The Waiting Room
Coffee: is the cup half full or half empty?
COFFEE—black as hell or sweet as love?
Julie Chaplin CHHP
“Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love,” according to a Turkish proverb.
Not only does coffee wake us up, stimulate bowel movement and give us comfort, it has other benefits as well. Coffee has been used to treat snakebite, asthma, jaundice, vertigo and headaches. Wet coffee grounds in a poultice can heal bruises and insect bites, and as an enema will purge the bowels. It also stimulates smooth-muscle activity, dilating bronchial tubes and stimulating the heart.
However, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.
There are specific diseases that are associated with the consumption of coffee, including urinary tract, bladder and pancreatic cancers, heart attack, nervous system disorders and high cholesterol. Most importantly, coffee is highly acidic and these acids eat away at the villi in our small intestine, disrupting the absorption and assimilation of nutrients and putting us at risk of becoming deficient in calcium, potassium and other essential nutrients. On top of that, coffee stimulates the liver to use up its stored energy, which can eventually lead to a depletion of that stored energy and affect the liver health.
Coffee can interfere with our sleep, especially if drunk later in the day, causing insomnia, restlessness, mental chatter and nervousness. Fortunately, the homeopathic remedy coffea (actually made from coffee) can effectively relieve these problems.
As Napolean Bonaparte is quoted as saying: “Strong coffee, much strong coffee, is what awakens me. Coffee gives me warmth, waking an unusual force and a pain that is not without very great pleasure.” This just goes to show that no matter what I tell you about coffee’s adverse health affects, we are going to continue to drink it. So, here are some alternatives to ease your mind and calm your nerves about drinking coffee.
‘Bambu’–powdered grain-and-root beverage found at health food stores;
Carob tea–helps calm a nervous mind during withdrawal;
Drinks made from barley- or wheat-grass powders help detoxify during withdrawal;
Green, oolong or jasmine tea—get the caffeine without the coffee.
Or make an acid-free coffee extract:
Add 1 lb. freshly ground, organic coffee to 8 cups water in a glass bowl and place in a cool dark corner to soak for approx. 16 hours.
Filter off the liquid extract through a coffee or fabric filter into a glass jar that can be tightly closed.
Store in sealed jar in refrigerator for up to two weeks.
This extract is concentrated. Add 1-2 tsp. to 8 oz. hot water to make one cup of de-acidified coffee.
Poisonous herbicides, pesticide sprays and synthetic fertilizers are used in coffee crops, petroleum-based solvents are used to decaffeinate coffee (which does not eliminate all caffeine), and instant coffee is highly processed with chemicals. Once coffee beans are ground, the oils become rancid very quickly. The alternative is to buy certified organic, fair-trade, bird friendly (certified by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center of the US National Zoo), whole coffee beans with Rainforest Alliance certification, and freshly grind them to make the acid-free coffee extract. Now you can feel good about indulging in your hot cup of morning joe!
Coffee: what’s in that cup?
Tracy Morton MD
Coffee is one of the world’s most popular drinks. More widely consumed than alcohol or tobacco, coffee contains the most socially acceptable drug we use: caffeine. In North America, 90 percent of adults consume some caffeine-containing beverage on a daily basis, with coffee by far the most popular. As a result, coffee is one of the world’s great industries, with billions of dollars spent on growing, distributing, roasting, grinding and brewing.
With such immense popularity, it is wise to consider the health consequences of drinking coffee, especially since coffee (and other caffeine-containing products) is increasingly popular with youth. As usual with this column, let’s look to the published evidence to answer these questions on coffee and its effect on health.
Though the coffee bean contains up to 1000 different chemicals, the health effects of drinking coffee seem to derive mostly from caffeine. There is a multitude of factors determining how much caffeine ends up in your cup of coffee: the type of grind, darkness of roast, method of brewing, water temperature, bean species and variety—to name a few. Light roasts impart more caffeine than dark. Brewed or filtered coffee draws out more caffeine than espresso. As a rough rule of thumb, a strong cup of coffee contains 200mg of caffeine. A cup of black tea contains 50mg.
Caffeine acts on most organs in the body. First, some positive effects: obviously, we drink coffee for the mental alertness it gives. Many studies show that caffeine increases alertness, delays fatigue and reduces reaction times. It enhances memory formation and calculation speed, which explains the ubiquitous coffee mug beside textbooks and test papers in universities the world over. It also enhances sports performance, especially for endurance sports, by assisting with providing energy to working muscles. There is some evidence that, like chocolate, caffeine can act as an antidepressant, and a recent study suggests that heavy coffee drinkers have a lower risk of suicide. There is also evidence that coffee may reduce the incidence of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and perhaps Type II diabetes. Even decaffeinated coffee produces some of these benefits, suggesting that other chemicals in coffee have health impacts.
So should we all be drinking more coffee? Not so fast! Here are some well-known side-effects of caffeine: For those not used to caffeine, getting a large amount, like even a single cup of coffee, may cause anxiety, increases in blood pressure, palpitations, insomnia, tremors and sweats. For some, it can trigger migraines, cause diarrhea and increase heartburn. Many regular coffee users sleep poorly, largely because caffeine lasts a surprisingly long time in the body. Those with anxiety and panic disorders should avoid caffeine altogether because of a tendency to make symptoms worse. Though short-term use of caffeine can raise heart rate and blood pressure in those naïve to caffeine, there does not appear to be an increase in heart disease or stroke in chronic users.
Of major concern is the fact that caffeine has many hallmarks of addictive drugs – cravings, feelings of unwellness when not available, drug tolerance, and withdrawal symptoms (like headache and lethargy). Furthermore, we don’t yet know the long-term effects of caffeine consumption on bodies and minds of children. The profusion of caffeine-containing “energy” drinks, many directed at kids, is a worrisome societal trend with unknown consequences. I have serious concerns about pre-teens and younger kids becoming addicted to anything, even something as apparently benign as caffeine. The mind that develops in a setting of addictions is much more likely to seek out other addictions later in life.
Bottom line: as in much of life, there is a middle way. A little caffeine may enhance health and well-being, but too much may lead to addiction, sleeplessness and anxiety.
There is, of course, much information about caffeine available on the Internet. Also see the book The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World’s Most Popular Drug by Bennett Alan Weinberg and Bonnie K. Bealer.
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