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More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

nytimes.com

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Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#71

Post by jsbg »

0359B02149AB wrote: post #23
MrJagil wrote: post #4

Coffee itself might not have anything to do with it; rather, coffee follows a certain lifestyle which is healthier than that of non-drinkers. I.e. it is perhaps quite good for you to get up every morning at 9am and go to work. Active lifestyle, continuous stimuli etc. Coffee just so happens to be very ingrained in that culture. It might not be the actual chemicals and nutrients of coffee that helps you, but the fact…

Anecdotally, I would agree with you for some, but for others not so much. I get a short boost followed by a long crash when drinking coffee. It's also like an unfocused focus - like as long as what I want to focus on is nearby, I will do that. But if I have to figure out what I want to focus on, that feels like frustration and hypertension. I prefer tea. I get up at 4:50 am 5 days a week, and I rarely sleep past 7-8…

Tea contains l-theanine, which, when combined with caffeine, has been shown to improve concentration. You can get the same effect by drinking coffee and taking l-theanine pills.

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#72

Post by rudolf0 »

jsbg wrote: post #71
0359B02149AB wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotally, I would agree with you for some, but for others not so much. I get a short boost followed by a long crash when drinking coffee. It's also like an unfocused focus - like as long as what I want to focus on is nearby, I will do that. But if I have to figure out what I want to focus on, that feels like frustration and hypertension. I prefer tea. I get up at 4:50 am 5 days a week, and I rarely sleep past 7-8…

Tea contains l-theanine, which, when combined with caffeine, has been shown to improve concentration. You can get the same effect by drinking coffee and taking l-theanine pills.

The amount of l-theanine in green tea is quite small compared to what you get from pills. From my own personal experience and from what I've read on nootropic discussion boards, to really feel significant effects you need more l-theanine than what is provided in tea.

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#73

Post by TheLoneWolfling »

A thought.

Coffee is a (relatively mild) stimulant. I wonder how much of coffee's benefits can be attributed directly to that, as opposed to whatever else caffeine may do?

Given that these studies tend to be done in first-world countries, where obesity and people being underactive are a problem... Overgeneralizing of course.

If nothing else, sitting still for long periods of time is known to be bad for you, and caffeine helps people avoid that.

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#74

Post by drzaiusapelord »

MrJagil wrote: post #4

Coffee itself might not have anything to do with it; rather, coffee follows a certain lifestyle which is healthier than that of non-drinkers. I.e. it is perhaps quite good for you to get up every morning at 9am and go to work. Active lifestyle, continuous stimuli etc. Coffee just so happens to be very ingrained in that culture. It might not be the actual chemicals and nutrients of coffee that helps you, but the fact…

>The biggest killers are staying still and loneliness.

My alone time, recreation time, time dedicated to meditation are some of the best/heathiest times for me. Being amped up all the time is messed up, imo, and leads to chronic stress and such.

>coffee follows a certain lifestyle which is healthier than that of non-drinkers. I

The fattest slobs drink coffee just like everyone else. It seems you've never watched the clientele in your average breakfast or donut place.

I find people addicted to caffeine and stimulants seem very busy, but often deliver sub-par work as soaking your neurons in excitors feels good to you, but actually doesn't make you better at anything. If anything, it makes you worse than you normally would be.

I think there's a great argument here about how slow and steady wins the race and is healthier overall. Look at US over-working conditions, lack of maternity leave, lack of vacation days, etc compared to our more genteel European peers. I can't imagine anyone thinking our amped up culture is better from a health perspective.

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#75

Post by [deleted] »

TheLoneWolfling wrote: post #73

A thought. Coffee is a (relatively mild) stimulant. I wonder how much of coffee's benefits can be attributed directly to that, as opposed to whatever else caffeine may do? Given that these studies tend to be done in first-world countries, where obesity and people being underactive are a problem... Overgeneralizing of course. If nothing else, sitting still for long periods of time is known to be bad for you, and caffe…

[deleted]

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#76

Post by MrJagil »

JulianMorrison wrote: post #66
MrJagil wrote: post #4

Coffee itself might not have anything to do with it; rather, coffee follows a certain lifestyle which is healthier than that of non-drinkers. I.e. it is perhaps quite good for you to get up every morning at 9am and go to work. Active lifestyle, continuous stimuli etc. Coffee just so happens to be very ingrained in that culture. It might not be the actual chemicals and nutrients of coffee that helps you, but the fact…

You are assuming the scientists who did these studies and the scientists attempting to merge them with meta-analysis are asleep at the wheel and have failed to correct for obvious confounding factors that a random member of the public could brainstorm in the seconds it took you to post. This doesn't seem like a sensible assumption, absent evidence.

Hey Julian,

I really wasn't trying to discredit any of the studies done. Whenever I participate in discussion my main motivation is always to try and create nuances. I know before hand that an actual truth is impossible to attain, so I feel it's better to just try and add some color to the discussion.

Causation and correlation is of course always low-hanging fruit, I just felt it was curious that the article did not touch upon it and wanted to fuel a different angle of discussion.

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#77

Post by coldtea »

MrJagil wrote: post #4

Coffee itself might not have anything to do with it; rather, coffee follows a certain lifestyle which is healthier than that of non-drinkers. I.e. it is perhaps quite good for you to get up every morning at 9am and go to work. Active lifestyle, continuous stimuli etc. Coffee just so happens to be very ingrained in that culture. It might not be the actual chemicals and nutrients of coffee that helps you, but the fact…

>Coffee itself might not have anything to do with it; rather, coffee follows a certain lifestyle which is healthier than that of non-drinkers.

Which is what most competent research controls for in the first place.

Besides, coffee is something so prevalent that even junkies and never exercizing couch potatos do it, so it kind of controls itself.

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#78

Post by pmelendez »

Lancey wrote: post #61
leephillips wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. Doesn't it still?

No, it was debunked.

According to Wikipedia references it doesn't seem to be debunked at all.

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

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#79

Post by mgav »

Turing_Machine wrote: post #26
snissn wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's full of harmful chemicals because of the way it's processed. Like which chemicals?

Dihydrogen monoxide, for one. :-)

That looked serious, but the smile at the end of your comment made me curious enough to look it up and learn it's H2O. Nice one - you got me!

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#80

Post by JulianMorrison »

MrJagil wrote: post #76
JulianMorrison wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are assuming the scientists who did these studies and the scientists attempting to merge them with meta-analysis are asleep at the wheel and have failed to correct for obvious confounding factors that a random member of the public could brainstorm in the seconds it took you to post. This doesn't seem like a sensible assumption, absent evidence.

Hey Julian, I really wasn't trying to discredit any of the studies done. Whenever I participate in discussion my main motivation is always to try and create nuances. I know before hand that an actual truth is impossible to attain, so I feel it's better to just try and add some color to the discussion. Causation and correlation is of course always low-hanging fruit, I just felt it was curious that the article did not…

As a general rule, devils-advocacy (being the process of advocating a position you don't agree with because you think it isn't getting enough air time) is unhelpful verging on concern trolling.

If it's a strong argument, why hasn't it convinced you?

When you do that, you emit weak arguments that are easy to knock down but send the discussion off on a tangent.

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