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Please read our Golden Rules of self help before considering the information on this page.
Caffeine
OUR DAILY CUPPA
The botanist Linnaeus called the cocoa plant theobroma, which means ‘food of the gods’ because he thought it was so yummy. Bach composed a piece called The Coffee Cantata in which a young woman wants nothing out of life but to drink coffee (actually it is a really boring piece, don’t rush out for the CD). Myself, as you know, am Miss Goody-Two-Shoes: no smoking, very microscopic drinking, absolutely no drugs, no coffee even, BUT! I would hate it if I could not have a couple of cups of tea every day, even though I only drink low caffeine, low tannin tea; I LOVE my cuppa.
So why are we so bananas about our daily cuppa? And what is in them which is so good and so bad for us?
Coffee
We all know coffee has caffeine in it. This is the alkaloid that causes all the nice things about coffee: increase in perception, clarity of thinking, improvement in mental and physical performance, increased digestion, relief from fatigue. In one word: stimulation of the central nervous system. You will be happy to learn that it is not caffeine that gives its taste to coffee but aromatic compounds. So drinking decaffeinated coffee will give you the taste but not the buzz.
So, what’s wrong with that? As per usual what is wrong is what people do with it. One or two cups a day is fine but more than that cause heart palpitations, headaches, nausea, nervousness, anxiety, muscle twitching, insomnia. It is contraindicated in people who have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. There is also a huge body of evidence that high consumption of coffee during pregnancy can cause birth defects. The reason? Coffee destroys the Intrinsic Factor in the stomach. This is a chemical necessary for absorption of many nutrients, including Folic acid and Iron. No Intrinsic Factor, no nutrients and therefore: big trouble.
Tea
Tea has a lot of the stimulant properties of coffee since it also contains caffeine and, just like coffee, too much of it will cause the same unwanted side effects. But tea also contains tannins that make it a great astringent for skin and gut, so it can be used on burns and in diarrhoea but which is of course not very good for people with constipation. Tea also contains theophylline which is a diuretic but which also has a relaxing effect on the bronchi and is therefore excellent for people with asthma. A brew of any tea is also good to use as a spray or a rinse to neutralise the allergenic effect of dust mites. Tea is also rich in flavonoids, compounds beneficial to the circulatory system that lower cholesterol.
Green tea is tea that has just been dried. Black tea comes from the same plant but is has been rolled and fermented until the colour changes to brown and then dried.
For respiratory and circulatory problems drink green tea. For diuretic action, burns, diarrhoea or mites use black tea.
Cocoa
Contains theobromine (a cousin of theophylline found in tea) and caffeine. This means that it has an effect on both the nervous system and the heart and kidneys. Cocoa powder, in which cinnamon and vanilla are added, cooked in milk with malt or honey is actually the best therapeutic drink when you are cold and have been caught in winter rain. It has a strengthening and warming effect, which is why it is not a good idea to have it as a night cup, especially with children, as it will cause insomnia.
Too much cocoa causes trembling, sweating and migraine headaches. Because of its effect on the kidneys, it should not be drunk by people with kidney problems, acute or chronic.
But How Much Caffeine Is Too Much?
Well, there have been fatalities from caffeine, but these were caused by caffeine tablets.
Expresso coffee is the highest in caffeine (which explains the volatility of Italians!) at 300mg per cup.
Brewed, percolated and instant coffee has a third of that and coffee made in the plunger has a little less.
A cup of tea can have between 10 to 90mg of caffeine depending on what type of tea it is.
Cocoa has about 15mg.
A can of cola has about 50mg. (depending on the brand).
Caffeine is Definitely Not A Girl’s Best Friend
Not only does too much caffeine cause birth defects, but excess coffee consumption has also been linked to decreased fertility and caffeine from all sources has been demonstrated to be a major factor in Pre Menstrual Syndrome. Caffeine in breast milk also causes colic and agitation in babies. Fortunately caffeine is not cumulative, so its effects soon pass when the intake is discontinued.
So, if you are drinking too much caffeine, just stop it. Especially if you are anaemic, have kidney problems, high blood pressure or if you are pregnant or breast-feeding.
Don’t use your cuppa as a drug. Take time to enjoy a nice little cuppa or two per day. They will do you no harm and in small amounts will be both stimulating and stress relieving. And now if you’ll excuse me: my lovely husband has just brought in a cup of tea. Yeah!!!
CAFFEINE BY ANY OTHER NAME
I suppose it is a quirk of human nature, but people in general tend to want miracle cures. You know, cure all, universal panacea type of things. Some unscrupulous humans take advantage of this desire and they regularly provide these wonder remedies. Unfortunately, these ‘miracle’ products are nothing but ‘snake oil’. In the 31 years I have been in clinical practice I have seen more of these than you can poke a credit card at.
Lately, I get a lot of: “What do you think of Guarana? I took it and it gave me a lot of energy! Is it really good for you?”
-Snake oil!
Guarana has very little –if any- medicinal value. Real herbalists do not use it. What it has a lot of is… CAFFEINE! There is more caffeine in one of those ‘herbal’ Guarana drinks than in five cups of coffee. So, you are not really getting energy, you are getting hyped up. By the way another one of these herbal ‘substitute’ is Maté, also full of caffeine. These drinks are also full of sugar and colourings, so they can ruin your liver, your pancreas and your nervous system all in one go! There is nothing wrong with having a cup of tea or coffee for a pick up, as long as you don’t rely on them and as long as you are not anaemic. And a couple of pieces of fruit will give you sugar for energy with fibre and vitamins to boot!
Q&A:
CAN YOU TELL ME THE TRUTH: DOES COFFEE NEGATE THE BENEFICIAL EFECT OF SUPPLEMENTS IF TAKEN WITHIN A CERTAIN TIME FRAME? DOES IT MATTER WHEN WE TAKE THEM? AN AQUAINTANCE OF MINE WHO HAS A BUSINESS OF SUPPLYING MOBILE TOILETS TO RODEOS AND COUNTRY FAIRS SAYS HE IS AMAZED AT THE AMOUNT OF TABLETS HE HAS FLUSHED OUT OF THOSE TOILETS “IN ALMOST MINT CONDITION”. ARE WE WASTING OUR MONEY ON FALSE HOPES?
KAYE WARD, MARYBOROUGH, QLD.
Dear Kaye, there are three rules for the successful intake of supplements:
Absorption, absorption, ABSORPTION!
Yes, coffee (and to a lesser extend tea,) stops the absorption of: iron, calcium, most B vitamins, especially B12, and Folic acid. Of course this happens not only with tablets but also with the nutrients in regular food. So if you must have coffee, have it between meals.
In general, supplements should be taken AFTER a meal, this way they get plenty of time to be broken down with the food and absorbed properly. Otherwise they go straight where your friend found them!
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