The good & bad of coffee

I experience the good side-effects. I drink no more than 2 cups a day. I have naturally low blood pressure. It's not good for people with high blood pressure. It tastes great both hot or cold.

These days, coffee tends to get a bad rap in the media which is an incorrect & deceptive generalization, either promoting it at one end or de-promoting it at the other end.

Combats drowsiness, temporarily boosts athletic performance, eases congestion due to colds and flu, prevents asthma attacks, enhances the pain-relieving effects of aspirin.

Coffee is most notorious for causing insomnia and increasing anxiety, irritability and nervousness. It can also aggravate panic attacks. Coffee increases the secretion of stomach acids and can upset the stomach. Doctors say that people with ulcers or other gastrointestinal conditions should use it cautiously, if at all. Contrary to popular mythology, coffee does not cause ulcers. It can, however, make ulcers worse in people who already have them.

www.organicfood.co.uk...

Well.. caffeine IS a drug. And a darn good one. I disagree on the flavor of cold coffee. Yuk :-) I like coffee. I like it hot. I like the flavor of it and the little boost it gives me. Ok. Maybe in the quantities that I drink it you can say its a big boost. I'm sure 20 cups of coffee a day for a lab rat is bad. lol. As long as coffee stays coffee I will drink it.

I love coffee. While I've experienced both the good and bad symptoms listed in the official studies at different times, they'll have to pry my cup from my cold, dead hand.

Something that tends to be overlooked in the studies is that people with a regular intake of coffee build up a certain tolerance for caffeine and therefore a resistance to its effects. Just as with any other stimulant.

Imagine dealing with life today without caffeine. I tremble with fear. LOL

Cooooffee! *said in a Homer Simpson like like drool voice* Sweet wonderful perfect coffee!

God life without caffeine wouldn't be life at all! Coffee in the morning, coffee and Mt. Dew in the afternoon, Mt Dew at night, coffee ice cream for desert, Raktajino (Klingon Coffee. I read a recipe for it online!) late at night while I'm surfing the net *pauses* you know...I think I may have just stumbled on why I don't sleep.....

Coffee the nectar of life.

"A day without coffee is like a day without coffee."

I don't put much stock into any of the health claims of anything anymore. Everything is bad for you, if you take too much. Some things are just plain bad for you. Eat eggs, eat egg whites, don't eat eggs, oops, lets eat eggs again.

Not going to change my daily intake of coffee though.

Originally posted by Indy
I disagree on the flavor of cold coffee. Yuk :-) I like coffee. I like it hot. t.

You haven't had a really cold, good frappuccino.

www.starbucks.com...

I love coffee. I never really notice any caffeine effects when I drink single-origin coffees, but get jittery when I drink normal grocery-store "canned ground coffee," even if it's supposedly 100% Columbian or whatever.

Does anyone besides me ever worry about
our favorite drink being at high risk for bioterrorism?
After all, great coffee originates in some political hot-spots...
Indonesia, Yemen, Kenya, Tanzania...

[Pours another cup of yummy Costa Rican coffee]

I love coffee as well, can't imagine a day without it. But we shouldn't forget that it does increase the acidity of our bodies, and it also depletes the body of vitamins. That is a downside you experience whether you realize it or not.
No problem, though, that is what mega-vitamins are for.

Coffee is only good for me if I really, really need to stay awake. Otherwise, it makes me sick to my stomach, tastes horrible, and gives me a headache a few hours later.

When I need my caffeine fix, I just make some tea. Usually some type of chai mix or rooibos. Good stuff at the link below, the stores are great for free samples too.

www.teavana.com...

Originally posted by Thomas Crowne
and it also depletes the body of vitamins. That is a downside you experience whether you realize it or not.
No problem, though, that is what mega-vitamins are for.

Exactly, that's why I have my latte' with my mega-vitamins. Keep the vitamins in the kitchen right above my machine.

You know you really like coffee when,...

You realize you are out, some early morning.



I love the stuff, black, and hot.
The only bad I experience, is a small headache sometimes after several days on the wagon.

You experience headaches after you've drunk coffee because you're dehydrated. Coffee is a diuretic, so make sure you drink more water when you drink coffee.

A bit off topic, but I hate coffee. This may be because I can taste the bitterness more, or because I haven't gotten addicted to it yet.

Coffee is kind of like alcohol- addictive, bitter, and a diruetic. One exception being alcohol tends to put you to sleep while coffee keeps you awake.

I love my coffee! They'll have to pry the cup from my cold dead hand.
Before I moved to Phoenix, the idea of cold coffee was anathema...yuk!!!!! But, when it's 107 degrees, there's nothing like a cold frappacino over ice with a dab of mocha taste.
I've given up my morning coffee (mainly because, after retirement, I'm free to stay up as late as I want and sleep as late as I want) but, by late afternoon, it's off to the coffee shop for my mocha frappacino over ice.
joey

How sad is it that my first post here is in a coffee thread - We grind our own and find that makes a big difference in taste.

Has anyone tried the cold brew method? I have heard that it is smoother and that you can have a whole carafe in the fridge and just make a cup at a time by adding hot water to the concentrate.

I consider myself a big coffee fan, I love the morning coffee but not as much as an espresso or mocha

Anyways, I have a good site for this occasion. It attempts to combat all the misconceptions and rumours on coffee:

www.coffeescience.org...

I have tried the cold press method and I think it's really good ..although my husband doesn't think so. He has the "rarified" coffee instincts As for me, I just want my caffeine jolt.
joey

I just discovered that having a plain black cup of coffee helps nullify the effects of some herbs. This is good when the effect of the herb doesn't agree with you. I thought it was just a fluke the 1st time it happened but I was able to get rid of a bad side-effect from another herb again this way. The only thing is that you may get stuck with a headache for a little while doing this. So that's why they don't recommend consuming caffeine with herbal supplements.

Originally posted by sen5e
I just discovered that having a plain black cup of coffee helps nullify the effects of some herbs. This is good when the effect of the herb doesn't agree with you. I thought it was just a fluke the 1st time it happened but I was able to get rid of a bad side-effect from another herb again this way. The only thing is that you may get stuck with a headache for a little while doing this. So that's why they don't recommend consuming caffeine with herbal supplements.

Not only coffee, try activated charcoal and milk thistle for similar results. I use these to neutralize some minor poisons, nothing life saving but does help out with some of my herbal concotions. I would like to stress to you, mixing some herbs with coffee is just a bad idea. First hand expierance talking here, you may want to keep a bottle of charcoal or something readily available espically if you wish to dwell into atropine and thujone containing herbs.

MMMMM Coffee.....

I love coffee, but I stick to decaf. Some people ask me why I drink it if it isnt doing anything for me. Well it is. It has a placenbo effect. I smell coffee I wake up. Simple. I love it any way: Black, with sugar, with cream, hot or frozen. MMM Caramel Frapachino. Oh did I mention carmel is my kryptonite! I will do anythign for caramel. OK be right back, I gotta go hit Starbucks!