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The false god of coffee

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Re: The false god of coffee

#31

Post by rudyfink »

sjs wrote: post #27
clistctrl wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

man I wish a red bull worked, I can drink 4 and the only thing I feel is my heart hurting (I don't drink Red Bull any more btw, that heart thing freaks me out)

Red bull is not the strongest energy drink at all. I need to chug 2 of the normal size cans in succession to feel anything at all. Monster and Rock Star are fantastic if you need to keep up physical work but I worry about their effect on my heart after reading about how bad they can be. http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSSYD58461200808...

Here is a sortable table of caffeine amounts in products. The numbers are quite striking.

http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database

For example (mg caff / oz):

Red Bull = 80 / 8.46

Rockstar = 160 / 16

Coca Cola = 35 / 12

Fixx Energy = 400 / .17

Re: The false god of coffee

#32

Post by keefe »

Bit of a waste of time. Caffeine is a stimulant, a real drug just like any other. A drug being legal does not make it less a drug. Caffeine tolerance is real and involves changes to brain chemistry : http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/113369008/abstrac... Coffee delivers high doses of caffeine, which works by stimulating adrenaline http://health.howstuffworks.com/caffeine-awake.htm production... so if you stay hooked on a stimulant for a long time, of course it has a negative effect on your performance.

Re: The false god of coffee

#33

Post by jamesbritt »

awolf wrote: post #19

Coffee stimulates brain activity across the board whereas ADD treatments such as Ritalin and Adderall target just the specific parts of the brain used in learning and for concentration. So does juicing your entire brain increase concentration? My money is on no. It just gives a good energized feeling and the illusion of being more focused. Drink coffee because you enjoy it not as a productivity hack.

"Ritalin and Adderall target just the specific parts of the brain used in learning and for concentration."

Ritalin (methylphenidate) boosts dopamine; Adderall (amphetamine and dextroamphetamin) ups the level of dopamine and norepinephrine. Caffeine effects levels of adenosine and dopamine.

There is nothing targeted about this, nor do the chemicals only work on select parts of the brain. Now, perhaps for certain practical effects, boosts in dopamine and norepinephrine are better than reducing adenosine and boosting adrenaline.

But brain chemistry is complex, and it's simplistic to think of any of these things as specifically targeted to parts of the brain used for specific tasks or behavior.

Re: The false god of coffee

#34

Post by silentbicycle »

windsurfer wrote: post #24
buugs wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A very nice earl grey (if you like stronger tasting teas) is earl grey bravo from adagio http://www.adagio.com/black/earl_grey_bravo.html

Oh my goodness that is so expensive.

Seriously? $7 for 4 oz. tea is really not bad. Even rather expensive high end green teas are much cheaper than (say) fine wines.

Re: The false god of coffee

#35

Post by [deleted] »

jamesbritt wrote: post #33
awolf wrote: post #19

Coffee stimulates brain activity across the board whereas ADD treatments such as Ritalin and Adderall target just the specific parts of the brain used in learning and for concentration. So does juicing your entire brain increase concentration? My money is on no. It just gives a good energized feeling and the illusion of being more focused. Drink coffee because you enjoy it not as a productivity hack.

"Ritalin and Adderall target just the specific parts of the brain used in learning and for concentration." Ritalin (methylphenidate) boosts dopamine; Adderall (amphetamine and dextroamphetamin) ups the level of dopamine and norepinephrine. Caffeine effects levels of adenosine and dopamine. There is nothing targeted about this, nor do the chemicals only work on select parts of the brain. Now, perhaps for certain pract…

[deleted]

Re: The false god of coffee

#36

Post by awolf »

jamesbritt wrote: post #33
awolf wrote: post #19

Coffee stimulates brain activity across the board whereas ADD treatments such as Ritalin and Adderall target just the specific parts of the brain used in learning and for concentration. So does juicing your entire brain increase concentration? My money is on no. It just gives a good energized feeling and the illusion of being more focused. Drink coffee because you enjoy it not as a productivity hack.

"Ritalin and Adderall target just the specific parts of the brain used in learning and for concentration." Ritalin (methylphenidate) boosts dopamine; Adderall (amphetamine and dextroamphetamin) ups the level of dopamine and norepinephrine. Caffeine effects levels of adenosine and dopamine. There is nothing targeted about this, nor do the chemicals only work on select parts of the brain. Now, perhaps for certain pract…

My understanding is that Adderall amplifies brain activity in whatever part of the brain you are using. Coffee just stimulates everything.

Of course that's a major simplification, but this is what I mean by "targetted".

Re: The false god of coffee

#37

Post by diN0bot »

i like the data tracking and chart, but the conclusion is a little weak...maybe he's getting better at concentrating and coffee has nothing to do with it. (or rather, i suspect both are influences)

Re: The false god of coffee

#38

Post by sjs »

rudyfink wrote: post #31
sjs wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Red bull is not the strongest energy drink at all. I need to chug 2 of the normal size cans in succession to feel anything at all. Monster and Rock Star are fantastic if you need to keep up physical work but I worry about their effect on my heart after reading about how bad they can be. http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSSYD58461200808...

Here is a sortable table of caffeine amounts in products. The numbers are quite striking. http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database For example (mg caff / oz): Red Bull = 80 / 8.46 Rockstar = 160 / 16 Coca Cola = 35 / 12 Fixx Energy = 400 / .17

I haven't drank Red Bull in a few years so things may have changed.

I checked the amounts of caffeine and other "medicinal" ingredients myself when I was doing physical labour and drank them regularly.

Re: The false god of coffee

#40

Post by amoeba »

diN0bot wrote: post #37

i like the data tracking and chart, but the conclusion is a little weak...maybe he's getting better at concentrating and coffee has nothing to do with it. (or rather, i suspect both are influences)

It seems he's aware of what his experiment does and does not say.

Causation or not, he's achieving more intervals without coffee.

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