Do I have to give up coffee completely?

Options
1246

Replies

  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    Options
    You can find articles on the internet to back pretty much anything you want to believe is true. Be selective of your sources.

    https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-finds-coffee-drinkers-have-lower-risk-death

    http://hub.jhu.edu/2014/01/12/caffeine-enhances-memory/

    http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/coffee_health_risk

    http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/what-is-it-about-coffee

    Anyway no you don't have to give up coffee. Or anything else for that matter.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Options
    tumsbums wrote: »
    Hi there! I am a 23 year old student who really loves a coffee. However - recently I have seen a lot of articles on why caffeine is bad for you. :'(

    These articles state things along the lines of "Just one cup can increase stress and unhealthy belly fat", "It causes cancers", "it can cause brain damage by overstimulating the body" etc.

    I try not to get too scared by these statements, but I must admit they are worrying me, :/ and I really don't want to cut coffee out my life! I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this subject?: Do I really have to go without it from now on?

    Just to add a little more info - I don't really think I am addicted to caffeine. I don't have a coffee everyday, and I never make it at home. I have it about 4 times a week when I visit a coffee shop with friends. I am a huge fan of a cappuccino or a yummy gingerbread latte now and then!

    Any help on this would be much appreciated - thanks! X :)

    I remember being young and believing such myths. Unless your doctor advises you not to have coffee or caffeine due to a medical issue, or if you notice adverse affects when you drink it, there is no reason to give it up. I have two cups of decaf a day with steamed almond milk, sometimes a few more, and here are some basic truths I have found:

    1. My belly fat came from eating a surplus of calories not drinking coffee
    2. I don't have cancer, but if I did it would be from a change in my body's cells from any number of other causes not related to coffee or food
    3. My brain is not as damaged
    4. Caffeine/coffee is not a drug, therefore it would be impossible for me to literally be addicted to it.

    Here is one truth I have for you: you can have your coffee and drink it too, every day if you want, as long as it fits into your calorie goals.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Options
    AliceDark wrote: »
    DanerTee wrote: »
    Spliner1969 wrote: »
    Pfft. When I first started dieting I was told to give up coffee and the weight would come off faster. I didn't question it and dropped it for the longest time along with soda. It worked, but I found that the problem wasn't coffee, it was the ton of processed sugar and creamers I was using that I wasn't logging. Now I drink it black with stevia for sweetener, and find it beneficial still. I drink it less, because honestly I like the creamers and sugar, but this way it's an energy boost and has 0 calories. Helps me keep my metabolism going. However, I still don't drink it past noon each day, because if I do, I won't sleep at night.

    Do you find that stevia has a terrible after taste? I drink my coffee black, but popped some stevia in my Americano once and had to dump it, it was so vile!

    I can't use Stevia for that reason. (And I've pinpointed it as something that may be giving me headaches). I tried Truvia in a cup of coffee once, and it had a horrible aftertaste and also kind of made my mouth tingle. For a moment, I was worried that maybe someone had left some kind of cleaning fluid in our coffeemaker.

    I love Stevia. I even cook with it at times. :)
  • Skyblueyellow
    Skyblueyellow Posts: 225 Member
    Options
    My husband and I are both diabetics and our doctors have indicated that drinking coffee is a good thing (in moderation of course).
  • daniip_la
    daniip_la Posts: 678 Member
    Options
    I love how everyone is talking about drinking coffee in moderation. I have concentrated espresso shots that I add to my cups of regular coffee. More coffee in my coffee and it's a beautiful thing.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    Options
    daniip_la wrote: »
    I love how everyone is talking about drinking coffee in moderation. I have concentrated espresso shots that I add to my cups of regular coffee. More coffee in my coffee and it's a beautiful thing.

    Coffee-wrapped coffee.

    I like it.
  • Skyblueyellow
    Skyblueyellow Posts: 225 Member
    Options
    daniip_la wrote: »
    I love how everyone is talking about drinking coffee in moderation. I have concentrated espresso shots that I add to my cups of regular coffee. More coffee in my coffee and it's a beautiful thing.

    Welp...I have to drink in moderation because poop. ;)

    Otherwise I would drink it all day long!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,618 Member
    Options
    No. Most articles are written to just get attention. If there's no actual scientific evidence to PROVE causation, then it's just noise. Not uncommon for writers to do this especially if they have no actual experience in physiology.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • Vampire81
    Vampire81 Posts: 27 Member
    Options
    I use to drink 5/6 a cup a day now I've cut down to 2/3 but got to say if I didn't have my everyday coffee I think I would have murdered some by now lol
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
    edited September 2016
    Options
    TL;DR

    No you don't have to give up coffee. In fact there may be some very good antioxidants in coffee. If you where drinking an energy drink, I would give that up, but black coffee is healthy in moderation.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
    Options
    Why in the world would anyone give up coffee??? What a horrible thought.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    Options
    85Cardinals wrote: »
    Caffeine is good for you! I actually think more kids should be drinking it, but that may be controversial. I know I wish I'd had a hot cup of joe before 1st hour back in high school, keep my *kitten* alert and learning.

    Hell no.

    http://www.today.com/health/kids-caffeine-may-be-dangerous-combination-new-study-suggests-1D79801666
    http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/child-caffeine.html
    http://www.poison.org/articles/2013-dec/caffeine
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,983 Member
    Options
    daniip_la wrote: »
    I love how everyone is talking about drinking coffee in moderation. I have concentrated espresso shots that I add to my cups of regular coffee. More coffee in my coffee and it's a beautiful thing.
    Our chemistry teacher had extracted caffeine from coffee in his lab as a grad student. He got so used to caffeine he was adding the extracted caffeine to Mt. Dew :open_mouth:
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    Options
    m3vsx0fu2bix.jpg
  • skyhowl
    skyhowl Posts: 206 Member
    Options
    all people talking about coffee, :D and here i am, i hate the taste of coffee i make. never mastered the art of coffee. :( only drink coffee once in a month when i go out to a cafe.
    I want to love coffee. everyone loves it and i seem like I've never had a cup of coffee properly made for me. :D

    but coffee isn't bad for you.
  • blushenvy
    blushenvy Posts: 98 Member
    Options
    You don't! But I did-I found that I was seriously dehydrating myself, and that was in spite of having always been a huge water drinker. Now, for the most part, if I want a coffee I do an Atkins Mocha Latte. Got just enough in it to satisfy that craving for me.
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    Options
    I would gladly give up electricity before I gave up my coffee.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    Options
    skyhowl wrote: »
    all people talking about coffee, :D and here i am, i hate the taste of coffee i make. never mastered the art of coffee. :( only drink coffee once in a month when i go out to a cafe.
    I want to love coffee. everyone loves it and i seem like I've never had a cup of coffee properly made for me. :D

    but coffee isn't bad for you.

    Tasted once, never again and have no desire to try and love it.
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
    Options
    I'm on my fourth very large cup of the day. The consensus over the past few years has overwhelmingly been that coffee has many health benefits.
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
    Options
    I am an odd duck as I only started to "make time" for coffee once in my 30s. I now have between 0-3 cups a day depending on if I feel like making it or not. My 12yo started loving coffee when he was 10. I limit him to 1-2 cups but it seems to focus his (undiagnosed) ADD tendencies, and it also seems to work with his asthma medications in a positive way.

    Funny story: I bought a used espresso machine and taught him how to use it. It makes fairly decent shots. I was really hoping he would use his newfound skills to bring me my first cup on Saturday mornings. Haha! I got home from work one day during summer vacay to find he had mowed, weedwacked, dusted, run the dishwasher, organized his brothers into some jobs, and was looking for more to do. We had to have a big talk about keeping his espresso practice making to the morning hours, and only one cup a day. He had had 3!

Categories