I aim for moderation with regards to caffeine.

As with most things, too much of anything is a problem.

We have instincts for food and drink {obviously excluding alcoholic drinks, as I cannot moderate } and so moderation is key in all other aspects of life.

The seven deadly sins are reflective of our instincts.
But are 'deadly' when the instinct becomes all consuming and excessive.

Ie: we need food to survive... Instinct
Vs I eat far in excess of my instinctual needs.... Gluttony

The price for gluttony is obesity and all that goes with it. Digestive problems, low energy levels, mood swings, poor self esteem etc etc.

Gluttony in caffeine consumption would result in mood swings, anxiety, insomnia, rapid pulse, and taken too extremes can cause heart arythmia. It acts upon the central nervous system and taken in excessive amounts, begins to fray and damage the cns.

In short, if you enjoy coffee and other caffeinated beverages, have a few, just don't have a few too many.

I drink decaf. I used to drink caffeinated everything but I scaled way back. At night it keeps me from sleeping. If I drink too much coffee, smoke too many cigarettes (a topic for another thread) and don't eat, it ramps my anxiety up and it triggers urges to drink to make it go away.

When I was actively drinking I completely stopped drinking coffee for about a year. Waking up shaking and sick I just couldn't stomach the stuff. Now that I've been sober for a few months I have started drinking coffee again and it is sheer heaven. I only drink about 20 ounces and stop at 9 am.

I think tea has different effects on the body than coffee. I can't drink coffee, it gives me an adrenaline surge and makes me feel jittery, anxious, stressed, also gives me very poor quality sleep (even coffee in AM only) definitely feel the stress hormones rise when I drink the stuff.

Tea on the other hand, I can drink 8 cups a day right up to bedtime and I have no problems. I read that tea contains an amino acid called "l-theanine", it is said to counteract the effects of caffeine by increasing the alpha waves in the brain giving you a relaxed yet alert state. Rather than the adrenaline/cortisol rush you get with coffee leaving you with a midday crash leaving you tired and irritable, tea with caffeine, l-theanine work in synergy to give to a more stable, gentle lift without the crash.

I also read one study a few years ago that found black tea has properties that actually lower cortisol/stress, participants drank either real tea or a " tea substitute " that had the caffeine but without the compounds of black tea, 50 minutes after a stressful situation the black tea groups cortisol lowered by 47℅ where as the placebo groups cortisol levels lowered by 27℅, so I think tea helps you recover from stress quicker. :)

Well, you kind of did.

The thing is, it DOES have some side effects for people. Mine were extreme, but I can tell you, I'm not one for drama, but the effects were clear and shocking to me.

If you haven't had that experience, then great. I think the aim of the thread was to discuss the pros and cons, perhaps raise awareness.

People shouldn't have to apologise for their bad experiences with coffee, if they've had them. So yes, you did post your "gimme a break", and it was offensive.

...anybody has the right to be offended by anything..

there is no limits to this

I think like anything else, caffeine is okay in moderation. I drink 1-2 cups of coffee in the morning because I really enjoy it and like the alertness it gives me. I am a super heavy sleeper and it helps me wake up. If that's addiction, so be it. Unless it really started affecting my health adversely, I'm not giving it up. The times that I have overdone it I got crippling anxiety, so I know better than to have more that my usual in the morning.

This is my preferred method of making coffee. The coffee in Europe is soooo good. Italy and Spain especially.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/i...qEUjtrgS3arWRA

hey i have that espresso maker too..with italian espresso coffee

This thread has me cypherin'. I'm stopping at 3/4 pot this morning and will attempt iced-tealessness this afternoon. I don't care for soda or carbonated drinks but will drink an energy drink for the caffeine. It's Addictive behavior and I have heart markers in my recent labs to consider. The last 3 times I've mowed the lawn I've experienced arrythmia-like episodes. I'm always telling my kids to drink more water and they never see me doing it. Thanks

Mmmmm, delicious caffeine:).

I swim in it throughout the day with coffee in the morn and Redbull in the afternoon. No ill affects that I can see.

I am also a water nut, though. Prolly 3 liters a day at least.

I told myself I'd have just one coffee today.

I have had three.

I cannot stop!!!

My hands are cold.... sweaty. My pulse is elevated.

I suspect my testosterone is being impaired by chronically high levels of cortisol and adrenaline.

I want to reduce or stop drinking coffee.

I don't want to reduce or stop drinking coffee.

I am a freaking SLAVE to it, but yet I love it.

I hate some of the symptoms that I'm convinced are associated directly with caffeine.

I hate the symptoms I get when I try to reduce or quit caffeine.

I go to sleep at night with intentions set.

In the morning, I walk like a zombie to the coffee maker.... go to the coffee shop... go back to the pot.....

:a108:

I have about 12 cups of coffee per day, strong ones too....I have my first 6.00 am before my morning run and last at about 11pm before I drift instantly into a dreamless unbroken sleep :)

Maybe coffee just agrees with me, done the same for years, apart from didn't drink coffee after work because was drinking, probably still drunk 8 or 9 during the day at work.

yeah.... that was me for a lot of years too....

I think it just maybe finally caught up to me.

or - maybe it's not at all related to caffeine and I'm just a mess for some other reason.

But the few little periods where I've reduced or cut out caffeine the issues seemed improved.... so.....

my theory is that it is cumulative. it reaches a tipping point.

FreeOwl... try cutting back just one cup per day. The trick for me was to get myself interested in drinking teas. So I'd have the tea on hand for when I reached my coffee limit for the day. There's a very good cinnamon tea I can recommend, if you're interested :) It is so good you won't want any sugar.

FreeOwl - I think if you're as worried about it as you seem you should quit for the sake of you're sanity.

Start tapering off to decaf and you should be fine, studies have shown that caffeine is easily flushed out of your system and only mildly addictive. For the habitual side decaf would give you your substitute.

Also when you mentioned heart rate in my experience it's only very briefly it elevates heart rate, I can do my heart rate just after a coffee and it's up but within ten minutes it's back down to normal levels.

I think some of us alcoholics are addicted to being addicted and see big horrible addictions we'll have to overcome lurking around every corner.

yeah..... I don't actually think I'm just being alarmist. This is pretty consistent and has been an issue for some time.

The obvious thing is to cut back. Or quit. Just like you and others have suggested and just like I've been telling myself to do for the better part of 5 years.

But as obvious as that is, as much as I hate the feelings and the impact.....

I keep doing it.

I'm just like the alcoholic who keeps on saying "I have an issue and I want to cut back / quit" but who keeps on getting drunk every night.... here I am with coffee.

This morning, I had one cup of coffee. Within about 35 minutes my hands were frigid and sweating and my chest felt tense.

"Screw it. I already had coffee and I'm already having these issues again. May as well have more".

I bought a bag of half-caff beans this morning. I'm going to try tapering that way. One never seems to be enough and I think it's more the ritual of sipping the hot beverage and the taste of coffee that I'm having the hardest time weaning from.... maybe if I have half-caff I can have 2 cups and feel satisfied but still be reducing my intake.

Which sounds an awful lot, to me, like saying "Maybe if I just start drinking beer instead of whiskey....."

blergh.

I have given up smoking and recently drinking; also eat healthy and exercise five to six days a week. I look forward to my mornings with a good cup of coffee or three and will probably never give that up. A girl can't be expected to give up all her vices. :c033:

Drinking more water with caffeine probably helps a great deal, since water decreases the toxic effect caffeine has. If you let it dry you up, which it does since it is diuretic, then the effects of caffeine are far more toxic for the brain and body.

Nice links those two.

The scientific findings indicate the obvious that caffeine constricts blood-flow to the brain by about 30%. It don't take a genius to realize what this does to your brain power. Well, it eats it away. Causes a drop in IQ. Just 100mg of caffeine (a little 1.25Dliter cup) can significantly decrease recall and reasoning.

Here's an article about creativity and caffeine:
How Caffeine Can Cramp Creativity - The New Yorker
Here's a little study about recall and verbal capability (caffeine):
Caffeine got your tongue?

And I loved coffee. :)

The reason I started this thread was originally that I had lots of anecdotal evidence pointing towards caffeine and subjective experience with it. Then I found the Caffeine Blues - book and could seriously relate to many of the things mentioned there.

I actually started to think more and more into the past to see the effects in awareness, tried to remember it all. And indeed I saw myself having the kind of psychotic mindset that caffeine appararently causes. So there are words of wisdom related to the dangers of caffeine and its not-so-positive effects.

Personally I've no longer any doubt about the issue. But subjective experience is difficult to prove on a public forum. Very interesting replies have come here, from all angles: mainly for, neutral and essentially against. And this is interesting.