So What Do We Really Know About Coffee?

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So What Do We Really Know About Coffee?

JoAnn Guest

Jan 11, 2004 16:38 PST

 

 

Coffee is strongly addictive. It takes, on average, four days to

break the habit. During these days you may experience headaches and

grogginess. This is a strong reminder of how destructive coffee

really is.

The most popular natural coffee alternatives/substitutes are

Teecino,Roma, Caro, Bamboo, Yannoh, Barleycup and Symington's

Dandelion coffee.

 

 

Calamity in a Cup - The Effects of Caffeine

 

-This article is from " Abundant Living "

By Ginny Rawls

 

People consuming as little as 100mg (1 cup) of caffeine a day have

withdrawal symptoms.

- " (New England Journal of Medicine "

 

Two cups of coffee may raise blood pressure to levels equal to one

cigarette, but it keeps it there for 1 - 2 hours, vs. just 15

minutes for smoking. (American Journal of Medicine)

 

Caffeine can increase the heart rate, may cause frequent irregular

beats, raises blood cholesterol, accelerates blood clotting which may

lead to a heart attack. 2 - 3 cups raises 'blood pressure' for 3

hours. (American Journal of Hypertension)

 

 

A cup of coffee reduces 'iron' " absorption " by 39%.

Drip coffee will lower iron absorption by 72%, while doubling

coffee's strength will reduce iron absorption by 91% (American

Journal of Clinical Nutrition)

In 1980 the Food and Drug Administration removed 'caffeine' from

the " Generally Recognized As Safe " (GRAS) list.

 

Caffeine stimulates the brain cortex, and can cause poor balance,

racing heart, insomnia, racing and disconnected thoughts,

poor memory, fatigue, restless leg syndrome, hand tremors, anxiety,

and dread, hostility, sleep disturbances, headaches,

hyperexcitability, irritability, agitation, anxiety & " dehydration " .

Caffeine triples the " risk " of 'pancreatic' cancer, doubles

fatal bladder cancer risk, raises colon cancer risk by 3,

raises risk of fibrocystic disease, increases

breast cancer risk, Increases ovarian cancer risk

Doubles female bladder cancer risk (1/Cday) .

 

 

1. New England Journal of Medicine

2. American Journal of Public Health

3. Family Practice News

4. Surgery 86: 104 - 109 5.International Journal of Cancer

6. Medical World

 

 

Each 10 mg. of caffeine consumed causes a 1 mg 'calcium' *loss* in

the bones. This affects children as well as adults.

One study showed that calcium *loss* actually doubled in '133' of

135 subjects who used caffeine.

 

Additionally " phosphoric acid " in soft drinks can

damage 'developing' bones by taking calcium from them. (American

Journal of Epidemiology

 

Chlorogenic acid in coffee causes some of the most **intense** food

allergies encountered in medical practice. (JAMA)

 

While all methylxanthines (class of toxic alkaloid chemicals) are

harmful to the thyroid, coffee is high in 'theophylline', which

is the most 'damaging' to the thyroid.

(Endocrinology

 

Caffeine stresses the 'pancreas' and compounds diabetes by raising

the blood sugar levels

1 Caffeine is considered a risk factor in diabetes

2. Coffee makes diabetes much worse in mouse experiments

 

1. Lancet

2. JAMA

3. Medical World News

 

 

Caffeine:

 

300 mg per day- retarded fetal growth

300 mg per day- during the month before pregnancy nearly doubled

spontaneous abortions (SAB) risk.

Just 163 mg. a day during the first trimester may double SAB risk.

(JAMA

 

Infants of caffeine-using mothers have higher rates of apnea (stop

breathing for short periods). -(American Journal of Ob/Gyn

 

Caffeine may be a triggering factor for insulin-dependent diabetes

in childhood. -(British Medical Journal

 

Caffeine can damage chromosomes in humans; increases the chance of

birth defects. (Cancer Research

 

200 mg decreases placental blood flow -(Journal of Reproductive

Medicine

 

Young rats given decaffeinated coffee had a significantly retarded

growth rate. (Life & Health)

 

Even decaffeinated coffee has hundreds of potentially harmful

chemical

components.

 

One class of these compounds is " caffeols " , which are coffee oils

that

are very 'irritating' to the gastrointestinal tract.

 

In addition many other 'chemicals' which have been linked to cancer

and

heart disease are still present as are other central nervous system

stimulants.

 

Even decaffeinated coffee contains more than 700

volatile 'chemicals'

such as acetaldehyd, ammonia, carbon disulfide, acetic acid,

'nitrosamines' and others.

 

1. Journal of the National Cancer Institute

2. Caffeine Coffee and Health, Garattini, Silvio

 

 

More Information concerning the health concerns

for caffeine consumption can be found in the booklet " Calamity in a

Cup " .

---

-

The Great Decaf Myth

by JAMES CHAPMAN, Daily Mail

---

Coffee drinkers who opt for decaffeinated in the belief that it will

not give them a buzz could be kidding themselves, scientists say.

 

A study suggest even decaf can increase blood pressure or interrupt

sleep patterns for occasional drinkers.

 

The study into the effects of coffee found that blood pressure and

nervous system activity increased when occasional coffee drinkers

had a

triple espresso, regardless of whether it contained caffeine.

 

 

Dr Roberto Corti, a cardiologist from the University Hospital in

Zurich, Switzerland, said: 'We had expected to see that caffeinated

coffee increased blood pressure.

But we were surprised to find that decaffeinated coffee also did the

same.

 

'If you avoid ordinary coffee and take decaf instead, you will have

exactly the same effect.

This is speculative, and we need to do further studies, but it

appears

that decaf coffee may also lead to sleeplessness among occasional

drinkers.'

 

Researchers measured the blood pressure, heart rate and nervous

system activity of 15 healthy volunteers aged between 27 and 38. Six

of the group were habitual coffee drinkers.

 

Measurements were recorded before, during and after the volunteers

drank decaffeinated and normal triple espressos.

 

The occasional drinkers showed a rise in blood pressure after an

hour

for both regular and decaffeinated espressos.

 

Both espressos also increased nervous system activity - by 29 per

cent after half-an-hour and 53 per cent after 60 minutes.

 

Over-activation of the nervous system has been linked to high blood

pressure.

 

Dr Corti said the research, published today in the medical journal

Circulation, suggested an unknown ingredient was responsible for

increasing heart rate and blood pressure.

 

'Until now, we have attributed the cardiovascular effects of coffee

to caffeine but we found non-coffee drinkers given decaffeinated

coffee also display these effects,' he said.

 

He suggested that people who had been advised to avoid coffee - such

as those with hypertension - might do best also to steer clear even

of

decaf.

 

 

Britons spend about £850 million a year on coffee. Bristol

University

researchers have shown that average to heavy consumption has been

linked

 

to ill health.

-------------------------------

Caffeine

In Regards to Osteoporosis

---

-As

little as three cups of coffee a day can be harmful to middle aged

women

at risk of osteoporosis, a new study says.

 

Investigators found women who consumed the most caffeine had

significantly lower bone mineral density after three years compared

with women who consumed the least.

 

The findings bolster research linking the consumption of caffeine,

found in coffee, chocolate, sodapop and other food components, to

the

bone 'thinning' disease osteoporosis.

 

This study was led by Dr. Prema Rapuri from Creighton University in

Omaha, Nebraska.

 

According to results published in the November issue of American

Journal of Clinical Nutrient, women who consumed 300 milligrams of

caffeine a day, the equivalent of about three cups of brewed coffee,

were more likely to 'lose' bone in their spine.

 

Caffeine in coffee and soft drinks causes the body to 'excrete'

calcium and tends to stress the adrenal glands,

leading in some cases to general exhaustion, including exhaustion of

the 'heart' muscle.