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Science

1st Cup Of Coffee: Hardening Your Arteries 304

Posted by Hemos from the caffiene-is-gud! dept.
mikewhittaker writes "A recent article on The Times refer to a report which indicates that the intake of caffeine from a single coffee can have adverse effects on your arteries and heart." Actually, it goes so far to say that the first cup of coffee is the worst. Of course, basically, anything you do is bad for at some level, so I guess it's choosing your poisons.
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1st Cup Of Coffee: Hardening Your Arteries

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  • The more coffee you drink, the less dangerous each cup is. Therefore, drinking more coffee is even better for you.

    Drink up. Yiiiiipppeeeeeee!!!!! ;-)

    -Vic

    • Precisely. (Score:3, Funny)

      by Vic ( 6867 )
      I would recommend the following strategies:

      • Have a very small first cup of coffee to minimize its effects. Subsequent cups should increase in size, as each one gets better for you.
      • Drink your second cup first, then follow it up with the first one. That will put you back to equilibrium.
      • I'm sure you can come up with more.....health is all about creativity.


      Cheers,
      vic

    • Play: Caffiene and Quake (Score:5, Funny)

      by leonbrooks ( 8043 ) <SentByMSBlast-No ... .brooks.fdns.net> on Wednesday September 05, 2001 @07:15PM (#2257982) Homepage
      Scene opens with a programmer at his keyboard, with adjacent coffee pot producing delicious, stimulating caffienated mud.

      • Begin: 100 health
      • Drink 1st coffee: 90 health
      • Drink 2nd coffee: 80 health
      • Drink 3rd coffee: 71 health (decimals omitted for simplicity)
      • Drink 4th coffee: 62 health
      • Drink 5th coffee: 53 health
      • Drink 6th coffee: 44 health
      • Drink 7th coffee: 35 health
      • Drink 8th coffee: 26 health
      • Drink 9th coffee: 17 health
      • Drink 10th coffee: 8 health
      • Drink 11th coffee: -1 health, get sideways view of the floor.

      Drink up! Yippeee...! Er...

      • Enter a tall, thin chap in a black cloak and bearing a huge white feather, who sets about banishing you to the IPT.

      Scene closes with programmer's workmates, each with coffee in hand, shaking their heads sadly as paramedics bear away a sheet-covered object on a stretcher.

      My point: less harmful is not the same as harmless.


      • Enter a tall, thin chap in a black cloak and bearing a huge white feather, who sets about banishing you to the IPT.

        For those of you who don't have children, the IPT reference is to the Island of Perpetual Tickling. To understand it, you need to watch VeggieTales. They're great! The particular reference is to [bigidea.com]
        Esther.

  • Easy fix (Score:5, Funny)

    by geophile ( 16995 ) <jao.geophile@com> on Wednesday September 05, 2001 @06:49PM (#2257875) Homepage
    So skip the first cup of coffee and go right to the second.
    • Yeah...as if people are going to stop drinking coffee because of news like this.

      They should have had a different headline:

      "THIS JUST IN - THING PEOPLE ENJOY IS ACTUALLY BAD FOR YOU"

      If that headline was used, we could all bitch about how this is a repost. How many times have you seen a story like that before? (millions) How many times has a story like that affected people's behavior? (long, awkward silence)

    • Or drink one small cup of coffee, and make up for it with 3 later.
    • ...and while you're at it, save yourself the fifty cents (four dollars if you're at Starbucks) and go right to the refills, too. Saves both your heart *and* your wallet! :)

  • Yet Another Caffeine Study (Score:3, Interesting)

    by javaDragon ( 187973 ) on Wednesday September 05, 2001 @06:49PM (#2257876) Homepage
    They did it again ! Sometimes the study says "cofee bad", the next day another one claims "coffe good". With so many divergent results, how can one still trust any of those studies ?
    • It doesn't really matter. The coffee will not kill you before you have had at least a chance to reproduce. Hence from a strictly biological perspective it is not 'bad' for you.


      In fact, it is only bad for you if you think a few extra years of alzheimer's and incontinece in your twilight years is something to look forward to. Personally, I'd rather continue drinking coffee and die a couple of years early. Not a big deal.

      • I dunno... (Score:2, Funny)

        by CrudPuppy ( 33870 )
        I've seen quite a few programmers, and I'm thinking
        a good percentage will be adversely affected by
        coffee LONG before they reproduce (and no, this
        has nothing to do with the quantity of coffee they drink)

        ;)
    • Sometimes the study says "cofee bad", the next day another one claims "coffe good". With so many divergent results, how can one still trust any of those studies?

      Did you actually read the studies? Or did you just read the sensational news headline? I'm fairly confident that none of the studies said "coffee bad" or "coffee good".

      You know this, of course, yet you still find it funny to mock the science. This anti-intellectual attitude is the reason that science coverage is so brainless.

  • Glad I switched! (Score:5, Funny)

    by pgpckt ( 312866 ) on Wednesday September 05, 2001 @06:50PM (#2257877) Homepage Journal
    a single coffee can have adverse effects on your arteries and heart.

    Whew. That was close. Glad I switched to espresso!
    • Or this tasty cappuccino, loaded with sugar!

  • Get your caffeine somewhere else! (Score:3)

    by sachachua ( 246293 ) <sacha.free@net@ph> on Wednesday September 05, 2001 @06:50PM (#2257879) Homepage Journal
    I'm not a coffee drinker - it's too bitter (even mocha tastes weird) and I haven't gotten used to it yet.

    I like chocolate. Chocolate's great. The sugar'll probably be Very Bad for me later, though. No win.

    What about tea?
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • For that matter, what about Penguin Mints [peppermints.com]? Or Coke? Or all that other caffeinated stuff?

      I'm wondering if the study's confusing the effects of caffeine with the effects of all the other alkaloids and stuff present in coffee. If they're not, boy, am I screwed :-).

      Eric

    • "What about tea?"

      Hmmmm, the way I make my tea it's pretty damn bitter. Some days I forget I left a cup steeping and when I come back to it 30 mins later I have to whip the bag and re-heat it in the microwave. It's enough to make most people's gums shrivel back from their teeth! Hmmmm, tannin! If you're in the US, don't try this with the de facto Lipton tea as it will always taste bad and weak no matter how many bags you use or how long you leave it.
  • That's why I drink tea!
    Besides, I can't stand the taste of coffee, unless diluted (like a coffee coolatta, etc).
    *BLEGH*
    • Unless you're talking herbals, tea is equally, and in some cases, even more, potent as coffee.
      • Yes, tea has more caffiene than coffee, but it also has some other chemicals that are a sort of natural muscle relaxant. So it's more balanced than coffee.

        I drink both, but I like coffee better.
      • I can't remember the name of the chemical, but (black??) tea also contains small amounts of a caffeine-like stimulant that is much more potent. As far as I know, all teas also contain something that is good (relaxing) for your stomache, unlike coffee which tends to be more of an irritant.

  • addictive qualities (Score:4, Insightful)

    by fetta ( 141344 ) on Wednesday September 05, 2001 @06:51PM (#2257883)

    It's easy to test out the health effects of caffeine - just give it up for a month.

    Every 6 months or so, I quit caffeine cold turkey - no soda, no coffee, etc. The first 3-4 days are miserable - headaches, fatigue, etc. After that I start feeling much better, sleeping better, having more energy, etc. It's pretty clear that I feel better and healthier without that morning copy of coffee.

    Of course, then some deadline pops up and I'm back to drinking 2 cups of coffee and a six pack of diet coke per day. What drives me nuts is that I know better - I've been through this cycle at least 5 times. Thanks God I never started smoking! If I have this much trouble giving up caffeine, I can't imagine what nicotine would do to me.

    • I drank so much soda that I became allergic to it, but did that stop me? No
    • I've been off caffeine for over 5 years, and it's worth it. It's not so hard to avoid if you just pay attention.
    • I have about 15 years of heavy coffee drinking behind me. During the last 5 years I would also go cold turkey and feel much better, then I would fall off the wagon then go right back to 8 to 10 cups(mugs) a day.


      Well 3 weeks ago, I suffered a mild heart attack(MI) and that has scared me away from cafeine for good. From now on I am not listening to either the good stuff or the bad stuff about cafeine, I am just quitting. You just have to go with what you believe and not with the latest "Report".

    • I can attest to this. I went completely without caffeine for about 13 months somewhere in '98-'99. I wasn't nearly as addicted as a lot of people here are, I'm sure, so it was really no big deal as far as missing it. But I noticed the same thing - I just felt better all around, despite the fact that I wasn't really living any healthier in other respects (exercise, diet, sleep, etc).

      Unfortunately, even for someone like me who doesn't have to have it every day, it's all too easy to get back into it. I broke the streak not because I really wanted a caffeinated beverage, but because I felt like 13 months was long enough. I still don't drink much caffeine in general, but no longer going for the streak meant that the door was wide open for the occasional binge when not getting enough sleep. The last two weeks are a prime example - a busy time at work plus moving to a new apartment mean not much sleep. I'm on my 4th Mountain Dew of the day as I type this and I don't feel that great. My brain may not be nodding off to sleep, but my body, and especially my heart, feels like crap.

      A day or two without caffeine and I'll be feeling much better...

    • My wife made me give up caffine once. Two weeks and I didn't notice a thing. No headaches, dizzyness, cravings, etc. Just got annoyed because avoiding caffine is like dodging taxes. You can do it for a little while, but eventually you slip.

      • I have given up on trying to cut out caffeine.

        problem 1: it is everywhere.

        problem 2: it is in all kinds of tasty things I don't want to give up. (I LOVE Coke. A fresh 2L bottle of Coke at 34F, a lime and a chilled glass... Yum. I am 30 and I love Coke as much as any kid ever could.)

        problem 3: I don't like the taste of decaf sodas.

        problem 4: I can tolerate the taste of Diet Coke, but all NutraSweet drinks knock me out. A Diet Coke has as much of an effect on me as a beer. That's no good.

        In the end, my drink of choice is iced tea. I love it. Most varieties have caffeine, but I would rather drink something with caffeine and no calories than something with calories and no caffiene. Don't want to get hugely fat.

        There are some good decaf teas, too. Constant Comment decaf makes an excellent iced tea. That's what I drink at home most of the time, but I don't make caffiene avoidance a major part of my lifestyle.

        I'm rambling. Need some caffiene. ;)
    • I used to be really big on drinking caffeine, a good deal from soda but some other stuff as well.

      It got to the point where withdrawl headaches and weakness would kick in if I hadn't had any for only 6-8 hours. At about this point I decided it was nuts and started cutting the stuff out. After a several weeks with no caffiene I realize that I could no longer tolerate the stuff. I don't know if it's a allergy or what, but now having a single Coke is enough to give me a headache.

      When your body starts getting ill every time you have caffiene (and I don't mean withdrawl, I mean shortly after consumption), that's a pretty good incentive to stop using it. After several years it doesn't seem like much of a loss.
    • My mother is hugely addicted to tea. Growing up, I remember how she had to have her morning cup and a cup of tea just to wake up from a nap. I decided then that I would never let myself get dependent on the stuff.

      I do drink coffee or have a coke sometimes when I'm in "crunch mode". This could be a big exam when I was in college, a major deadline at work or some serious night-time driving. One thing that not consuming any caffeine has done to me is made my hypersensitive to the stuff. So if I have a single coke any time after noon, I can't sleep well at night - regardless of how tired I am.

      I had a point when I began this post but missed it somewhere.
      • I always try to stay off it until I need it. I can go for weeks without and then put in an all-nighter and need the extra stimulation. Best thing is when you're been off it for a while your tolerance is way down and it can feel more like speed than caffeine.

    • Re:addictive qualities (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Antipop ( 180137 )
      I can attest to this. I recently became straight edge [poisonfree.com] [poisonfree.com] and decided to give up caffeine. The first few days I had headaches and that kind of thing. It's been 3 weeks and I feel so much better. I used to have so much trouble getting up and getting ready for school but now I can wake up and do what I need to, I don't stumble around for the first few hours until I get a Coke in me. I can concentrate better in the morning, I sleep better, I can wake up, and I've got more energy. It's deceptive how much of an impact caffeine can make on you because you don't really think about it. I encourage everyone else to give it up for a few weeks, you'll feel much better.
    • I was down to less than a cup per day at my last job, and then I changed jobs...

      My new company runs on caffeine and sugar (and Thai food). I'm back up to two per day.
    • I'm not going to deny that coffee is addictive. But, you should take into account that you are probably severly dehydrated when you are drinking 2 cups of coffee and a 6-pack of coke a day. Most Americans are chronically dehydrated. If you just cut out most of the coffee and cokes, and drank a lot of water, you would feel a lot better. And still have your morning cup of joe! That's what I do.
    • Caffine is totally flushed out of your system in less than 24 hours. So, that means that in order to remain addicted to caffine, you cannot go a single day without a cup of coffee (or a Jolt, or Penguin mints, or whatever your perferred source is). Not a week, not 2-3 days, just one day.


      You can be highly psychologically addicted, but as far as physical addictions go, caffine is a really easy one to break. Oh, and as for smoking, my advice is to smoke a pipe. I've never seen a cigarette smoker derive as much enjoyment from a cigarette as I get from my pipe, and the time it takes means that I generally smoke about once every 2-4 weeks, never allowing myself to become addicted. Also, by puffing instead of inhaling, my lung cancer risk is also cut to near zero. It's a wonderful way to relax, if done correctly.

    • What I say to those who give up the magical serum without a fight...

      LIES! LIES! LIES!!!!!

      Kerouac wrote On The Road on *coffee*, not bennys (as is popularly believed).

      Ask Mr. Knuth about his drug of choice... :)
    • I found the difference to me was that I was not getting enough water when I drank soda. So now, I just have a large cup of coffee in the morning and drink water or juice all day. I feel good physically except I don't get enough sleep. But that's a scheduling problem, not an insomnia problem anymore. -l

  • Shame (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mwillems ( 266506 ) on Wednesday September 05, 2001 @06:51PM (#2257886) Homepage
    It is rather a shame that society (North American society) is so obsessed now with risk aversion!

    Everything we do has good and bad affects. Coffee makes you feel good but shortens life. Good choice for each to make. Wine lessens cardiovascular degeneration but increases the chance of liver ailments. Flying gets you tere quickly but you can fall. Peanuts are wholesome food but can kill one in a million. In the USA, only the negative part of each of these equations is being seen. Playgrounds have no swigs here anymore becuase they too can be dangerous.

    Well, I for one will not worry. I make my own choices. I take calculated risks. I am aware that it all ends in tears anyway: no-one lives over 110 years and anyway, by 80, half of us have Alzheimers. Best enjoy the three score years and ten I'd say.

    Would talk more but must be off for a coffee.

    • Eh, of course playgrounds never had "swigs" in the first place. Swings, yes.
    • Well, I for one will not worry. I make my own choices. I take calculated risks. I am aware that it all ends in tears anyway: no-one lives over 110 years and anyway, by 80, half of us have Alzheimers.

      I sure hope you are not using non-dairy creamer in your coffee--the aluminum in that may increase your risk for Alzheimers.

    • I couldn't agree more with you. Being German and having moved to the US, I observe several things. Americans are "Pseudo Health Fetishists". Everything is fat-free, low-fat, diet or whatever. People are always buying all this stuff but then eat for lunch a nice, Big Mac meal at the McD around the corner. But it comes with a Diet Coke. Phhhhh ... As you said, everything has adverse effects. Coffee, Alcohol maybe even milk. But, as long as you do all of this in reasonable portions it helps you living a joyful life. And life is too short anyway. If you take all the joy out of living your life and consuming things that make you happy, what is the point in maybe living a year longer. Oh, btw, you still might get hit by that car with the drunken Cop at the wheel. Oh, never mind, that only happens in New York ...

      When I was 15, I wanted to be 16 so I can drink beer (legally) like the "big guys". When I was 16, I couldn't wait to be 18 and have my own car. Then it was time to get 19 and finish high school. And then, be 24, finish your studies. Then again, get older to gain responsibility and make things happen in the job. Now I am there and want to be back at the beginning again ...
    • Here's a take on "good but bad things in life"...

      Fellow goes to a doc who says that he's going to die in 6 months. The fellow, concerned, asks if he can prolong his life. The conversation goes as follows:

      Doc: do you have frequent sex?
      Fel: Yes
      Doc: No more sex for you

      Doc: Do you drink?
      Fel: I enjoy it a lot
      Doc: No more drinking for you

      Same goes for good food, coffee, and reading /.
      Finally, the fellow asks the doc how much his life span will be increased by these sacrifices:

      Doc: No, it won't increase your lifespan, but your life will seem much longer.

      S
    • Well, I for one will not worry. I make my own choices. I take calculated risks. I am aware that it all ends in tears anyway: no-one lives over 110 years...

      And a century ago, what was the average life span? 35? 40? Now it's what, 70? 80? One reason we're living longer now is because the general public has been made aware of what is "bad" for your body.

      Granted, the media is overly negative, but that's what sells papers.
      • Now it's what, 70? 80? One reason we're living longer now is because the general public has been made aware of what is "bad" for your body.

        And yet, just TRY to buy a week's worth of groceries that doesn't include a numbered FD&C food dye. The longer average lifespan is due to improvements in medicine that have made a lot of formerly deadly childhood diseases a bit less lethal.

        Our awareness of what's good/bad for us isn't really doing us much good - so you dodge fatty foods and sugar, now you're dealing with aspartame and Olestra. Dodge that and now you're dealing with MSG and FD&C Red 40. Dodge THAT and now it's pesticides and genetically modified corn sneaking into the food supply. All things considered I'd say the average person's diet 100 years ago is probably healthier than the average person's diet today.

  • Note : only short-term effects! (Score:3, Informative)

    by RobertFisher ( 21116 ) on Wednesday September 05, 2001 @06:53PM (#2257893) Journal
    If you actually read this article, the study only confirms that for a few hours after consuming a cup of coffee, your heart is placed under more stress. In and of itself, this does not appear to be very significant. Any vigorous physical activity will also raise your heartrate, constrict your arteries, and put your heart under more stress. It says NOTHING about long-term health consequences, which is really the main issue here.

    I recall reading several years ago that at that time, the long-term health consequences of coffee were unclear. Some adverse affects were sometimes suggested in studies, but it turns out there are tremendous confounding factors -- coffee drinkers often tend to eat lots of donuts, be less active, and so on. When the initial population of patient participants was selected as healthy health care professionals, little or no adverse affects were observed for moderate (up to a couple of cups a day) intakes of coffee.

    Bob
  • Don't know if you American folks have them, but there is a coffee restaurant called "the Second Cup" up here. Guess we know how they got their name now; attractive mottos like "Go anywhere else and you will die a slow and painful death" become effective if this news is publicized!
    • but there is a coffee restaurant called "the Second Cup" up here.

      <ECHOING-THOUGHT>Jim never has a second cup at home!</ECHOING-THOUGHT>
  • I am suprised that there isnt more attention being paid to the excess consumption of water. A sudden change in elctrolites could cause a person's cells to burst. Why arent there any warning labels on bottle water?

  • I take it... (Score:2, Funny)

    by gatesh8r ( 182908 )
    Now in resturants we'll have a coffee and no coffee section along with having licences to permit the sale of coffee, not to mention age limits on who can buy coffee???

    Imagine if you will:
    Reefer: "Yeah, dude, I got this nasty shit from Columbia!"
    Stoner: "Yo dude, gimme some of that..."
    Reefer: "Ya gotta swollow 2 oz of those coffee grounds with hot water, dude!"
    Stoner: "Cooooollllll... my parents will never figure it out! Sweet! I'll pay ya $2000 for it!"

    • First Dupont or some beverage company has to come out with a synthetic beverage that they wouldn't even be able to market if coffee is around, since coffee is cheaper and more effective. Then they will lobby governments to make it illegal to import, possess, deal, or drink coffee. Then we will hear about how caffiene is a "gateway drug" that leads to crack abuse and moderating on Slashdot, as well as making people believe that information wants to be free and setting up peer to peer file trading servers. Eventually we will all be brainless drones drinking a beverage that comes in something similer to an oil can that also bears remarkable resemblance and chemical makeup to said combustible engine product, and fighting eachother over which brand is the best...
  • What a crazy article! Since the article doesn't cite a source, one can conclude that the research hasn't been published yet.

    And since the research hasn't been published, one can assume that the study has not been peer reviewed - or even hasn't been accepted as worthy science.

    So therefore, no one knows if this study is the next greatest find, or just a piece of crap designed to grab headlines.

    I suspect the later.
  • When you get old your bones will become weak and brittle. Hard arteries will actually hold up your body when your bones fail. You heard it hear first.
  • I'll have plenty of time to sleep when im dead.
  • The European Society of Cardiology (referenced in the Times' article) are having their conference [berkeley.edu] this week.
    No mention of coffee - except for the generously long breaks that they're getting...

  • No More Slashdot (Score:3, Funny)

    by steelwolff ( 455926 ) on Wednesday September 05, 2001 @07:03PM (#2257931)
    No more coffee means no more reading Slashdot first thing in the morning.
    This, of course, would improve workplace productivity in the key IT depts around the nation.
    Therefore, a ban on coffee will lead to increased productivity and a rise in economic output, thereby solving the nations economic woes.

    Therefore, drinking coffee is the cause of the current economic downturn.

    But none of you have read this because you all just gave up coffee.

    Nothing wrong with this logic.

  • Hmmm (Score:1)

    by TACD ( 514008 )
    A while ago, I read an article in New Scientist. It detailed how experiments on mice showed that injections of caffeine made them far more resilient to the effects of radiation; they were able to survive well above what would usually be a lethal dose.

    There's no point in worrying about things harming you. If you listen to stuff like this, you will soon find that you cannot eat or drink anything, or go anywhere. Life is dangerous, we have to accept that.

    (Of course, for the same caffeine effect on people, you would need to drink 40 cups of coffee. Get crackin'.)

  • There was another article today on Reuters Health pointing out that coffee was chock full of antioxidants.

    So it's all a wash.

    • There was another article today on Reuters Health pointing out that coffee was chock full of antioxidants.

      Yep [yahoo.com]. However, that study was funded by Nestlé [nestle.com], makers of Nescafé Coffee, as well as Dallmayr, Zoegas and Loumidis.

      Both studies may be correct, but isn't there a small chance the one from the coffee maker is biased? :-)

      In any event, I'm not giving up coffee any time soon, regardless.

  • coffee, caffeine. (Score:2, Interesting)

    by wilgamesh ( 308197 )
    let me point out that this article claims the study advises at the end says that one should switch to decaffeinated coffee- so is it the caffeine in the coffee that's causing the artery hardening, etc?

    to establish that it's the caffeine, then a control study should have been done with decaffeinated coffee. even better, another study should be conducted in which the effects of no-doz or other purified caffeine pills are measured relative to placebo pills.

    and if it is *just* the caffeine, then clearly the advisory should be applied toward all caffeinated drinks. just such jolt, or cola, or tea.

    in short, i think that either the reporting of this science or the science itself is a bit sloppy. this must have been funded by some anti-coffee foundation.

    • In this report on Yahoo [yahoo.com] there is additional description of the experiment.

      They did in fact compare the effects of a caffiene pill to a placebo in a double blind test.

      Still no reference to a published journal article, but this does give more credence to the work and this journalist seems to appreciate that it's not just coffee that has caffiene.

      Personally, I'm casting my vote for sloppy reporting.
  • Alright - I'll admit that I'm hopelessly addicted to caffeine. I take it in all forms, normal coffee (three heaped spoonfuls), espresso (the same), tea (brewed for at least 3 minutes) and last but not least Irn-Bru.

    I don't think Irn-Bru is available in America, but in Scotland, it's our unofficial national beverage. Plus, it's also got more caffeine in it than any other fizzy drink. I drink this stuff by the bottle load, normally accompanied by my friends when we're watching a DVD, playing Quake, or just cos I'm desperate for another glass.

    It's freakin' typical that my favourite drinks all turn out to be lethal.

  • coffee quotes (Score:5, Funny)

    by FarHat ( 96381 ) on Wednesday September 05, 2001 @07:15PM (#2257979)
    * Turkish Proverb: "Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death,
    and sweet as love."
    * Sheikh Abd-al-Kadir (1587): "No one can understand the truth until
    he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness."
    * Sir James MacKintosh (18th century philosopher): "The powers of a
    man's mind are directly proportional to the quantity of coffee he
    drank."
    * Johann Sebastian Bach (1732, an aria from his 'Kaffee-Kantate'):
    "Ah! How sweet coffee tastes! Lovlier than a thousand kisses,
    sweeter than muscatel wine! I must have my coffee..."
    * David Letterman (Esquire Interview Fall '94): "If it wasn't for
    coffee, I'd have no discernible personality at all."
    * Chris Egolf (1993): "This damn pot is too fucking slow!"
    * Wise New York City Homeless Man (1996, to Chris Egolf): "Son, you
    need to get some coffee in you so people know you're alive!"

  • Ban Coffee (Score:3, Funny)

    by fishbowl ( 7759 ) on Wednesday September 05, 2001 @07:17PM (#2257987)
    I think they should ban coffee, with the same force of prohibition that they ban marijuana.
    It makes exactly as much sense.

    • since I live in the Netherlands, I'm all for it.

      dutch coffeeshops thrive on both marihuana and coffee, and usually serve a bloody good cup.

      //rdj
  • You might want to check out, You drink too much coffee when.. [sorehands.com]


    But, there has been some studies that show that coffee drinkers are less likely to get bladder cancer. Probably because there is nothing in the bladder long enough to cause cancer. Beer may work that way too, but you don't have the side affect of wanting to climb a transmission tower and piss on high voltage wires.

  • misparsing? (Score:4, Funny)

    by merlyn ( 9918 ) on Wednesday September 05, 2001 @07:25PM (#2258007) Homepage Journal
    I had to read

    the intake of caffeine from a single coffee can

    three times before I figured out that it didn't mean "a coffee can", because I was trying to figure out how to drink from multiple cans instead.

  • ...in another 6 months they'll release a study claiming that coffee could help prevent cancer. It'll all balance out. Yeah, I know this is a bit jaded, but what do you expect after years of studies claiming that such-n-such harms you, followd by another round of studies claimng that such-n-such is good for you?

    As a general rule, you need at least a lifetime to really figure it out. Some of this stuff *should* be obvious. Did we really need the surgeon general to tell us that chronic smoke inhalation isn't good for us? For centuries people have witnessed others who drank themselves to death, so we pretty much knew excessive alcohol consumption wasn't good either.

    In modern times, the 1st world has developed the ability to feed itself so that gluttony is now affordable. But that's one of the 7 deadly sins, so once again it should have occured to us that eating 6 big macs for breakfast and never exercising wasn't such a good idea.

    Most everything else is so subtle that you just shouldn't worry about it.

  • Well, this study [yahoo.com] reports that coffee is a rich source of antioxidants.

    Sept 5, 2001: LONDON (Reuters) - Coffee beats green tea by containing four times the amount of health-boosting antioxidants, which can assist in preventing or postponing the onset of degenerative diseases, according to a new study.
    ...
    Antioxidants reduce the effects on the human body of harmful substances known as free radicals which may be a major contributor to cardiovascular disease, cancer, cataracts and decline of the immune and nervous system.
  • Of course, basically, anything you do is bad for at some level, so I guess it's choosing
    your poisons.

    Well.... maybe a cost-benefit analysis is a better way of looking at it. Is coffee REALLY that important to you? Great, take it and take the health impacts. For most people, though, it just might be worth it to quit.

    And there are lots of enjoyable things that don't do you much harm. Find one, make that your habit. I'm currently enjoying being hydrated. :)

    Of course, I still consume enough cheese that if I didn't exercise, I would become the Kraft Blimp

  • deadly donut (Score:4, Funny)

    by mudflat ( 465657 ) on Wednesday September 05, 2001 @07:48PM (#2258058)

    'The findings showed that the first cup had the most significant effect because caffeine levels in the blood had dropped during the night.'

    There's a no-brainer. Drink a maintenance dose when you get up to pee in the middle of the night.

  • Ok... here's the deal with coffee. Being a programmer, I drink a lot of coffee. I'm not bringing this topic up because I'm strange... this is serious. Usually after my first major caffeine hit in the morning, I get the "coffee shits". Strange thing about the coffee shits is that it only happens once! Once the event has occurred, I'm safe to drink as much coffee as I want without further problems. Its almost as if the colon has crossed some kind of hidden barrier into a state of caffeine dependence.

    Ever wonder why drinking cofee usually results in a major colon explosion?

    I've consulted a number of medical information sources trying to find the exact biological cause of "the coffee shits"... mostly because I'd like to know what kind of pressures are put on my body from caffeine intake.

    Never once did I ever think that perhaps my arteries were at stake too! In fact, I always thought coffee was good for my body in a way... being all natural and everything.

    Aside from the arteries problem, anybody have any biological insight into the coffee shits?

    • Usually after my first major caffeine hit in the morning, I get the "coffee shits".



      Wierd! Me too! I theorize that the rise in blood pressure combined with the sugar and cream I liberally add (coffee is bitter!) inadvertently send the signal to my colon that it's time to excrete by suggesting to my brain that I've just had an adrenaline rush: time to dump 'n' run!. Sugar level in blood and blood pressure rise suddenly: what else is it supposed to think?



      Well, that's what I get for having a highly interconnected neural network as my CPU 8^P.

  • ...the worst thing to be addicted to is boasting about your addictions, or boasting about your lack thereof.
  • "If today you hear His voice, harden not your heart"

    Or something like that...
  • Since I have no idea where the study was published, I can't comment on the methodology, etc. However, I do have to wonder how this research can be groundbreaking.
    People with preexisting heart problems who are at risk for arrhythmias or recurrent myocardial infarctions are already warned not to take caffeine. Any stimulant will increase heart rate and blood pressure. Most people with problems know this an ignore this just as those with lung/heart problems ignore our advice to stop smoking.
    An interesting side note, those people who suffer from migraine headaches often experience them most severely on the weekends, when they no longer take caffeine, which can work wonders...

    Invicta{HOG}
  • The Surgeon General simply needs to put a warning label on every can, bag, bottle or carton of products that contain caffeine. That's what they did for tobacco products, and it solved the whole thing, didn't it?
  • I guess it would make sense then that the US Government should sue Coffee farmers now too. After all, cigarettes are bad for you and we can sue "Big Tobacco" right? Maybe we should be suing Big Coffee now too. I can see it now. Starbucks sued because they sell coffee to young adults and intentionally increase the addictive caffeine per cup (Espresso).

    I personally gave up coffee months ago. I knew there we health side effects. It's been known for years. I gave up smoking over a year ago for similar reasons. It really is a matter of chosing your poisons. People don't need to be protected from themselves. I just hate when Big Government (Socialist Liberals) tries to profit from the personal choices of some idiots in the populus.

    Just trying to get people thinking about this so we don't have another Tobacco lawsuit on our hands.
  • I drink a lot of Dew, The Juice of the Gods. I suppose that's a bad thing too.

  • Subtle plot (Score:2, Funny)

    by 3ryon ( 415000 )
    It looks like Microsoft will go to any length to get rid of Java!

  • It's temporary, folks! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by steveha ( 103154 ) on Wednesday September 05, 2001 @11:08PM (#2258534) Homepage
    This is no big deal, unless you have high blood pressure, because the effect is very temporary. The article said "one cup hardened the blood vessels for at least two hours". It's not like you are going to need bypass surgery or something.

    If you have average blood pressure, or (as I do) slightly low blood pressure, then have some coffee to celebrate the news!
  • Of course, basically, anything you do is bad for at some level, so I guess it's choosing your poisons.

    Ummm, ok. So never mind all those doctor recommendations to exercise and eat vegetables and fruits. Those are bad for you too. Hahahahaha! Existance is futile!

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