnatural" about it. If you were to eschew any substance on the basis of it affecting your mood or energy level, you'd starve to death.

[CalebSC]

Caffeine binds to the minerals in your body. Not good. Too much caffeine and pretty soon you're going to be depleted of calcium. All of the health benefits of coffee can be obtained in decaf. A better source of energy is sugar. The best form of sugar is fruit. Supplementing with chromium and vanadium helps you utilize the sugar. And in terms of circulation, it would be better to drink an herbal tea that is an aquaretic. The difference between and aquaretic and a diuretic is that diuretics make you pee out your minerals, whereas aquaretics make you pee but without loss of minerals. Caffeine is a diuretic. Antioxidants are one of the best things about coffee and you can get them in decaf.

I know your question was not about coffee, but about caffeine. That's all I know about that.

[rosencrantz]

I am a coffee addict. I found this out by trying to make do without for some weeks. After day two, I had to stop because I had withdrawal symptoms. Drugs like coffee or cigarettes seem to improve your mental performace and your well being but this may be a symptom of the addiciton. It's true that some feel more mental energy and so on after having had a cup, but that doesn't mean that coffee is good per se. It only means that you alleviate the withdrawal symptoms which you interpret as an improvement. 

By all means, enjoy coffee if you want to. Other people may have different experiences but I find this to be the most likely explanation for my situation.

[EclecticIdealist]

Coffee is prepared via "traditional" fermentation and has been consumed for thousands of years. There's not much "unnatural" about it. If you were to eschew any substance on the basis of it affecting your mood or energy level, you'd starve to death.

By "natural", I mean the body's own mechanisms of chemical stimulation rather than the utilization of stimulants sourced external to the body.

 

Caffeine binds to the minerals in your body. Not good. Too much caffeine and pretty soon you're going to be depleted of calcium.

Unless you're drinking more than two cups of day without any calcium supplementation, there's nothing to be concerned about here.

All of the health benefits of coffee can be obtained in decaf. A better source of energy is sugar.

Sugar is actually one of the most harmful sources of energy, and it is not a stimulant.

 

The best form of sugar is fruit. Supplementing with chromium and vanadium helps you utilize the sugar.

The best form of sugar is sugar that your body does not breakdown or absorb.

 

And in terms of circulation, it would be better to drink an herbal tea that is an aquaretic. The difference between and aquaretic and a diuretic is that diuretics make you pee out your minerals, whereas aquaretics make you pee but without loss of minerals. Caffeine is a diuretic. 

This is correct, unless you happen to be on a heavy-metal or mineral detoxification (which most people aren't, and should not be prolonged indefinitely unless there's something very wrong with you which requires it.)  In terms of circulation, the best thing you can do is eliminate all forms of dietary sugar as much as possible and reduce carb intake to 10%

or less of all dietary calories. 

[dsayers]

Thanks for the input, y'all. While I was specifically asking about caffeine, talking about coffee satisfies my inquiry just about as much.

 

Any substance which when introduced into the body short-circuit's the body's natural processes in favor of that substance in such a manner that one experiences discomfort from the withdrawal or lack of such a substance is addictive.

I'd like to see this sentiment fleshed out a bit better. My understanding is that addiction is rooted in abuse/trauma. I don't think caffeine solicits a sense of "normalcy" that would make it truly addictive. Or that addiction can be attributed to substances to begin with for this reason. I'm also not sure that "natural process" is a sufficient measure. If it weren't for negative side effects, if one's body were to adapt to the presence of chemical X, to go without would just mean the body would adjust again. I'm more interested in what the side effects might actually be, especially when compared to the benefits, if any.

 

Thank you for the link though. And thank you CalebSC for the word aquaretic. I was familiar with diuretic, but not aquaretic. In being exposed to this word, I've also gotten a more precise idea of what diuretic means. So thanks for that

[CalebSC]

Well with fruit your body doesn't even have to break it down, because it's already broken down. A slice of bread actually has more sugar in it because it's made up of polysaccharides, whereas fruit are monosaccharides. That's why it's better, there is no breaking down required with fruit. I think the sugar in fresh raw fruit is an excellent source of energy. My favorite is grapes.

[i don't know how to do the quote thing, so this was in response to EclecticIdealist]

[thecurrentyear]

By "natural", I mean the body's own mechanisms of chemical stimulation rather than the utilization of stimulants sourced external to the body.

 

Do you have a definition of stimulant? Does sugar count? How about peppermint? Ginger? Cayenne?

[EclecticIdealist]

Do you have a definition of stimulant? Does sugar count? How about peppermint? Ginger? Cayenne?

A stimulant is psychoactive substance (usually a drug or plant substance) which typically "increase alertness, attention, and energy, as well as elevate blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration."  Sugar would not generally count as a stimulant, but a strong case could be made that it should be treated as a drug due to the body's strong psychoactive response to it. Peppermint, Ginger and Cayenne appear to dilate blood vessels and capillaries, but other than their potent effect on mucus membranes, and to a lesser degree on the skin, do not appear to act as a stimulants to the nervous system.

[Jakethehuman]

I have not been able to locate the study I read, I'll find it later and edit in, but the conclusion was that caffeine stiffens the arteries which increases heart rate because the CV system isn't working how it was designed to ie vasodilating. This is a short term effect and your blood vessels return to normal within a few hours, however over extended periods of time your arterial walls will stiffen leading to increased blood pressure even without coffee, a big concern for elderly people.

[Rventurelli]

I am a coffee addict. I found this out by trying to make do without for some weeks. After day two, I had to stop because I had withdrawal symptoms. Drugs like coffee or cigarettes seem to improve your mental performace and your well being but this may be a symptom of the addiciton. It's true that some feel more mental energy and so on after having had a cup, but that doesn't mean that coffee is good per se. It only means that you alleviate the withdrawal symptoms which you interpret as an improvement. 

 

By all means, enjoy coffee if you want to. Other people may have different experiences but I find this to be the most likely explanation for my situation.

I know what you mean. I used to be the same way -- if I did not have my coffee, even for one day, I would get headaches and feel very tired. Since the idea of being dependent of anything is repulsive for me, what worked to change that was drinking water instead. A lot of water, and after ignoring the symptoms for a while, the headache would go away. Four days doing that and the lack of energy and headache went away.

 

While I do enjoy coffee and it helps to concentrate and get energetic, I usually limit myself now to only one caffeine product per day only, with no exceptions. Either I have one cup of coffee (strongest possible, usually imported, because American coffee for me is nothing more than colored water) or a soda. While the desire remains to have those products, the withdraw symptoms have disappeared, as a can soda has much less caffeine than an extra bold coffee that I used to need every day.