Is Coffee Good or Bad for you?

[Darek]

Yet another good reason for drinking black tea:

_http://www.naturalnews.com/037675_black_tea_bioterrorism_defense.html

(NaturalNews) Compounds found in black tea can neutralize bioterrorism microorganisms

Could the natural compounds found in black tea be powerful enough to successfully counter the deadly effects of a biological terrorist attack? New research out of the U.K. seems to suggest so, having found that a specific compound abundant in tea effectively deactivates and neutralizes ricin, a highly-toxic chemical byproduct of castor beans that is often used in attempted acts of biological terrorism.

Dr. Simon Richardson, a senior lecturer in Biopharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Greenwich School of Science in the U.K., and his colleagues examined the various compounds naturally found in tea and discovered that one in particular, which was not named in their research, disables ricin's toxic effects. And if extracted from tea into processed form, Dr. Richardson believes the compound could hold the key to potentially thwarting biological terrorism.

"One cup of char (British slang for tea) won't cure you if you have been poisoned, but compounds extracted from tea could, with further research, provide an antidote to poisoning following a terrorist attack," says Dr. Richardson. "I've been working on neutralizing ricin poisoning for about six years as a byproduct of my work in drug delivery ... the next stage, as well as securing more funding, is seeing if other components of tea have a greater effect."

An earlier study out of Wales found that Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an antioxidant polyphenol that is recognized as a principal property of tea, also has the ability to inactivate ricin. Likely the same compound identified by Dr. Richardson, EGCG was shown to defuse not only ricin, but also a host of deadly microorganisms, toxins, and other harmful compounds.

"We already knew that tea had the ability to inhibit anthrax -- as long as it is black tea with no milk," says Professor Les Baillie from Cardiff University's School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, who led the research out of Wales. "Our new findings suggest that if the security services want to counter the threat of ricin, they may find the answer in their morning cup of tea."

EGCG is already widely available in supplement form, which means the public does not have to wait for further research to be conducted on the compound in order to experience its poison-fighting benefits.

Also commonly marketed as green tea extract, EGCG has been shown to help promote the proper growth and maintenance of brain cells, prevent the development and proliferation of cancer cells, alleviate diabetes, deter heart disease, promote healthy weight maintenance, and prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

 

[Laura]

Doesn't mean I won't have a cup of coffee ONCE in awhile... but on a regular basis, nope. Only today am I finally feeling back to my fully functional Ketogenic self.

 

[anothermagyar]

I drink coffee every morning 1 or 2 cups.

But my favorite black coffee is this :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRxS7Q64xUQ

and a cigar...!

 

[Jacques]

Right Gandalf and truth seeker, it is what I will do next week; I will go to a tea shop that someone told me there is in Salamanca. All the teas they sell in bags and very beautiful boxes taste air. The only green tea that has some flavor is the Gunpowder green tea that I buy in a little metallic box by the Twinings brand but is Twinings safe I ask my self. Spain is not a country of tea drinkers. Here is coffee the God, even then the coffee that they sell is not very good, I prefer the Portuguese coffee. This is a very interesting quest, and the book that you put, Gandalf, looks very interesting. The ceremony of tea is something very important! I look yesterday in the Internet and there is a lot of information about it.

And thanks for the links.

Hi loretta

If you are looking for a really good book, easy to read, with a lot of info but written in a simple way, I would recommend that one to you :

In French: http://www.amazon.ca/GUIDE-DE-D%C3%89GUSTATION-LAMATEUR-TH%C3%89/dp/281230412X/ref=sr_1_sc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1351256501&sr=8-2-spell

In English: http://www.amazon.ca/Tea-Drinkers-Handbook-Francois-xavier-Delmas/dp/0789209888/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351256894&sr=1-1

And if you are looking for a good website where you can find excellent oolong tea, I would recommend that one: _https://www.facebook.com/taiwanteacrafts

 

[seek10]

My report on the coffee experiment:

It's hard to tell if it was damaging in any way. What I noted was:

2) extra phelgm production

6) don't sleep as well even if only have coffee in morning

I seems to be observing these symptoms for sure. I seems to start enjoying coffee too. Time to go with caution,

4 days after stopping the coffee and initial 2 days of mild headache , my sleep pattern came back to pre coffee days. So Bye Bye Coffee. During this time Lot of things were going on , LONG commute for my new jobs and other adjustments too.

 

[Turgon]

Given the number of people bailing on the coffee experiment due to bad reactions, ... Although, I have to say, most of what I've noticed have been positive benefits over the past week of coffee drinking. The best result has been that my bowels have been back on track (although I think there still needs to be some adjustment here). Also, I'm really benefiting from having another means of getting fat into my diet without risking nausea.

The negative effects people have mentioned haven't really seemed to be happening to me - no dry nose, no sleep disturbances, no inflammation, no illness... In fact, if anything I think I'm sleeping better.

...

I do seem to detoxify coffee pretty well, as it really doesn't wake me up. It just does something to my mood and I'm always able to sleep. No sickness or irritations. The only time I noticed something off was when I had a rather huge dose of black coffee. ...

... Unless it compromises my ketogenic state, then I would stop. I think ketosis is far more useful.

Having determined a level of coffee (whether instant or beans - which for a 'coffee drinker' is relatively small) now, I find that coffee seems beneficial to me, and, as above, positive effects, and a lack of negative effects. Interestingly, when younger, even when I'd given up drinking coffee, I never was a 'tea person'. I guess it's something like being predisposed to smoking or not (which I'm still not). As Psyche implies, maybe it's all in the genes. We are all different. :)

Also interesting to note that neither you or dugdeep smoke, yet had positive effects from coffee. Both are considered stimulants so maybe there's a certain interplay between the two. Like too many stimulants taken together or near each other can later lead to a drop in dopamine, hence the negative effects

I have never been a coffee drinker, but when I tried it last week, I found it to be too stimulating. I was buzzing for an hour or two and later crashed. Mind you, I did drink the equivalent of three shots of espresso, which I didn't know to be a large dosage at the time but I felt utterly dehydrated and my saliva was foamy afterwards. Maybe it affected my kidney's in some way. So, I may try it again, but a much smaller dosage in a couple of weeks.

 

[loreta]

Thanks Gandalf for the advises! It is appreciated.

By the way, the best tea I ever took in my life, many times, was in Senegal. The Muslims made an extraordinary green tea, very sweet and drink them in little glasses. It is really a ceremony, a moment where you gather together and take your time to talk, to laugh, to feel good with your friends. It was also very addictive but I ask myself: was the situation addictive or the tea? I am unable to answer this question. :D Some friends here in Spain from the Occidental Sahara made also the same tea, what a joy to drank it! Much much better than coffee but coffee is also addictive, the ceremonial of it, coffee and cigarettes! :)

 

[aragorn]

My recent experiences with coffee are similar to what Psyche described. In fact, my sleeping pattern has improved-I no longer wake up in the middle of the night like I've done since last summer. I can't say for sure it's the coffee, but I haven't changed anything else in my diet. I remember that I've always been the type who can drink coffee late in the evening (at a late dinner party) and then have no trouble sleeping.

Psyche, could this also have something to do with cortisol levels? I mean, if you have too low cortisol levels. I remember Gedgaudas talking about how some people experience too low cortisol levels while on a KD.

 

[Ollie]

...
Also interesting to note that neither you or dugdeep smoke, yet had positive effects from coffee. Both are considered stimulants so maybe there's a certain interplay between the two. Like too many stimulants taken together or near each other can later lead to a drop in dopamine, hence the negative effects
...

You could have a point there about too many stimulants, coffee and chocolate in the same day do not go well with me.

 

[loreta]

This tea, like gold, is what we take in Muslim countries. My favorite. But I don't have the practice and my friends are not here anymore with me.

 

[Jacques]

This tea, like gold, is what we take in Muslim countries. My favorite. But I don't have the practice and my friends are not here anymore with me.

As the C's said "Learning is fun" and with time and practice, you will be as good as your friends.

Read that article this morning from _http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/health-benefits-tea#

Tea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage ~ Kakuzo Okakura, Book of Tea

We can imagine that, before the advent of civilization, with all its familiar trappings of pyrotechnology and pottery, tea leaves (which are quite bitter) would not have been nibbled on for recreation. Likely they would have been used only occasionally in small amounts, for the purposes of harnessing their intensely concentrated medicinal properties. Only later, as Okakura ruminated, would tea be consumed regularly in the form of a drinkable infusion.

The beauty of tea's transition from a medicine to a beverage is that drinking tea in small amounts daily, may prevent the need for using 'heroic' megadoses of green tea at any time later in life after a serious disease sets in. Food (and beverage) is medicine, assuredly, but it is best used preventively – in small, hopefully enjoyable, doses -- before a problem digs in its roots.

So, what are the health benefits of tea, particularly green tea? We think of it as an antioxidant, and indeed, of the 69 beneficial 'pharmacological actions' we have identified tea possessing on our natural medicine database project thus far, reduction of oxidative stress is top on the list. But what of the other 68 actions mentioned?

Did you know that green tea is capable of reducing the formation of the fat cells known as adipocytes (anti-adipogenic), which is one reason why it has been studied for its possible ameliorative role in weight gain and obesity.[ii] Green tea has also been found to modulate AMP-activated protein kinase which reduces fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis, as well as gluconeogensis (the production of sugar from protein in the liver).[iii]

Or, did you know that green tea has been studied for its ability to slow the aging process? Daily consumption of green tea catechin delays memory regression and brain dysfunction in aged mice.[iv] [v] Green tea has also been found to prevent photoaging of the skin,[vi] and potentially have a rejuvenating effect.[vii]

Green tea has also been found to induce programmed cell death (apoptosis) in a variety of cancer cell lines, including colorectal, breast, endometrial, skin, brain, gastrointestinal, prostate, and leukemic.[viii]

We are only at potential beneficial action #4 of 69. Shall we go on? The problem is not a lack of research supporting the health benefits of green tea, rather, that there are too many to list. Back in 1971, the US National Library of Medicine's bibliographic citation database Medline lists one study published in a peer-reviewed journal on the topic. This year alone, 440 articles were published so far on green tea's pharmacological properties. In total, Medline contains 4,826 referenced citations on green tea research. We have spent a considerable amount of time organizing a key fraction of this research, in connection with green tea's beneficial role in over 240 health conditions. You can view the research on our page dedicated to this remarkable plant here: Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Green Tea.

It should be noted that black tea is simply baked or oxidized green tea. And yet it still retains significant medicinal activity, including potent antioxidant activity.[ix] While there is less research available on MEDLINE on black tea's health benefits, we have indexed close to 50 health conditions that may benefit from its consumption and which can be viewed here: Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Black Tea.

If a simple action like drinking tea can protect us against possibly hundreds of potential health problems, as well as give us a much needed respite from our daily activities in the act of preparing, drinking, or sharing tea, then perhaps we should aspire to drink a cup sometime soon again.

 

[scyth]

I'm sick of Type 1 diabetes. For years, I was not drinking coffee. Then a week ago I decided to consume coffee. Losses of coffee at this time and full-time on the Internet researching and came across this discussion. I came to the conclusion that as a result of the use of coffee a week.

1. I get angry more quickly.
2. diarrhea
3. Low back pain
4. The acne on my forehead
5. heart palpitations
6. Difficulty in falling asleep

Every day for a week, I drank a cup of coffee with milk and sugar. The only positive side to increase concentration. Based on what I read here, and my experience was not a good idea to consume coffee every day, I decided. Maybe a way to do something important you have to sleep consumed. Eat an apple instead of coffee in the morning will be good for insomnia.

 

[Turgon]

I'm sick of Type 1 diabetes. For years, I was not drinking coffee. Then a week ago I decided to consume coffee. Losses of coffee at this time and full-time on the Internet researching and came across this discussion. I came to the conclusion that as a result of the use of coffee a week.

1. I get angry more quickly.
2. diarrhea
3. Low back pain
4. The acne on my forehead
5. heart palpitations
6. Difficulty in falling asleep

Every day for a week, I drank a cup of coffee with milk and sugar. The only positive side to increase concentration. Based on what I read here, and my experience was not a good idea to consume coffee every day, I decided. Maybe a way to do something important you have to sleep consumed. Eat an apple instead of coffee in the morning will be good for insomnia.

Whoa! Don't be too certain it was solely the coffee that caused all those negative side-effects. Milk and sugar are, on it's own very dangerous substances. If you are lactose-intolerant or casein sensitive, the milk could have done you in with the acne and lower back back pains. Not to mention all the added hormones and antibiotics used. And sugar (that includes apples) is definitely connected to heart palpitations and possibly the anger as well.

Here's a link that talks specifically about sugar and it's role in the body. http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,22916.msg284310.html#msg284310 But seeing as you have type 1 diabetes, I would network about any types of changes that you would make in your diet.

Also, it's considerate for all new members to write an introductory post when they start posting, here. Similar to introducing yourself a bit when entering someone's house. :)

 

[Gaby]

Psyche, could this also have something to do with cortisol levels? I mean, if you have too low cortisol levels. I remember Gedgaudas talking about how some people experience too low cortisol levels while on a KD.

Yes, it could definitely be related. People with adrenal fatigue classically skip breakfast and drink only coffee in the morning to squeeze the last drop of cortisol out of their adrenals. It is pretty bad! But I hope that with this experiment, being on ketosis, eating a full breakfast and adding a dose of dopamine here and there when needed, brain chemistry can be better balanced. We live in a very stressful environment after all, and for some of us it might be certainly more difficult to maintain optimal levels of cortisol or dopamine.

 

[theos]

I tried drinking coffee last week. I was never a coffee drinker before. At first I tried to grind the beans in the food processer but the coffee came out too weak then I found a used bean grinder and used that.

I had one or two cups a day blended with mct oil which left a nice froth on the top. I thought the taste was pretty good but I didn't notice any increase in energry or mental sharpness. I think I was doing just fine with plain keto. I took some coffee in the evening and didn't have any trouble sleeping. I did notice mild diuretic effects though.

So, a nice experiment but I won't be going out of my way to have any more. One less thing to get hooked on as far as I'm concerned.