The Coffee Thread

It amazes me how little attention coffee gets here and elsewhere. I used to recommend to folks that they should stop drinking coffee. Not only do I think I was wrong, I have now started drinking it myself after 38 years

It's not right for everyone, especially for folks who may have heart problems. Sure it could raise CRP, blood pressure, and homocysteine, but if you are good in these areas and it does not raise your own personal CRP, BP and homocys, then why not?

It would be ironic if the average american was getting more polyphenols from food than the average imminst poster gets from food due to coffee. According to some studies, Coffee has the most antioxidants compared to other beverages (the comparisons often include comparisons to tea, cocoa, and wine)

http://www.consumera...005/coffee.html

http://jn.nutrition....l/133/9/2812#T4


Some selected studies from a google cut and paste (many are redundant):

Coffee May Protect Against DiabetesDrinking caffeinated coffee was found to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by as much as 60%, a study shows.
diabetes.webmd.com/news/20061025/coffee-may-protect-against-diabetes - 95k


Coffee may slow memory declines in women: study - Yahoo! News
Coffee may slow memory declines in women: study. By Ishani Ganguli Mon Aug 6, 4:56 PM ET. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Drinking more than three cups of coffee a ...
news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070806/hl_nm/caffeine_memory_dc - 34k - Cached - Similar pages

ScienceDaily: Study Ties Coffee Use With Lowered Parkinson's Risk
Drinking coffee may reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease, according to a study published in the November 14 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of ...
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/11/001113233921.htm - 47k - Cached - Similar pages

Drinking coffee seems to protect the liver | Health | Reuters
Animal and laboratory studies have suggested that certain compounds in coffee may block harmful enzymes involved in the development of cancer. Coffee ...
www.reuters.com/article/ healthNews/idUSCOL95392220070809 - 61k - Cached - Similar pages

Coffee Appears to Lessen Liver Cancer Risk
A new meta-analysis suggests that drinking coffee may reduce the risk for hepatocellular ... They identified 10 studies of 2260 patients with liver cancer. ...
www.medscape.com/viewarticle/561366 - Similar pages

Coffee May Curb Liver Cancer, Researchers Say Disease Appears To ...
A new report, published in the August edition of the journal Hepatology, boils down the findings from 10 studies on coffee and liver cancer. ...
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/ 08/02/health/webmd/main3127995.shtml - 102k - Cached - Similar pages

Can Coffee Fight Skin Cancer?, Study: Caffeine Lowers Risk Of Skin ...
A new study finds that caffeine lowers the risk of skin cancer in ... in coffee, tea and some cola drinks, has been shown in other studies to prompt mental ...
www.cbsnews.com/stories/ 2002/08/26/health/main519822.shtml - 88k - Cached - Similar pages
[ More results from www.cbsnews.com ]

ScienceDaily: Coffee linked to reduced liver cancer risk
1 (UPI) -- An analysis of 11 studies conducted in Europe and Japan found a link between coffee and a reduced risk of liver cancer. ...
www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science& article=UPI-1-20070802-11435200-bc-us-coffeeliver.xml - 75k - Cached - Similar pages
[ More results from www.sciencedaily.com ]

Coffee drinkers rejoice: your liver and skin thank you
The benefit held up well across a variety of studies, including both case-controlled and cohort ... Filed under: coffee, caffeine, cancer, biology, science ...
arstechnica.com/journals/science.ars/2007/ 08/01/coffee-drinkers-rejoice-your-liver-and-skin-thank-you - 20k - Cached - Similar pages

Drinking coffee may cut liver cancer risk - Cancer - MSNBC.com
An inverse association between coffee consumption and liver cancer risk was observed in all of the studies, and this association was statistically ...
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19052817/ - 50k - Cached - Similar pages

Coffee Consumption and Incidence of Colorectal Cancer in Two ...
Investigators have reported an inverse association between coffee consumption and risk of colorectal cancer in several case-control studies, but prospective ...
aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/163/7/638 - Similar pages

Studies confirm coffee is good at stopping cancer - Science News ...
The findings showed a 41% reduction in the risk of cancer for coffee drinkers. Now, these findings are consistent with other studies. ...
science.qj.net/ Studies-confirm-coffee-is-good-at-stopping-cancer/pg/49/aid/99129 - 67k - Cached - Similar pages

Coffee-The Cure For Cancer? -- iSnare.com Articles
Caffeine, the chemical stimulant in coffee and tea, has been found to lower the risk of ... called hairless mice, commonly used for skin cancer studies. ...
www.isnare.com/?aid=170478&ca=Cancer+Survival - 29k - Cached - Similar pages

Health Benefits of Coffee - WebMD
At least six studies indicate that people who drink coffee on a regular ... to a 25% reduced risk of colon cancer, an 80% drop in liver cirrhosis risk, ...
men.webmd.com/features/coffee-new-health-food - 102k - Cached - Similar pages

Coffee Consumption Lowers Risk for Liver Cancer - Journal Watch ...
All studies showed an inverse relation between coffee consumption and HCC; in six, ... Larsson SC and Wolk A. Coffee consumption and risk of liver cancer: A ...
gastroenterology.jwatch.org/cgi/content/full/2007/803/2 - Similar pages

Is Coffee the Solution to Everything from Cancer to Female Sex Drive?
Besides the new cancer study linking higher coffee consumption to lower percentage of women who develop breast cancer, recent studies have suggested that - ...
seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Nutrition-Vitamins/ 6-01-18-IsCoffeeTheSolution.htm - 64k - Cached - Similar pages

Coffee Consumption and Risk of Liver Cancer: A Meta-Analysis ...
We quantitatively assessed the relation between coffee consumption and the risk of liver cancer in a meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies. ...
www.natap.org/2007/HCV/080607_01.htm - 27k - Cached - Similar pages

[PDF]
Coffee and jogging 'help curb skin cancer' - Telegraph
In other studies researchers have found that caffeine, via coffee consumption, was associated with a lower risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer, liver cancer, ...
www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/ earth/2007/07/31/scicancer231.xml - 38k - Cached - Similar pages

Coffee Consumption Is Not Associated with Ovarian Cancer Incidence ...
In a meta-analysis of the crude data of seven case-control studies of coffee consumption and ovarian cancer published before 1990, the combined odds ratio ...
cebp.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/14/9/2273 - Similar pages

Drink Coffee To Reduce Risk Of Colorectal Cancer: From ...
"Until human studies are done, no one knows exactly how much coffee is needed to have a protective effect against colon cancer," said study leader Dr Thomas ...
medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/11-2005/ drink-coffee-to-reduce-risk-of-colorectal-cancer.html - 19k - Cached - Similar pages


Coffee Reduces Risk of Bladder Cancer: Scientific American
The same study, however, indicates that coffee may protect against bladder cancer, especially among smokers. Analyzing data from 500 diagnosed cases of ...
www.sciam.com/ article.cfm?articleID=0002834E

I like to drink about 2 cups in the morning. It does raise my BP but the effect only lasts about an hour.

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I like to drink about 2 cups in the morning. It does raise my BP but the effect only lasts about an hour.

How long have you been drinking coffee regularly?

I like to drink about 2 cups in the morning. It does raise my BP but the effect only lasts about an hour.

How long have you been drinking coffee regularly?

I think about 13 years. Maybe a little less. I didn't used to like it.

Isn't caffeine bad in the long run???

Isn't caffeine bad in the long run???

It has its ups and downs and the dose is going to come into play. I was under the impression that habitual coffee drinkers do not have the rise in BP seen in acute usage (assuming it's solely due to an increase in epinephrine), but that doesn't seem to be the case for biknut.

we have to keep in mind that some people cannot tolerate caffeine because it pushes them over the edge into anxiety and stress because their sypathetic system works different. My partner for example cannot drink coffee because it causes her anxiety. I'm different though. I work better when my motor is running at full steam. I like to think of myself as a Lamborghini that works better when the taco reads 8000+ revs.

Anyhow, caffeine most definiately has many benefits in moderation. As far as it being better than green tea......well I'm not sure about that. There was a study recently that suggested that Theobroma Cacao (i.e raw 100% cocoa) is better than Green Tea. I think they were suggesting this because there measures looked at antioxidant ability (i.e ORAC). I'll have to reread the study. So if you were talking about Caffeine being better than Green Tea for it's antioxidant ability I would almost say Yes. Once again I'd prefer to read up on the topic before I made any hard statements

Ok, I'm sort of shocked [:o]

I actually stopped using coffee and caffeine about a year ago (I drink decaff green tea). Now this has got me thinking that maybe I shouldn't have done that.

The reason I stopped was because it was getting to the point where I couldn't concentrate if I had not drank coffee in some time. For example if I omitted my morning coffee, it was very hard to
get any studying done + I would get a headache + I would feel sleepy. This was a real issue and also a reason why I'm not that keen on jumping back to coffee wagon.

Also it would be interesting to know what kind of amounts one would have to drink to get the benefits from coffee/caffeine. One of the articles posted said that to get the maximum benefits one
would have to drink six or more cups a day...That's a hefty amount of caffeine.

In any case, I might give coffee another shot and see how it goes. [thumb]

In any case, I might give coffee another shot and see how it goes.

Nice one. Pun intended or not?

one speculative problem is, atleast as i understand it, that different people metabolize caffeine at different rates... the slower your metalization of caffeine, the greater your risk of heart disease.

problem is theres no way to know how slow or fast you metabolize caffeine.


the other problem, which is not speculative at all, is that caffeine is HIGHLY addictive and creates a rather deep seeded dependance. as ceth said, upon cessation, you cease to function in any meaningful way.

caffeine withdrawl is actually DSM classifiable disorder as far as i know.

I think the main point of this topic was not about caffeine, but it was that coffee is very high in antioxidants. Higher than green tea or any other food.

Ummm coffee. I'm going to make a cup right now.

Aside from the caffeine, there are the diterpene alcohols cafestol and kahweol that some people take issue with. Like caffeine it seems that just how good or bad for you personally they are can depend on other health factors. Filtered or instant decaf would appear the way to go if you are concerned with all three as they are significantly reduced, but there are often other issues with coffee.

The bad thing about coffee for some folks is not the coffee itself, but what they always seem to consume with it. I have always drank my coffee black, but among all my adult family members and friends that consume coffee (at that is most of them), I can't think of one other person that doesn't add cream or sugar or both. On top of that they are always wanting something high in fat and sugar to eat with it.

I decided to greatly reduce the amount of caffeine I was consuming while on vacation a few months back. Talk about a major headache that lastest for a few days.

Still getting some caffeine of course from the white & green teas and other sources, but not near as much. Getting rid of the Sobe No Fears and Monsters saved a good bit of money too.

In the past, the thought of drinking decaf coffee was like drinking NA beer to me... What's the point? But I have added the occasional 1-2 cups of instant decaf coffee back into my diet as I did miss the taste believe it or not.

Edited by frankbuzin, 13 September 2007 - 02:43 PM.

  I think the main point of this topic was not about caffeine, but it was that coffee is very high in antioxidants. Higher than green tea or any other food.

Well, yes and no. If you read some of the studies posted at the top of the thread, you'll notice that many(most(?)) of the benefits associated with coffee are actually due to caffeine. So even if one could get all the antioxidants in decaf coffee, one would be missing out on the benefits associated with caffeine.

http://www.chinatown...se-medicine.htm

http://www.heavenear...isharmony_ID=55

Well, yes and no. If you read some of the studies posted at the top of the thread, you'll notice that many(most(?)) of the benefits associated with coffee are actually due to caffeine. So even if one could get all the antioxidants in decaf coffee, one would be missing out on the benefits associated with caffeine.

I agree that the caffeine is important. Here is my theory on the subject:

My guess would be that in some instances the caffeine is responsible for certain benefits, in other instances, it's the coffee polyphenols that are responsible for some benefits, and in a third scenario, it's a combination of the caffeine and the coffee polyphenols acting synergistically to cause other benefits.

My theory on wine follows the same line of logic with alcohol and red grape polyphenols individually and in combination causing benefits.

Back to Coffee and Caffeine

One study indicated a possible negative effect of decaffeinated coffee that was not seen in caffeinated coffee

http://www.americanh...ntifier=3035336


Other studies show benefits from Caffeine alone that were also seen from Coffee. (Notably some of the Parkinson's studies)

I am on the coffee and alcohol bandwagon for health purposes, in moderation, and in the right circumstances. These substances could certainly be detrimental to some folks' health, but yet beneficial to others.

Let's see. Isn't like caffeine the most used drug in the world? Also, I believe a lot of people in the U.S. drink lots of coffee. YET, our health is declining quickly. I, personally, don't think coffee is good at all. I used to drink it all the time and just recently quit again a week ago or so. I don't think it is good for your mental health to be on a stimulant roller coaster ride of ups and downs throughout the day every day of your coffee addicted life.

Let's see.  Isn't like caffeine the most used drug in the world?  Also, I believe a lot of people in the U.S. drink lots of coffee.  YET, our health is declining quickly.  I, personally, don't think coffee is good at all.  I used to drink it all the time and just recently quit again a week ago or so.  I don't think it is good for your mental health to be on a stimulant roller coaster ride of ups and downs throughout the day every day of your coffee addicted life.

The health of the general population might decline even faster if the general population stopped drinking coffee. We simply don't know. All that we do know is there are studies that show an inverse relationship to many diseases from coffee drinking. Again, coffee is not for everyone and if it makes you feel bad, you should certainly stop drinking it.

Let's see.  Isn't like caffeine the most used drug in the world?  Also, I believe a lot of people in the U.S. drink lots of coffee.  YET, our health is declining quickly.  I, personally, don't think coffee is good at all.  I used to drink it all the time and just recently quit again a week ago or so.  I don't think it is good for your mental health to be on a stimulant roller coaster ride of ups and downs throughout the day every day of your coffee addicted life.

I'm not a coffee drinker (hate the stuff), but I question whether the caffeine would really be the source of the potentially negative effects of coffee drinking -- lots of drinks contain caffeine, including green, white, and black tea.

Coffee is an incredibly complex mix of so many different chemicals, only a few of which are really well understood. I find it a bit bizarre how everyone seems to equate it with caffeine while that seems to me to be the one part of coffee whose health effects I don't worry about.

I heard a while back that they were developing a variety of coffee bean that doesn't produce caffeine, kinda like seedless watermelon. Anyone know if this stuff is around?

Well I can't drink coffee because quite frankly my tummy gets way too upset if i I do drink it. But yeah I prefer tea.

The taste of coffee is almost completely AGEs from the roasting. I don't imagine that you could call it a health food.

If it did increase AGEs, don't you think we would find a whole bunch of diseases associated with Coffee. Or maybe something in the coffee counteracts AGEs?

Well, anyway while looking for info on Coffee and AGEs, I found an unrelated study on Gout and Coffee:

http://www.medpageto...5768&topicid=68

Coffee Itself, Not Caffeine, Reduces Risk of Gout

By Crystal Phend, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
May 25, 2007

And another one where it beats green tea (at least in this particular study)

Habitual coffee but not green tea consumption is inversely associated with metabolic syndrome: an epidemiological study in a general Japanese population.

http://www.ncbi.nlm....csum&query_hl=1

The effects on blood sugar regulation are interesting.

On one hand we have decreased risk of diabetes in coffee drinkers.

On another hand it seems to acutely lower insulin resistance, and it still has this effect about 12 weeks in.

Perhaps long-term coffee drinkers are the folks who don't get nervous/jittery, and therefore the effect on their blood sugar isn't as strong, so you just have whatever mechanism there is improving that situation.

Perhaps tolerance sets in at greater than 12 weeks.

A solution to drinking coffee.. consuming the entire berry? :D

http://www.newchapte...2006_03_20.html

I can't stand large anounts of caffiene. I get all nervous, excitible and jittery [8)]

i would be worried about the excess acidity of coffee consumed in large amounts.

There is a recipe for an acid free coffee extract, and it as follows:

1. Add one pound of freshly ground, organic coffee to eight cups water in a glass bowl.
2. Place mixture in a cool dark corner and allow to sit for about sixteen hours
3. Filter off the liquid extract through a coffee or fabric filter into a glass jar that can be tightly closed.
4. The extract is concentrated, and 1-2 tablespoons added to eight ounces of hot water yields one cup of de-acidified coffee.
5. Seal tightly and store it in the refidgerator. It will keep for about two weeks.

I suppose there might be benefits and detriments to the non-roasted berry approach.


Some studies indicate benefits from roasting (i.e., antioxidant content). http://www.coffeesci...org/antioxidant. I know some individuals have indicated that roasting cause AGEs in this thread, but I have not seen studies on this. On the contrary, one of the studies in the website above seems to imply that there is a benefit from the mallard reaction (the browning).

" The results show that both green and roasted coffee possess antiradical activity, that their more active component is 5-O-caffeoyl-quinic acid, and moreover that roasting process induces high MW components (later Maillard reaction products, i.e., melanoidins), also possessing antiradical activity in coffee. These results could explain the neuroprotective effects found for coffee consumption in recent epidemiological studies."


And I think one study has indicated a loss of antioxidant content from over roasting beyond medium-roasted (whatever that means).

A solution to drinking coffee.. consuming the entire berry? :D

http://www.newchapte...2006_03_20.html

This article encompasses all of the issues raised in this thread.

Coffee In China and the Analysis of Coffee According to Chinese Traditional Medicine
by Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon

BACKGROUND

For years, Western practitioners of Chinese medicine and virtually all proponents of natural health care have tried to convince people that they should stop drinking coffee, as an important step towards becoming healthier. Coffee was blamed for contributing toxicity to the body and to "burning out" the adrenal glands, and was more generally disdained as being one of many mass market components of an unhealthy food chain. Few opponents of coffee considered it a natural herb with a history of medicinal use; instead, focus was on medical reports of adverse effects of caffeine and general impressions that stimulating beverages had to be unhealthy. As it turned out, most reports of significant adverse effects from consuming coffee or from ingestion of caffeine were incorrect, due to poor study methodology, though this does not contradict the clear potential for adverse effects from high levels of caffeine or other components of coffee. In recent years, drinking green tea, a beverage that had also been rejected by coffee opponents due to worries about its caffeine content, has been shown to be one of the healthiest of habits. The antioxidant activity of the green tea phenols (catechins) has been a major focus of attention; coffee also contains antioxidant phenols. Tea and coffee are traditional beverages with a long history of being enjoyed by billions of people. Therefore, they ought to be re-examined. Few foods or beverages are perfect for everyone, but coffee might be entirely acceptable for many people, who will do fine without being warned to stop enjoying their beverage of choice, so long as it is enjoyed in moderation. This article examines coffee from ancient and modern perspectives, with a view towards interpretation through the lens of Chinese traditional medicine, a field that has been employed to analyze virtually everything that people consume.

(Continued At Link)

Some "imminst-sexy" molecules included for illustrative effect to actual article content to pique interest...

Edited by liplex, 01 November 2007 - 08:36 AM.