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A year without caffeine (part 2)

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Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#91

Post by ElliotMingee »

killahpriest wrote: post #83
Dylan16807 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That means you adjusted back quickly, but it doesn't really answer the question. Which is: If you have coffee almost every day, does it still provide you an alertness boost?

I drink coffee everyday (somedays four or more espressos). I also stop drinking coffe for a few days at least twice every semester, just in case. Even at peak coffee, more coffee still stimulates my mind and makes me infinitely more focused. The only times coffee hasn't worked is when I'm genuinely sleep deprived, although I typically get 6-8 hours of sleep.

I hesitate to contribute anecdotal evidence but my experience has been very similar. In college, I routinely took 200 mg caffeine pills and I would always stop cold turkey after exams, when I was usually hitting about 300 mg a day. Definitely felt the alertness almost every time I consumed more caffeine and, surprisingly, never had any withdrawal symptoms outside of drowsiness.

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#92

Post by tubbo »

rcthompson wrote: post #52

I personally have never been a caffeine user. I had always assumed that if I used it regularly, my body would eventually counteradjust so that I would require coffee just to bring me back to my original baseline level of alertness. Can anyone comment on whether this is the case?

It is not the case. Caffeine has a relatively quick tolerance turnaround, like every other stimulant. All of it has metabolized out of you within a day and within a couple days, you won't even feel like you need it anymore.

From what I understand, for most healthy people, drinking coffee as your major source of caffeine is harmless and may even be good for you. I find that "just enough" stimulates my brain without the bad side effects (inability to sleep, abdominal pains, feeling "fidgety").

Another thing is it's silly to assume that a drug will have a specific edge-case effect on you like that. "Your Mileage May Vary" is a popular term used when giving drug advice, as every body is slightly different therefore the drugs you take will affect you slightly differently than the next guy.

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#93

Post by maxerickson »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #86
handelaar wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Had you read the article, you'd know that link describes something the author actually took time to tell you wasn't available to him.

Since I did read the article perhaps there is something else you missed?

He updated the article after your earlier comment:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5018450

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#95

Post by rdtsc »

jakeonthemove wrote: post #49

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.

I like the taste of coffee but don't feel like a need or want the caffeine boost. Decaf coffees don't taste the same though either. So once in a while I go for about a week or so of drinking coffee, then quit and pay for it with headaches.

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#96

Post by krallja »

Tichy wrote: post #74
doctornemo wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does not, according to the various medical people I asked. Alas, I still don't like the taste.

Hm, weird, can't imagine that is true. So where does the caffeine in black tea come from?

Brewed green tea contains 24-40mg of caffeine per 240mL; brewed black tea contains 14-61mg of caffeine per 240mL.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeine/AN01211

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#97

Post by krallja »

wsc981 wrote: post #80
hobbyist wrote: post #64

Why is green tea not included in the drinks to be avoided. I thought green tea also contains caffeine.

Since both green teas and black teas are made from the same plant -a plant that contains caffeine- it seems likely both tea variants contain caffeine. The withering & oxidation processes might increase the caffeine in black teas though: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_processing If you want a caffeine free tea that tastes well (imo), consider Rooibos tea. It contains no caffeine whatsoever: http://en.wikipedia.org/w…

This seems like the place to point out the difference between a tea and a tisane: rooibos is a tisane, or "herbal tea," because it is not made from a tea plant.

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#98

Post by rdtsc »

wsc981 wrote: post #80
hobbyist wrote: post #64

Why is green tea not included in the drinks to be avoided. I thought green tea also contains caffeine.

Since both green teas and black teas are made from the same plant -a plant that contains caffeine- it seems likely both tea variants contain caffeine. The withering & oxidation processes might increase the caffeine in black teas though: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_processing If you want a caffeine free tea that tastes well (imo), consider Rooibos tea. It contains no caffeine whatsoever: http://en.wikipedia.org/w…

I like Rooibos tea. Just ordered a huge bag from Amazon. But because it doesn't have caffeine, it doesn't have the same wakefulness effect that tea does.

I also drink coffee sometimes. And even though both contain caffeine there is big difference. When I talk about tea's wake-fullness it is more like alertness, a much more gradual and pleasant effect than coffee. Coffee is like having someone constantly slapping me on the face. It is more noticeable and it is too distracting. But I also happen to like the taste of a good cup of coffee so I drink it then quit after a while, get headaches, go back to my tea and then after a month of two do it again.

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#99

Post by curiousDog »

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…

Could you expand on your diet changes? (For eg: General breakfast, lunch and dinner?) I have the same symptoms and have a colonoscopy scheduled to check for ulcerative colitis.

I'm in my mid 20s and lead the typical unhealthy lifestyle (eat out everyday, lot's of spicy food). Only recently have I started having these problems (severe heartburn, stool 6-8 times/day etc) Sigh..guess I'm getting old already..

Re: A year without caffeine (part 2)

#100

Post by noveltyaccount »

bpatrianakos wrote: post #43
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 harde…

"'What’s it like,' Karla asked me once, 'cold turkey off heroin?' I tried to explain it. 'Think about every time in your life that you’ve ever been afraid, really afraid. Someone sneaks up behind you when you think you’re alone, and shouts to frighten you. The gang of thugs closes in around you. You fall from a great height in a dream, or you stand on the very edge of a steep cliff. Someone holds you under water and you feel the breath gone, and you scramble, fight, and claw your way to the surface. You lose control of the car and see the wall rushing into your soundless shout. Then add them all up, all those chest-tightening terrors, and feel them all at once, all at the same time, hour after hour, and day after day. And think of every pain you’ve ever known—the burn with hot oil, the sharp sliver of glass, the broken bone, the gravel rash when you fell on the rough road in winter, the headache and the earache and the toothache. Then add them all up, all those groin-squeezing, stomach-tensing shrieks of pain, and feel them all at once, hour after hour, and day after day. Then think of every anguish you’ve ever known. Remember the death of a loved one. Remember a lover’s rejection. Recall your feelings of failure and shame and unspeakably bitter remorse. And add them all up, all the heart-stabbing griefs and miseries, and feel them all at once, hour after hour, and day after day. That’s cold turkey. Cold turkey off heroin is life with the skin torn away.'"

- Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts

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