let's talk coffee

[tolovemercy]

I'm not sure I buy the whole "caffeine is sooo bad for you" thing. Is it? Coffee seems like a natural, traditional, and reasonably healthy way to start the day--is it really as bad as NT says it is?

[Leilalu]

I dunno, but I still drink it. Mostly organic fair trade.

[reece19]

I can tell, in myself, some negatives of drinking coffee/caffeine. My muscles are more tense in my back and neck when I'm drinking a lot of coffee, for example. However, I think that's because I have a calcium problem, because I can take extra calcium and keep drinking my coffee and feel fine. I also get realllllly hungry in the evening if I drink coffee first thing in the morning.

But those aren't horrible things. The mood lift I get from a cup of coffee is worth it

[dogmom327]

I don't drink it personally (does weird things to my intestines) but I just got DH switched to Cafe Mam. Organic and truly fair trade (they have long term established relationships with single farms and agreements on what the workers are paid, etc.). I agree that coffee's been around for a long time so I have less problems with it than many other things.

[Marissa88]

I don't know that coffee is necessarily bad for you. I did hear that it prevents you from losing some of your unwanted weight in your stomach. I don't remember where I read it, probably in Women's Day or something, but it causes your body to store fat in the what I like to call "pouch" or "fat pack".

But even knowing that, I still drink it every morning!... :

[AngelBee]

It can mess with your blood sugar levels.

[guestmama9904]

i drink organic, fair trade coffee that is delivered locally by bike messengers so i feel good about the politics of my coffee habit at least, lol.

my general, intuitive feeling is that coffee is not a healing drink/food but that its not necessarily bad per se. i am now almost 8 months pregnant and until about month 6 my body told me DO NOT GO NEAR COFFEE. so i listened. also in the past when i have been sick i have often chosen to not drink coffee as it just didn't feel right.

now i am back on the brew but only 1-2 cups or shots of esspesso per day. i always drink my coffee with about 3 tablespoons whole, grassfed cream in it and some honey or sugar which i tell myself makes it less harsh on my system. many traditional cultures had various stimulants they used. perhaps not in the way we now use them but chocloate and cacao leaves and the like have been used for thousands of years and were often regarded as spiritual foods/drugs. but on a negative note i do have a pretty substantial anxiety "disorder" for which i even take medication and every therapist and MD i have seen have suggested cutting out caffiene and sugar in my diet as a natural way to quell my anxiety. so this says to me that too much, or any, of an ok thing like coffee can be bad for certain people and is hard on our nueral health.

[guestmama9904]

Originally Posted by AngelBee

It can mess with your blood sugar levels.

that may be so but not necesarrily in a bad way. i recently read, i believe it was a study referenced in Eating Well magazine, that people who drink at least 1 cup a day are far less likely to ever aquire type 2 diabetes than folks who do not drink coffee. below are two articles, one from the journal of american medicine which state that coffee consumption has positive effects on blood sugar

http://scienceweek.com/2005/sw050812-5.htm
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/294/1/97

[AngelBee]

Originally Posted by arismama!

that may be so but not necesarrily in a bad way. i recently read, i believe it was a study referenced in Eating Well magazine, that people who drink at least 1 cup a day are far less likely to ever aquire type 2 diabetes than folks who do not drink coffee. below are two articles, one from the journal of american medicine which state that coffee consumption has positive effects on blood sugar

http://scienceweek.com/2005/sw050812-5.htm
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/294/1/97

That makes sense.

I have Hypoglycemia, so it drops my blood sugar too low if I am not careful.

PS I still drink it :

[Leilalu]

Originally Posted by reece19

I can tell, in myself, some negatives of drinking coffee/caffeine. My muscles are more tense in my back and neck when I'm drinking a lot of coffee, for example. However, I think that's because I have a calcium problem, because I can take extra calcium and keep drinking my coffee and feel fine. I also get realllllly hungry in the evening if I drink coffee first thing in the morning.

But those aren't horrible things. The mood lift I get from a cup of coffee is worth it

Same here.

I think having a sound diet helps.

I do ok when I periodically go off coffee for a bit and go back on...but I just love a cup of coffee brewed in my moka pot, with cream.

[EmeraldGardener]

I like my coffee too-- but I do tend to drink tea or herb tea too-- just depends on my mood that day- I also have days that I have to put a bit of black molasses in it. -- I have noted that when I don't feel well-- no coffee for me. It goes back to all things in moderation.

[Fi'sMom]

It's my favorite drink in the entire world (followed by red wine)! I have 16 oz. (sometimes 24 oz.) of organic, black, dark roast every morning. It makes me happy! From everything I've studied on coffee, for the majority of people it's super nutritious, very high in antioxidants. I know so many people who struggle so hard to give it up.... Why? Enjoy it! I know they do in most other cultures. I would think, though, that it's what people choose to put in their coffee that's not so great for them. I'm glad I like mine best black!

[Leilalu]

Well I know Dr. Mercola says not too much, and it's best with raw cream. I do know coffee is sort of fermented, especially Christmas blends

I have also hear cold brewed coffee is better for you-though to make it as thick and dark as I like it that would kill my bank account to drink it that way everyday right now. So I will reserve that for special occasions or next summer when it is hot again for iced drinks. Or thai coffee.

For me, a cup of coffee means a break from rowdy kids, before I start the day, and again usually when they nap. I make moka pot, bought at Ikea. I just like it and it helps keep me moving and working on projects.

[Bensmommy]

Coffee is a highly sprayed crop, so make sure you buy organic. We drink organic and free-trade, also. I agree with PP-- everything in moderation!!!!

[leila1213]

I drink decaf and the other day when we ran out we used caf. DH and I were both so starving and jittery by 11am that I figure it can't be good!

[quietserena]

In my experience there really is something to be said about the whole 'coffee robs your body of minerals'. If I get myself into drinking coffee (even decaf) I find that in a few days or a week, my eye starts twitching like crazy. I can soothe it with a mineral supplement but still!

Not that it doesn't taste good...

[nichole]

I'm jealous of anyone that drink coffee with no side effects. The crash six hours later turns me into super cranky lady. Caffeine is really bad for your adrenals. I know plenty of people who can drink it in moderation and seem fine. Like I said, I'm jealous.

I like herbal tea or occasionally a flavored decaf tea or decaf americano with a shot of vanilla

[Rawa]

I am pretty sure that caffine is bad for me. I have adrenal burn out and mid section pouch of fat, I also had sleep issues and all of those things have improved since giving up coffee. I have it once or twice a week now. Usually while out meeting friends at cafes.

[spiderdust]

I don't really drink it right now (due to pregnancy), but I suspect that it's not too bad in moderation... like a cup a day or so.

[hollycat]

big believer in coffee here. i think science will find its a health food eventually. one of the most interesting things abotu the french paradox - why the french eat super fatty food and are still healther, the result was the health benefits of red wine - the other, less published benefit was because they drink fresh brewed coffee, which has so many life giving properities.
the knd of coffee most americans drink, sitting on a heater, does not. has to be fresh brewed, apparently.