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Habitual coffee intake shapes the microbiome, modifies physiology and cognition

nature.com

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Re: Habitual coffee intake shapes the microbiome, modifies physiology and cognition

#131

Post by FrustratedMonky »

throwatdem12311 wrote: post #103

Caffeine is an extremely potent drug. It’s actually kind of crazy to think that a large portion of a country’s population could be “high” on it basically all of the time. And there is a huge industry in place for delivering said drug to as many people as possible by having it available on almost every street corner. And that most people take a fairly non-chalant attitude to giving this drug to kids through sweet drin…

There is another huge industry to produce and deliver a pile of white powder to as many people as possible. Sugar. Highly refined, pure, hmmmm.

Re: Habitual coffee intake shapes the microbiome, modifies physiology and cognition

#132

Post by hrldcpr »

irthomasthomas wrote: post #130
hpeinar wrote: post #128

A very interesting article, I have personal experience with: > Coffee also affects the gastrointestinal tract. It increases stomach acidity and stimulates the release of hormones that aid digestion. Both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee promote the contractility of ileal and colonic smooth muscle, helping prevent constipation As the two times in my adult life I've tried to make an intended break from coffee, it h…

Can you actually get caffeine free coffee? I thought most decaf brands where only about 50% less.

You're right that the caffeine isn't entirely removed, but it's supposedly more than 90% removed.

(I'm even seeing the number 97% mentioned a lot online.)

Re: Habitual coffee intake shapes the microbiome, modifies physiology and cognition

#133

Post by LogicFailsMe »

I once quit caffeine cold for 6 months: 2 weeks of pure hell then it was like I never craved it until life got real and stressful and I fell off the wagon. Today, I drink my espresso with a dot of lowfat milk now and life is currently too real and stressful to consider trying to drop it again. I do suspect some of us likely have undiagnosed low-level mood disorders leaving us highly functional but discontent and caffeine is the spackling compound used to plug the hole in our souls.

Re: Habitual coffee intake shapes the microbiome, modifies physiology and cognition

#134

Post by 1234letshaveatw »

barrenko wrote: post #58
TazeTSchnitzel wrote: post #38

After habitually consuming caffeine (not in coffee form) daily, usually multiple times a day, for more than a decade, a horrible mental health incident happened to me that forced me to stop it for a while. Afterwards I didn't resume the habit, and so I no longer have a tolerance. This has let me evaluate what caffeine does with fresh eyes, so to say, because I can now consume it occasionally while having many non-caf…

Coffee is a plant demon that created the western civilization as we know it today...

colonizer fuel

Re: Habitual coffee intake shapes the microbiome, modifies physiology and cognition

#135

Post by dghughes »

I never used to drink any caffeine. In fact the few times I had tried it when I was a teen or my 20s it made my chest pound my heart raced so much. It was Lebanese strong cardamom coffee so maybe not the best example.

Then at age 34 I started a new job my first shift work job, late evenings, some overnight jobs. I started off with fancy coffee like french vanilla. A year or so later the first Starbucks opened. I was drinking venti quad shot lattes.

Then energy drinks were permitted for sale here (we had a can ban for years). I recall after drinking a Rockstar 750ml for breakfast and the following muscle spasms made me consider I should tone it down.

So I've settled a bit a small coffee in the evening. Sometimes I don't even finish it.

Re: Habitual coffee intake shapes the microbiome, modifies physiology and cognition

#136

Post by jeffbee »

hrldcpr wrote: post #132
irthomasthomas wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you actually get caffeine free coffee? I thought most decaf brands where only about 50% less.

You're right that the caffeine isn't entirely removed, but it's supposedly more than 90% removed. (I'm even seeing the number 97% mentioned a lot online.)

That fraction is going to depend a lot on the definition and the reference. I believe the 97% is the US standard for how much of the natural caffeine in green beans must be removed. You will note how this can be manipulated by using a more caffeine-abundant variety. EU standards are more sensible, stated in terms of caffeine content in the final product.

Either way, commercial decaf processes and normal brewing methods will yield something like 5-10mg of caffeine in a "decaf" dose of coffee, which is an order of magnitude less than usual.

Re: Habitual coffee intake shapes the microbiome, modifies physiology and cognition

#137

Post by trillic »

hpeinar wrote: post #128

A very interesting article, I have personal experience with: > Coffee also affects the gastrointestinal tract. It increases stomach acidity and stimulates the release of hormones that aid digestion. Both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee promote the contractility of ileal and colonic smooth muscle, helping prevent constipation As the two times in my adult life I've tried to make an intended break from coffee, it h…

I've found hot water has the same laxative effect as coffee in the form of herbal tea.

Same ritual each morning without the unknown dosing of a stimulant drug.

Re: Habitual coffee intake shapes the microbiome, modifies physiology and cognition

#138

Post by nchmy »

pdimitar wrote: post #122
randusername wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I experienced a similar anhedonia when quitting caffeine. I don't think the caffeine itself was the problem, I think it was just helping a lot more than I knew with the inertia of circling the pit without tottering in. Turns out I needed stimulants from time to time, just not that one.

What stimulants have you landed on? And do you feel they're better for you? I'm pondering getting a coffee machine at home. 400 EUR is not a sizable investment and one I'd have forgotten about it 3 months but I'm getting cold feet when it gets to committing. Americano coffee definitely picks me up and is a full net positive for me. But that's only if I drink 2-3 times a week. Not sure how it's going to be if I start…

Get yourself a moka pot, aeropress or French press. Fantastic coffee for very cheap.

Highly unlikely that 2-3 times a week will last though - either religiously stick to once a week or be open to drinking it daily.

Re: Habitual coffee intake shapes the microbiome, modifies physiology and cognition

#139

Post by TacticalCoder »

fedeb95 wrote: post #55

thirty-one participants were moderate coffee-drinkers (CD, i.e., people that usually consume between 3 to 5 cups of coffee per day). 3-5 is moderate? To me, 3 is already high. Also, sample size is pretty low and they're all Irish.

> 3-5 is moderate? To me, 3 is already high.

I'd say 3 is still moderate and really common. 5 is getting on the high'ish side.

Several of us here drink more than that.

Re: Habitual coffee intake shapes the microbiome, modifies physiology and cognition

#140

Post by BatteryMountain »

CuriousRose wrote: post #126
orphea wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have the same experience, and I drink one cup of coffee (270 ml) almost every day. No agitation, no impulsiveness. I can drink coffee in late evening (let's say 8 pm) and sleep well. I guess I'm trying to say that we should not project our own experience on others, everyone is different.

In my experience, this is common among people with ADHD (myself, friends with ADHD, family with ADHD, psychologist’s patients anecdotal evidence). YMMV

I have adhd too, but cannot use stimulant medications (they are too strong). I've had to use non-stim meds.

What if long term caffeine use causes some of the adhd symptoms? It interesting to ponder because if I stop using caffeine for a month, some of my adhd symtoms go away completely. I've done stints of complete caffeine breaks, content consumption breaks (one week or more without screens) and I felt amazing and alive. The first couple of days of using caffeine feels amazing but then I feel dead inside again and live like a robot. So in my mind, caffeine is my main target when I try to adjust my routine/behaviours.

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