27 replies to this topic

[username]

Coffee has had a bad rep for a long time, but studies show that it's actually a health drink, and that coffee drinkers don't get certain diseases as often as non-drinkers.



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What do you guys think? Do you drink coffee?

I drink 1/2 to 1 liter per day.

Edited by longschi, 19 February 2014 - 10:07 AM.

[bracconiere]

When I was first designing my diet I had trouble getting enough Riboflavin and Pantothenic acid, until I realized coffee is loaded with the stuff. (according to the USDA, I'm not sure why espresso has so much more niacin and less of those though. Need to have an assay I could do my self, without cyanide)

[Thorsten3]

When I was first designing my diet I had trouble getting enough Riboflavin and Pantothenic acid, until I realized coffee is loaded with the stuff. (according to the USDA, I'm not sure why espresso has so much more niacin and less of those though. Need to have an assay I could do my self, without cyanide)

Can you link me to its nutritional profile, please? I'd love to have a look

[Mind]

IMO (and studies mostly agree), the benefits of coffee outweigh the downsides by a large margin.

[douglis]

What's going on with caffeine?Half of the studies that I found showed that it benefits the endothelial function and the other half showed that is bad!

Here're two of the good ones:
http://www.sciencedi...002914911001251
http://www.sciencedi...00291490601647X

.....and here're two of the bads:
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/15799717
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/20664622

[tunt01]

1-2 cups a day is probably fine. I would argue it's probably not healthy though.

[Darryl]

Coffee contains hundreds of compounds, some brought out during the roasting process; some of the carcinogens produced by the high heat of roasting include cresote, pyrimidine, tars and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

.

Besides caffeine's role as an A2A adenosine receptor antagonist, its probably the dark roasted carcinogens that have the beneficial effects. Yeah hormesis.

Paur, Ingvild, Trude R. Balstad, and Rune Blomhoff. "Degree of roasting is the main determinant of the effects of coffee on NF-κB and EpRE." Free Radical Biology and Medicine 48.9 (2010): 1218-1227.

Coffee, one of the most popular beverages worldwide, is a major contributor of phytochemicals in the diet and contributes more than 50% of dietary antioxidants in many countries. A moderate intake of coffee has been linked to reduced risk of chronic diseases. Furthermore, experimental studies demonstrate bioactivity of coffee or coffee compounds in inflammation and oxidative stress, two major, related biological processes. We show that the degree of roasting correlates with the efficiency of dampening inflammation-induced NF-κB activity and inducing antioxidant defense through Nrf2/EpRE activity. Extracts of dark-roasted coffee inhibit NF-κB activity by more than 80% and induce EpRE activity more than 25-fold in vitro. In transgenic NF-κB-luciferase mice, a single dose of dark-roasted coffee extract per os inhibits NF-κB activation by 63% in the whole mouse, with the liver being the main target, with a 68% reduction in activity. In transgenic EpRE-luciferase mice, the extract of coffee increased overall EpRE activity by 30%, again with the liver as the main contributor, with a 2.7-fold increase. Our results demonstrate that dark-roasted coffee dampens a crucial mechanism in inflammation and induces a pivotal mechanism in oxidative stress defense.

Edited by Darryl, 01 March 2014 - 01:19 AM.

[blood]

Some forms of coffee seem to increase plasma homocysteine levels, which possibly might not be a good thing. A small dose of folic acid eliminates this effect (presumably methyl-folate, or plenty of folate from food, will have the same effect):

Folic acid supplement decreases the homocysteine increasing effect of filtered coffee. A randomised placebo-controlled study.

E Strandhagen, S Landaas and D S Thelle

OBJECTIVE: Elevated levels of plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) are identified as independent risk factors for coronary heart disease and for fetal neural tube defects. tHcy levels are negatively associated with folic acid, pyridoxine and cobalamine, and positively associated with coffee consumption and smoking. A total of 600 ml of filtered coffee results in a tHcy increase that 200 mug of folic acid or 40 mg of pyridoxine supplementation might eliminate.

DESIGN: Randomised, blinded study with two consecutive trial periods.

SETTING: Free living population. Volunteers.

SUBJECTS: A total of 121 healthy, nonsmoking men and women (78%) aged 29-65 y.

INTERVENTIONS: (1) A coffee-free period of 3 weeks, (2) 600 ml coffee/day and a supplement of 200 mug folic acid/day or placebo for 4 weeks, (3) 3-week coffee-free period, (4) 600 ml coffee/day and 40 mg pyridoxine/day or placebo for 4 weeks.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The difference between the change in tHcy in the supplement group and the change in tHcy in the placebo group during the 4-week trial period.

RESULTS: Coffee abstention resulted in a tHcy decrease of 1.04 mumol/l for the whole group. In the subsequent coffee period, a further decrease of 0.17 mumol/l was observed in the folic acid group whereas an increase of 1.26 mumol/l was observed in the placebo group, the difference was 1.43 mumol/l (95% CI: 0.80, 2.07). Pyridoxine supplement had no impact on tHcy levels.

CONCLUSIONS: Supplementation of 200 mug folic acid/day eliminates the tHcy increasing effect of 600 ml filtered coffee in subjects not already on folic acid supplements. A supplement of 40 mg pyridoxine/day does not have the same effect

Eur J Clin Nutr 57:11, 1411-7

[Luminosity]

I think it depends on the person. Coffee isn't healthy for me. I do like Teeccino, a herbal coffee substitute. Java is the my favorite flavor. There may be things that are healthy about coffee for some people but in Chinese medicine, hot drinks are good for you, especially in the morning, and cold drinks are unhealthy, so that may be a lot of it. Coffee keeps people from drinking sodas and cold drinks.

[username]

I think it depends on the person. Coffee isn't healthy for me. I do like Teeccino, a herbal coffee substitute. Java is the my favorite flavor. There may be things that are healthy about coffee for some people but in Chinese medicine, hot drinks are good for you, especially in the morning, and cold drinks are unhealthy, so that may be a lot of it. Coffee keeps people from drinking sodas and cold drinks.

I never thought of that. More coffee --> less coke and sprite? That could be a big confounding factor. However, coffee drinkers smoke more often, but - I think - most studies take this confounder into account.

[Strelok]

There are certainly benefits that can be attributed to high quality coffee, such as it's antioxidant content. For me, however, the diuretic/dehydrating and stimulant effect (and it's resultant stress on the adrenals) of the caffeine outweigh the purported benefits. Some people use caffeine before workouts to help give them energy. The dehydrating effect actually ushers in fatigue faster for me. Just my $.02.

[Darryl]

While I have no doubt that some have adverse effects from coffee, I doubt that dehydration plays a role, at least for regular drinkers.

Grandjean, Ann C., et al. "The effect of caffeinated, non-caffeinated, caloric and non-caloric beverages on hydration." Journal of the American College of Nutrition 19.5 (2000): 591-600.
Maughan, Ron J., and J. Griffin. "Caffeine ingestion and fluid balance: a review."Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 16.6 (2003): 411-420.

[blood]

the diuretic/dehydrating and stimulant effect (and it's resultant stress on the adrenals) of the caffeine outweigh the purported benefits.

I used to find that even a single cup of coffee a day gave me lower back pain. Oddly (or not), this effect went away when I began to take 500-1000 mg of magnesium/day.

(Now, I'd need to drink maybe 4 cups/day before the twinge in my lower back makes an appearance).

Edited by blood, 05 March 2014 - 12:43 AM.

[bracconiere]

When I was first designing my diet I had trouble getting enough Riboflavin and Pantothenic acid, until I realized coffee is loaded with the stuff. (according to the USDA, I'm not sure why espresso has so much more niacin and less of those though. Need to have an assay I could do my self, without cyanide)

Can you link me to its nutritional profile, please? I'd love to have a look

I use the USDA database, it's accessible through CRON-O-Meter, a program for tracking your food intake. Google will find it. Or you can use the USDA website with sr25, I believe.

here you go...

http://ndb.nal.usda....foods/show/4290

Edited by bracconiere, 18 March 2014 - 02:00 PM.

[evolvedhuman2012]

yea, but also had good rep. i guess depends who you listen to. mood and cognitive enhancement aren't enough good reasons to use it? and its natural and nothing controvesial like amphetamine. if the scientists that made it can't tell you long term effect, i err on side of caution. and coffee usage been around for centuries. for me, i find it does drain you to boost you but i just eat high protein diet to satisfy the drain and i feel fine.

doesn't really give me haullication and sleep problems. but i heard some folks don't get any effect with that. and yea , i guess unique bio-chem differences respond differently to it too.

Edited by evolvedhuman2012, 19 March 2014 - 12:37 PM.

[Strelok]

Over the years I've read many alternative/natural/holistic health practitioners espouse the idea that coffee it detrimental to beneficial gut microbiota, and may exacerbate some digestive issues like IBS. I've also read that it has an inhibiting affect on digestive enzymes. Just food for thought...

[evolvedhuman2012]

Over the years I've read many alternative/natural/holistic health practitioners espouse the idea that coffee it detrimental to beneficial gut microbiota, and may exacerbate some digestive issues like IBS. I've also read that it has an inhibiting affect on digestive enzymes. Just food for thought...

i won't deny what you saying but that idea vague to me so i might have to look into that . but then also, positive benefit of better mental health and fighting degenerative mental diseases have been cited. and i also read some literature about it helping gut flora and the piece was authored by a doctor citing some study i think. i dunno man....

[Rachel Moron]

Coffee has pros and cons both, for pregnant women doctors often suggests to limit the consumption of coffee due to pregnancy and it is quite dangerous for health. many athletes have known for years, of course, that a cup of coffee before a workout jolts athletic performance, especially in endurance sports like distance running and cycling.Coffee also lowers risk of Type 2 diabetes, according to a study from The American Chemical Society. The study's researchers found that people who drink four or more cups of coffee a day reduce their chances of developing Type 2 diabetes by 50 percent. It has been found no effect of coffee consumption on heart disease risk. But people should follow their doctor’s advice.

[Bogomoletz II]

There was some study in the news probably less than a year ago that concluded coffee shortened telomeres while beer elongated them. Might want to look into that later.

[username]

Did that study control for smoking, diet etc.?
I kind of have trouble believing it since it contradicts coffee's benefits on insulin sensitivity, liver health etc.

[Bogomoletz II]

Did that study control for smoking, diet etc.?
I kind of have trouble believing it since it contradicts coffee's benefits on insulin sensitivity, liver health etc.

I don't know. That will have to be googled up. There's always a lot of contradictory information when it comes to these studies. Remember that while this study suggested beer promoted telomere length, other studies have suggested beer increases the risk of colon cancer (whereas wine decreases it).

[TheFountain]

I believe a major benefit of coffee comes from its antioxidant compounds known as quinines. Not so much the Caffeine as so many of you are suggesting. 

 

Though Caffeine itself in moderate doses does have benefits frivolously consuming multiple cups of coffee a day (something I wish I could do) is not advisable for many of the off setting affects of overconsumption of caffeine.  

 

That said it still makes me Jealous how i'm sitting there with my one diluted cup of coffee, like *Slow careful calculated sip* while the person next to me is like *Chug-a Chug Chug Aahhhhh, next!* due to my somewhat annoying "caffeine sensitivity". 

 

But there's a mid point here. You can mix half decaf and half normal coffee so you get less of a Caffeine punch while still getting enough to set you on your day. 

 

Or if you're cautious like me mix three quarters of a teaspoon of decaf with one quarter teaspoon of normal caffeinated. I find there is a certain small amount of caffeine that can energize me, while it is easy for the amount of caffeine to give way to just a little too much and thus negatively occurring symptoms like anxiety. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Juangalt]

Anecdotal and personalized, yes, but caffeine in any form has been extremely detrimental to my sleeping and eating habits. I feel great while drinking caffeine and even sleep decently as long as I've had some caffeine. But I get wicked withdrawals in the form of insomnia and headaches for days or weeks afterward. Even a little chocolate or green tea is enough to make my sleep unstable. In addition, I get almost uncontrollable cravings to eat that seem to be proportional to the caffeine consumed. Overall, I've just decided that for me the benefits don't outweigh the costs.

[kurdishfella]

Coffee is a poison because it's absorbed outside of the small intestine (stomach and big intestine) rapidly. Scientists should study its absorption rate so that it can make effective drugs that are absorbed like it as well.

[kurdishfella]

If your unhleathy you shouldnt drink coffe. if your healthy long term coffe high dose can be bad as it will build up in ur blood. Maybe initially it strengthens ur immune system as it is being turned on more.

Edited by kurdishfella, 16 July 2021 - 11:02 PM.

[Scrittore]

I'll take a note.

[kurdishfella]

It exhausts all your neurontransmitters longterm use

Edited by kurdishfella, 26 January 2022 - 12:09 AM.

[TheFountain]

It exhausts all your neurontransmitters longterm use

 

Adrenal fatigue much?

 

This is why I do half caf or quarter caf, it's the caffeinated part that's responsible.