Why coffe is bad?

[ShaharA]

I drink coffee (sometimes a lot) and I have heard Leo talking about how coffee is not recommended, But he never gave a full explanation why...

I couldn't really find any reliable source against coffee online (everywhere it said it is good got us) and I really want to find that true information that will help me to raise my awareness about it.

For now, something in my body is telling me that it is not good for me, but it is just an intuition- that's why I'm asking this question. 

 

 

[Rilles]

Its not bad per say but it does energize thought and can cause nervousness which is not good for meditation.

[outlandish]

It can interfere with your sleep and make your mind race even more on the monkey mind rollercoaster. It can cause IBS.

Physical health wise, it's actually really beneficial on the whole. Coffee drinkers have lower rates of mortality than non-coffee drinkers.

Personally, I drink 1-2 cups of good espresso coffee most days, and thoroughly enjoy it. I think it would be healthier to switch to green tea but I just don't enjoy it as much, so it's a very small vice that I enjoy.

[Michael569]

There is a lot of conflicting information but generally what coffee does is that it activates your nervous system triggering something called "Sympathetic Nervous System"  what we would refer to "fight or flight." It is a stress reaction that in the past would help you outrun a wild beast ..nowadays there is no such things as being killed by a mammoth and we overstimulate ourselves for pure pleasure which leads to a lot of problems. 

Anatomically, fight and flight triggers release of adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol from your adrenal glands which in turn activates your heart muscle to work harder, dilates your trachea (windpipe) to take in more oxygen, raises blood pressure and dilates arteries to pump blood faster into muscles. It also suppresses any digestive activities as well as your immune system as these are not priorities in life-threatening situations. Your liver also starts turning stored glycogen into glucose and shoots it into the bloodstream to have immediate available energy. 

SO you can start to see that while on one side this is a useful mechanism to have, an overstimulation causes decreased immunity, stops digestion, weakens your adrenals and temporarily raises your blood pressure. Coffee also triggers gastric reflux in some people, and often causes diarrhoea. Coffee is highly acidic, it forces your body to activate its acid/base buffer systems which may eventually leach calcium from your bones to alkalise the environment and contribute to osteoporosis (although research is not conclusive on this)

The positive side is that studies show that coffee drinkers live longer, coffee lifts depression, makes you more active, vital and excited to be alive..but this is just the adrenal stimulus and is very short lived. Coffee increases insulin sensitivity so there is some benefit for diabetics and finally It also contains a lot of antioxidants which is one of its marketised "superpowers" but so do bluberries, mangos, cabbage, greens and most fruits. A cup of coffee is no match for a nice fruit smoothie. 

For me its more cons than pros but somethimes you just need "the kick" so there is no point to demonise the drink but it should not be used habitually but rather efficiently to boost performance when needed, hope that helps  

EDIT - interesting fact is that genetically some people are less affected by caffeine than other. So when you see someone who gets anxious and shaky after having one drink it does not mean they are a weak but that they are extremely slow caffeine-reuptakers. Same for alcohol. 

Edited January 22, 2019 by Michael569
EDIT

[Salvijus]

 

[Rilles]

34 minutes ago, Salvijus said:

 

Interesting video

[Vingger]

A nutritionist made fun of me about this 

[ShaharA]

Thank you for your detailed answers!

[d0ornokey]

A strong reason would be that some people eventually have adverse affects to it and it is challenging to ween yourself off of it, as it can become an addiction 

[outlandish]

6 hours ago, Michael569 said:

There is a lot of conflicting information but generally what coffee does is that it activates your nervous system triggering something called "Sympathetic Nervous System"  what we would refer to "fight or flight." It is a stress reaction that in the past would help you outrun a wild beast ..nowadays there is no such things as being killed by a mammoth and we overstimulate ourselves for pure pleasure which leads to a lot of problems. 

That's very interesting you mention this interpretation. I've had this idea on my own and it makes a lot of sense to me. I think a lot of us domesticated humans use coffee/tea in this way, as a substitute for the stimulation we would have had running around after animals and looking out for enemies with sharp sticks and such. Like a mild pharmacological adversity/stress activation.

[Michael569]

@outlandish yeah its always about getting that dopamine stimulus isn't it? Most of humanity uses coffee for low concious stimulation but it can definitelly be used to channel higher conciousness activities,it is hard not to abuse it though because of how addictive it is. 

[Arcangelo]

Hi. I was a coffee drinker. I used to drink from 2 to 4 cups a day.

Your intuition is right.

Quitting coffee is a game changer. Say good bye to any anxiety you had.

I replaced it with green and black Tea. Good stuff.

Also good for the teeth (coffee stains them)

It is good for nutrition and healthy eating habits. Coffee is always associated with cake, bread, cookies etc (all the bad stuff)

I didn't quit completely. Now i am a social coffee drinker. I never drink coffee alone. I went from 14-28 cups a week to 1-2 cups a week.

Quitting coffee = good idea

[ElenaO]

I used to drink coffee daily too. It's been a few years since I quit. I do miss its taste for sure and the high it gives you, but it's definitely not worth it. 
I am so tolerant to caffeine nowadays that even if I drink a short decaf in the morning I could still have issues falling asleep in the night  

[Charlotte]

Just to add more perspective... I quit coffee/caffeine approx 6/7 months

I went to my friend's house and she offered me a chai tea. After drinking it I asked if it contained caffeine as I could feel myself becoming ever more anxious for no reason. Palms sweating, leg rocking you know what I mean. She apologised massively and explained she didn't think... For about 9 hours I couldn't shut up. I tried over and over to ground myself but it wasn't having any effect. Emotions where everywhere. It wasn't pleasant. I was shattered by the end of it all. 

Just goes to show you what caffeine actually does. People become blind to it. Also I know it latches onto something/something's in the brain to actually prevent tiredness so your sleeping routine would be skew-whiff. Not worth it. 

Awesome your asking this question by the way.

[Rilles]

2 hours ago, Charlotte said:

Just to add more perspective... I quit coffee/caffeine approx 6/7 months

I went to my friend's house and she offered me a chai tea. After drinking it I asked if it contained caffeine as I could feel myself becoming ever more anxious for no reason. Palms sweating, leg rocking you know what I mean. She apologised massively and explained she didn't think... For about 9 hours I couldn't shut up. I tried over and over to ground myself but it wasn't having any effect. Emotions where everywhere. It wasn't pleasant. I was shattered by the end of it all. 

Just goes to show you what caffeine actually does. People become blind to it. Also I know it latches onto something/something's in the brain to actually prevent tiredness so your sleeping routine would be skew-whiff. Not worth it. 

Awesome your asking this question by the way.

I think you got spiked by a hippie

[JonnyEstaLoca]

What about Coke Zero ? I have read that it's not good either.

[Rilles]

1 minute ago, JonnyEstaLoca said:

What about Coke Zero ? I have read that it's not good either.

Coke is poison. Stay away.

[Charlotte]

@Rilles  she was laughing her head off at how much the caffeine effected me. I was saying. "It's not fuuunnnyyy!" ?

@JonnyEstaLoca any fizzy soda like drinks avoid like the plague 

[ShaharA]

Thank you all!

It is so interesting that the awareness around this topic is so low even among intelligent people.

If anyone can provide here some sources of information about this topic it will be great for my research about it.

 

[pluto]

Cacao is a much better alternative.