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A year without caffeine (part 2)

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Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#11

Post by mtrimpe »

yawgmoth wrote: post #6

Sort of an odd question, but have you found that the flora of your mouth changed when you cut out all of the acidity and sugary drinks? Less plaque \ bad breath? How long does it take you to go from first opening your eyes when you awake, to being 'normally awake'? One of my big things is to get out of bed ASAP and get a dose of caffeine right away (powdered, usually). It's a fairly small dose (50mg) but I found that…

I quit caffeine cold-turkey about a month ago and when I was still drinking caffeine I was much like you brewing a killer espresso at home or having an energy drink on the way to work.

The basic gist seems to be that caffeine allows you to not have a healthy morning ritual. After you quit you'll have to learn to have a decent breakfast and ideally some exercise as well, since otherwise you'll most likely just be a zombie until lunch every day.

This post, which includes some self-reflection, is the best on the topic I've come across: http://zentofitness.com/a-story-about-100-caffeine-free-livi...

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#12

Post by marvin »

pretoriusB wrote: post #4
geoka9 wrote: post #3

Reading this gave me chills - the symptoms of withdrawal described here are not unlike those of a heroin addict gone cold turkey. I can't imagine normal healthy people routinely taking a drug and teaching their children to take one. And yet this happens with coffee all the time. Many are even proud of their addiction ("coffee snobs").

> I can't imagine normal healthy people routinely taking a drug and teaching their children to take one. And yet this happens with coffee all the time. Many are even proud of their addiction ("coffee snobs"). It also happens with sugars, salt, corn syrup and tons of other stuff. Lots of things can be a "drug". Coffee, when drank in moderation, is actually absolutely beneficial to one's health.

Do you have a citation for the "caffeine is healthy" claim? This seems like rationalization to me; as a non-drinker of caffeine, coffee seems like the number one legal drug in the Western world.

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#13

Post by frewsxcv »

pretoriusB wrote: post #4
geoka9 wrote: post #3

Reading this gave me chills - the symptoms of withdrawal described here are not unlike those of a heroin addict gone cold turkey. I can't imagine normal healthy people routinely taking a drug and teaching their children to take one. And yet this happens with coffee all the time. Many are even proud of their addiction ("coffee snobs").

> I can't imagine normal healthy people routinely taking a drug and teaching their children to take one. And yet this happens with coffee all the time. Many are even proud of their addiction ("coffee snobs"). It also happens with sugars, salt, corn syrup and tons of other stuff. Lots of things can be a "drug". Coffee, when drank in moderation, is actually absolutely beneficial to one's health.

> It also happens with sugars, salt, corn syrup and tons of other stuff.

Citation needed

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#14

Post by [deleted] »

desbest wrote: post #5
geoka9 wrote: post #3

Reading this gave me chills - the symptoms of withdrawal described here are not unlike those of a heroin addict gone cold turkey. I can't imagine normal healthy people routinely taking a drug and teaching their children to take one. And yet this happens with coffee all the time. Many are even proud of their addiction ("coffee snobs").

There was a heroin addict who filmed himself going cold turkey for his family, and at the end of the video, was himself on camera, having a brain hemorrhage. Very unlike caffeine.

[deleted]

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#15

Post by herdrick »

desbest wrote: post #5
geoka9 wrote: post #3

Reading this gave me chills - the symptoms of withdrawal described here are not unlike those of a heroin addict gone cold turkey. I can't imagine normal healthy people routinely taking a drug and teaching their children to take one. And yet this happens with coffee all the time. Many are even proud of their addiction ("coffee snobs").

There was a heroin addict who filmed himself going cold turkey for his family, and at the end of the video, was himself on camera, having a brain hemorrhage. Very unlike caffeine.

Actually, withdrawal from heroin is a trivial matter. http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/3212846/withdrawal-from-...

Unlike alcohol, for example.

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#16

Post by ahelwer »

desbest wrote: post #5
geoka9 wrote: post #3

Reading this gave me chills - the symptoms of withdrawal described here are not unlike those of a heroin addict gone cold turkey. I can't imagine normal healthy people routinely taking a drug and teaching their children to take one. And yet this happens with coffee all the time. Many are even proud of their addiction ("coffee snobs").

There was a heroin addict who filmed himself going cold turkey for his family, and at the end of the video, was himself on camera, having a brain hemorrhage. Very unlike caffeine.

Anecdotal evidence I know, but I was a three cups/day guy for a while then quit cold turkey. After about a week of feeling a bit fuzzy and irritable I was back to normal. Is this atypical or something?

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#18

Post by Evgeny »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #10

This is pretty inspiring. It is always amazing to people how much diet and exercise affect their health, which I find amazing that they are amazed. Its fundamental. Of course the ulcers could have been cleared up with the right antibiotics [1] but regardless, Bryan is in a much better place than he was and it doesn't matter which path he took. [1] http://www.cdc.gov/ulcer/consumer.htm

It is always amazing to people how much diet and exercise affect their health

This is true. It is equally amazing to me how much abuse the human body can take before it actually breaks down. Sometimes I think it would be better if the results of bad dietary or exercise habits revealed themselves faster - I suppose it would be more convincing and easier to undo the damage.

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#19

Post by lliiffee »

marvin wrote: post #12
pretoriusB wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I can't imagine normal healthy people routinely taking a drug and teaching their children to take one. And yet this happens with coffee all the time. Many are even proud of their addiction ("coffee snobs"). It also happens with sugars, salt, corn syrup and tons of other stuff. Lots of things can be a "drug". Coffee, when drank in moderation, is actually absolutely beneficial to one's health.

Do you have a citation for the "caffeine is healthy" claim? This seems like rationalization to me; as a non-drinker of caffeine, coffee seems like the number one legal drug in the Western world.

There is evidence of a bunch of mild benefits (and also mild risks). I'd currently say it looks like a small net benefit, but with a confidence interval that would include negative territory. In general, it seems reasonable to drink coffee if you like it. It certainly is an addictive drug, though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_effects_of_coffee

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#20

Post by msluyter »

marvin wrote: post #12
pretoriusB wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I can't imagine normal healthy people routinely taking a drug and teaching their children to take one. And yet this happens with coffee all the time. Many are even proud of their addiction ("coffee snobs"). It also happens with sugars, salt, corn syrup and tons of other stuff. Lots of things can be a "drug". Coffee, when drank in moderation, is actually absolutely beneficial to one's health.

Do you have a citation for the "caffeine is healthy" claim? This seems like rationalization to me; as a non-drinker of caffeine, coffee seems like the number one legal drug in the Western world.

Your question reminded me of this recent article, which is focused on coffee rather than caffeine specifically. Nonetheless, it's rather interesting:

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/11/the-case-f...

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