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A year without caffeine (part 2)

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Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#41

Post by cma »

nohat wrote: post #30
jperras wrote: post #22

The title seems a tad misleading. The author describes some relatively major lifestyle changes (huge changes in diet, sleeping habits, large increase in aerobic/anaerobic physical activity), of which the elimination of caffeine is but a small part. I used to have some very bad problems with acidity as well, to the point where my doctor thought I might have had acute ulcerative colitis, but what fixed it for me was sl…

Exactly. The focus of the whole story is on caffeine, but dropping caffeine is quite minor in comparison to eating better, sleeping better, and exercising more. I think it's general consensus that caffeine withdrawal takes no more than a week.

But there is a substantial link between dropping caffeine and sleeping better. And there is a link between sleeping better and getting more effective exercise. And it is hard to get effective exercise and still manage to live on something like Mountain Dew (which might prompt an improved diet).

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#43

Post by bpatrianakos »

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").

As a recovered heroin addict I can say they're very different from going cold turkey. The symtoms may be the same but the intensity is the huge difference. Also, the mental process is very different too. Whenever people ask me what it's like I always say I'd rather have the pain of childbirth or terminal cancer. Pure hell is what it is. Oddly enough though, it's often times the more "benign" addictions that are hardest to kick. Maybe because there's less pressure to do so or because they're more socially acceptable.

Caffeine, like heroin,isn't completely bad in and of itself though. It's the effect of taking too much and becoming dependent on it that are the real problems. Even vitamins can be harmful to your health if you take too much (which is luckily quite hard to do because the body just can't absorb them efficiently, at least in pill form).

Drugs aren't bad. Behaviors are bad. What we do with them are bad. I'd have no problem having a cup of coffee with my child (if I had one and the kid was old enough). Now, had I not experienced real, severe addiction myself I don't think I'd feel this way and I can understand if others can't understand why I feel this way.

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#44

Post by [deleted] »

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").

[deleted]

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#45

Post by redwood »

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 recommend reading "Shantaram" if you want to get a written sense (not that I can confirm its accuracy) of the total hell that is cold turkey off heroin. Both may be tough and painful to quit, but in "Shantaram" the turn off heroin is described as: imagine everything that is in any way good in your life, your being: warmth between your toes, energy to look up at the sky, hope for tomorrow, etc: now imagine every single shred of that positive-chemical-energy is shredded. What's left is all the horrible pain of being with none of the chemicals that help us get by. Or something like that. Great book, mostly about Bombay in the 80s and heroin only has small focus, but really worth the read!

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#46

Post by redwood »

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.

It seems to me hard to really say whether caffeine is healthy or not. Rather the modern western lifestyle -- a lifestyle we've agreed to, or accepted, for the most part -- that has very little to do with biological rhythm needs to be evaluated for its health effects. As long as we're going to accept that everyone is going to work long mid-days in unison, sleep 8 hours per night, in unison, etc: then we're going to appreciate aids (fluorescent lights, caffeine, heaters, air conditioners, melatonin, food) that help us conform with everyone else.

Some may not feel they need caffeine as much as others: so be it. But the idea that any of us can really be deemed healthy or not, due to whether or not caffeine is part of the diet, seems to me to lose the forest through the trees

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#47

Post by zanny »

vasco wrote: post #7

Never having liked the taste of coffee, I rarely drink it. I think the first time I had one was in a school field trip where everyone decided to pull our first all-nighter. Now I only use it when I need to finish something with a deadline and I can't possibly sleep to do it (this would be mitigated with better time management, but alas, this is how it is). Never having made an habit of it though, a single espresso (1…

I used to be addicted to soda as a kid, but quit it in high school. Now 21, I can count the number of caffinated beverages I've drunk on my hands since 16. I get the same reaction to caffeine now.

It is really scary to think the norm is to guzzle that stuff like candy daily.

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#48

Post by jobu »

benjaminwootton wrote: post #29
jperras wrote: post #22

The title seems a tad misleading. The author describes some relatively major lifestyle changes (huge changes in diet, sleeping habits, large increase in aerobic/anaerobic physical activity), of which the elimination of caffeine is but a small part. I used to have some very bad problems with acidity as well, to the point where my doctor thought I might have had acute ulcerative colitis, but what fixed it for me was sl…

If you don't mind, could you explain what your problems with acidity were? I've had a few issues over the last year or so and I'm only just making the link back to an acidic diet (diet coke, spicy food and chocolate being the main ones!)

I started having issues with ulcers and acid reflux in college, and for over a decade I took Prilosec (omeprazole) to control it. Last year I started drinking wheatgrass and other veggie shakes (and trying to eat a little healthier in general), and I've been able to stop taking the Prilosec with no major acid issues.

It started when my brother forced me to listen to one of his self-help CD's from Tony Robbins about the acid/alkaline diet (http://www.alkalinephdiet.com/anthony-robbins-alkaline-diet/). Mostly I view that stuff with a huge amount of skepticism, but my stomach will vouch for this one. As long as I have a veggie shake or a couple salads each day I'm able to safely drink coffee and alcohol, and occasionally eat pizza and other spicy food.

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#49

Post by jakeonthemove »

Going off caffeine gives me 2-3 days of indescribable headaches, then it's a pronounced fatigue for another 2 weeks. It ain't pretty.

However, if coffee must be eliminated from your diet, I believe you can always use caffeine pills - same energy without any side effects on the stomach.

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