Hey all you lovely Menewshians out there. I have come to quite the small problem. I've read articles that talk about the evils of coffee. My family preaches (literally) that my health will suffer from coffee (and tea and pop...) but I am taking heart! I have also read articles that talk about the health benefits of coffee. Everything claims to have science to back up their sides, but like some of the things I am finding in life... it might be more belief or faith than actual science since perhaps everyone is leaning on theory instead. So I was wondering about you! What are you thoughts on coffee? (Or tea or pop/soda or anything else caffeine related.) Do you drink or no? What do you drink? Is perhaps a certain kind more healthy for you than another?

I alternate between coffee (straight up black, no cream or sugar) and green tea. I definitely drink more green tea than coffee. I also balance it out with water because dehydration is not good. I don't drink soda so that is out of my list of possible beverages. They say that green tea is good for lowering your sugar level (which is why to sip some green tea after having a sugary snack) and for your metabolism (it provides with an extra boost throughout your day so your burn more fat vs drinking water). There is a higher amount of caffeine in coffee than in green tea. Caffeine also helps with muscle repair especially after having a workout. I tell myself to drink more green tea whenever I want that energy boost. In my honest opinion, I prefer the taste of green tea over coffee.

Anything in excess is bad for you Dark chocolate is high in antioxidants, but eating ten pounds of it is sure to give a right good belly ache.

Originally Posted by spunky

I alternate between coffee (straight up black, no cream or sugar) and green tea. I definitely drink more green tea than coffee. I also balance it out with water because dehydration is not good. I don't drink soda so that is out of my list of possible beverages. They say that green tea is good for lowering your sugar level (which is why to sip some green tea after having a sugary snack) and for your metabolism (it provides with an extra boost throughout your day so your burn more fat vs drinking water). There is a higher amount of caffeine in coffee than in green tea. Caffeine also helps with muscle repair especially after having a workout. I tell myself to drink more green tea whenever I want that energy boost. In my honest opinion, I prefer the taste of green tea over coffee.

I didn't know that caffeine helps with muscle repair. That is really cool. Can tea keep you awake at night though? Some people, including me, prefer to work out in the PM hours instead of the AM hours.

Originally Posted by PWEEP

Anything in excess is bad for you Dark chocolate is high in antioxidants, but eating ten pounds of it is sure to give a right good belly ache.

That is true. Moderation is something that many don't practice, including me. On the topic of dark chocolate... do the antioxidants do much for you with this type of food or does the sugar/fat/??? content cause more harm than good?

Originally Posted by maidenroseheart

I didn't know that caffeine helps with muscle repair. That is really cool. Can tea keep you awake at night though? Some people, including me, prefer to work out in the PM hours instead of the AM hours.

It definitely depends on the person's reaction to caffeine but the amount of caffeine is minimal. It wouldn't help you get through an all-nighter but it will keep you awake for at least an hour. I am talking about green tea specifically.

I have found the taste of fruit teas more enjoyable, so green tea isn't high on my experience list. Are there different types of green teas or do they all taste the same?

there are different types of green tea. there is jasmine green tea, lemon green tea, and a whole bunch of others. i recommend white tea as well since it is rich in antioxidants.

I've heard of this before. I believe the premise of Caffeine shunning in some religious beliefs is to do with not doing anything to alter gods perfect creation or spoiling your inner temple. They see it no different than Hard drugs, tobacco, or alcohol. In reality while it's a mild effect on the body compared to some other drugs it's a drug none the less. I suppose it's an all or nothing view on their spirit body.
Health does suffer from injecting to much of these things into your blood. A pop or coffee once a week won't do any harm. However regular drinkers suffer from poor bones, stained teeth and weight problems. Especially with pop, coffee stains teeth as well but unless sugar is added isn't as harmful as pop.

I enjoy the occasional pop, or Coffee. Tea, while some have high caffeine is traditionally used as self medication. Did you know that just a touch of caffeine when taking an Advil will make it work faster? That's why a lot of teas have caffeine in it so it's medical benefits could be seen sooner. The way tea is drank today as a beverage is a bad practice of medicine. Like eating cough drops as candy would be. With tea being used in many traditional medicines I'd say teas are better for you but the way they're drank with milk and sugar takes away most health benefits. Teas shouldn't be an every day thing. If your main drink is anything other than water your doing it wrong.

There is also something to be said for alternate truth and belief systems. Some with beliefs so bizarre that you wouldn't believe it if I told you. Such as Draco/reptilians/demons/aliens/vampires(whatever you want to call them) came to earth a long time ago and made man as slaves. They created cities and religions for us to follow and live in all the while milking us of our vital energies and harvesting some as meat. They HATE how humans taste when they're caffeinated or with any chemical additives. It spoils your meat. Just like smart humans prefer free range un-genetically modified meats.

wow what a great insight. Thanks Nephie. I do drink tea quite often but that is purely for health benefits. I don't add anything to my coffee or tea. I drink it strained with water.

That's a very rare thing these days where I'm from. To make the teas and coffee's the way they were meant. Everything is sweetened and highly flavored. In Canada where I'm from it's often not leaves or crushed beans that are being used but chemically made sugar crystals dissolved in hot water and called tea or coffee. To get real tea leaves with any medicinal value I have to go to a specialty shop. Maybe I'm paranoid but I don't trust a lot of tea brands to deliver the goods...especially these new flavored teas with flashy packaging.

Originally Posted by spunky

there are different types of green tea. there is jasmine green tea, lemon green tea, and a whole bunch of others. i recommend white tea as well since it is rich in antioxidants.

Jasmine tea I have had before and liked... if it is a green tea or comes as a green tea, then I think I could appreciate green tea. White tea? How is it different from green tea?

Originally Posted by XxZombie.Mama.NephxX

I've heard of this before. I believe the premise of Caffeine shunning in some religious beliefs is to do with not doing anything to alter gods perfect creation or spoiling your inner temple. They see it no different than Hard drugs, tobacco, or alcohol. In reality while it's a mild effect on the body compared to some other drugs it's a drug none the less. I suppose it's an all or nothing view on their spirit body.
Health does suffer from injecting to much of these things into your blood. A pop or coffee once a week won't do any harm. However regular drinkers suffer from poor bones, stained teeth and weight problems. Especially with pop, coffee stains teeth as well but unless sugar is added isn't as harmful as pop.

I enjoy the occasional pop, or Coffee. Tea, while some have high caffeine is traditionally used as self medication. Did you know that just a touch of caffeine when taking an Advil will make it work faster? That's why a lot of teas have caffeine in it so it's medical benefits could be seen sooner. The way tea is drank today as a beverage is a bad practice of medicine. Like eating cough drops as candy would be. With tea being used in many traditional medicines I'd say teas are better for you but the way they're drank with milk and sugar takes away most health benefits. Teas shouldn't be an every day thing. If your main drink is anything other than water your doing it wrong.

There is also something to be said for alternate truth and belief systems. Some with beliefs so bizarre that you wouldn't believe it if I told you. Such as Draco/reptilians/demons/aliens/vampires(whatever you want to call them) came to earth a long time ago and made man as slaves. They created cities and religions for us to follow and live in all the while milking us of our vital energies and harvesting some as meat. They HATE how humans taste when they're caffeinated or with any chemical additives. It spoils your meat. Just like smart humans prefer free range un-genetically modified meats.

That would definitely be my church. Not that I disagree with their views, I just don't think that caffeine is necessarily harmful. Mom would say, "You were made in the image of God, your body is a holy temple to Him, so you take care of it young lady."

I like how you pointed out that water first above all else is best. I should have thought of that considering how my twin gets after me to drink more water.

Wow, that last paragraph... sounds almost like Stargate... didn't know there were people out there who believed such things.

Originally Posted by spunky

wow what a great insight. Thanks Nephie. I do drink tea quite often but that is purely for health benefits. I don't add anything to my coffee or tea. I drink it strained with water.

I don't add anything to my tea when I drink it... but can't stand coffee without the cream. As far as pop goes... I can go several weeks without it, then have several cans everyday for a week or two.

---------- Post added 05-01-2013 at 08:32 AM ----------

Originally Posted by XxZombie.Mama.NephxX

That's a very rare thing these days where I'm from. To make the teas and coffee's the way they were meant. Everything is sweetened and highly flavored. In Canada where I'm from it's often not leaves or crushed beans that are being used but chemically made sugar crystals dissolved in hot water and called tea or coffee. To get real tea leaves with any medicinal value I have to go to a specialty shop. Maybe I'm paranoid but I don't trust a lot of tea brands to deliver the goods...especially these new flavored teas with flashy packaging.

I know a specialty shop that is really good, but I don't know their location range. Seen in Nebraska and North Carolina. I don't know if they are in Canada. They are called Teavana and have good quality.

Coffee can be bad for certain types of people, and even then it's mostly going to be coffee with caffeine. If you're a person with heart problems, you most likely shouldn't be drinking a pot of coffee every day. That said, coffee is usually a good thing. Definitely far better for you than a soda would ever be. Just don't drink a whole gallon of it every day, especially if it isn't decaf.

Tea is a miracle worker. If you're going to be obsessed with something it might as well be tea. It's full of antioxidants and usually doesn't contain calories or sugar unless you put them there. It'll clean out your body and make you feel much healthier.

The one thing your family is right about is soda. That stuff is pure evil and shouldn't be consumed except on special occasions or once in a blue moon. The sugar content in it is awful, and if you drink it on a regular I can almost guarantee that you might have weight problems going on. It's pure sugar and bodies aren't meant to deal with that much sugar.

But really, I have no idea where your family at least got the evil "tea" thing. That's absurd.

Originally Posted by ElysiumFate

Coffee can be bad for certain types of people, and even then it's mostly going to be coffee with caffeine. If you're a person with heart problems, you most likely shouldn't be drinking a pot of coffee every day. That said, coffee is usually a good thing. Definitely far better for you than a soda would ever be. Just don't drink a whole gallon of it every day, especially if it isn't decaf.

Tea is a miracle worker. If you're going to be obsessed with something it might as well be tea. It's full of antioxidants and usually doesn't contain calories or sugar unless you put them there. It'll clean out your body and make you feel much healthier.

The one thing your family is right about is soda. That stuff is pure evil and shouldn't be consumed except on special occasions or once in a blue moon. The sugar content in it is awful, and if you drink it on a regular I can almost guarantee that you might have weight problems going on. It's pure sugar and bodies aren't meant to deal with that much sugar.

But really, I have no idea where your family at least got the evil "tea" thing. That's absurd.

I'm one of those people that should definitely be careful with caffeine. My body absorbs it super fast and it leaves my system fast too. I've noticed it especially as a problem with pop. The first three times I had Dr. Pepper, I was pretty much hung over the next day with a stomach ache. Since then I learned moderation... sorta.

I really want to get into tea more. I'm just worried how expensive it would be to get the leaves and strainer for it and upkeeping the tea supply. But it probably isn't as expensive as coffee so I should stop hesitating.

Oh, weight problems! If I cut that stuff...

I wish they made decaf sodas more readily available. They sell decaf Dr. Pepper apparently, but I've never seen it.

I can handle caffeine really well, it's the sugar that gets to me for some reason. If I drink a bunch of soda I don't feel the caffeine, but my stomach definitely gets that sugar sickness thing that makes me feel queasy. I know it's not the caffeine because I don't get jittery or anything.

Oh tea doesn't have to be that expensive. You can always buy the cheap tea from super markets that's in the little tea bags. You'll get like 70 tea bags for 3 bucks or something. Lipton is okay. Besides, in the long run it'll be way cheaper than soda if that's what you were drinking before. And yeah, coffee is much more expensive than most teas as far as I've seen.

Yeah, when I went on a diet the biggest change was stopping the soda. That's where most of my weight gain came from, I think.

I've heard that the replacement for sugar in Dr. Pepper has caused people gain more weight than the regular as well as increase the risk of a lot of really bad diseases, especially in women.

Is Lipton tasty?

I'm nervous about stopping soda... it is a comfort drink. Though I could, with time, make tea my comfort drink.

Coffee is great for you!

/guzzles coffee from giant thermos

/not biased at all

But no really. Coffee is highly addictive and it will stain your teeth, but that's the worst of it. And what's so bad about being addicted to something that is delicious and not bad for your health?! Anyway, I would bet the adrenaline rush is great for your heart. ^^

lol, my heart definitely notices... as do my coworkers ^_^

Haha I am so much more fun to be around when I am caffeinated. And not just because of the energy boost, also because I'm a horrible asshole when I go through withdrawals.

Originally Posted by maidenroseheart

I've heard that the replacement for sugar in Dr. Pepper has caused people gain more weight than the regular as well as increase the risk of a lot of really bad diseases, especially in women.

Is Lipton tasty?

I'm nervous about stopping soda... it is a comfort drink. Though I could, with time, make tea my comfort drink.

Oh, there is a difference between caffeine free and diet. Diet still has caffeine in it. Caffeine free is just regular Dr. Pepper without added caffeine. The caffeine doesn't come from the type of sugar...it's something they add into sodas. But YES certain fake sugars will add to weight gain problems rather than decrease it. Not to mention the fact that fake sugars tend to turn into formaldehyde in one's stomach.

I think it's not bad. I'm sure any tea connoisseur is going to tell you that it's awful and YOU MUST DRINK LOOSE LEAF, but lets face it. Most people can't afford that. So really it's not bad.

I was very nervous about stopping soda as well. I think more addicted than nervous. But I stopped cold turkey, and it did take time for the cravings to stop, but I feel much better now so I have no desire to drink soda as a comfort anymore because it just makes me feel sick again.

Oh that makes sense, I must have misread it the first time ^_^

For me it isn't the cravings so much as the headaches... I get them after a day or two of not drinking soda.

Ahh, well then if you are interested in quitting soda it's not like you have to do it cold turkey like I did. I'm not really effected by caffeine so I can drop it, but you could definitely just slowly ween off it. Caffeine is a drug after all, and you have to get off of it slowly sometimes just like people can't drop heroin without getting the shakes and such unless they do it slowly.

Also, this is random and unrelated, but what item is that grass in your avi from?

As with everything you eat in life, moderation is the key.
I drink espresso just about every day, most often after dinner. It can help with digestion, though it's more habitual for me and acts as a sort of comfort food. Tea would be the same; it's almost always social in my case.

Fate - It is "STAY OFF THE GRASS" from the CI "Sunny Side Up." A very adorable CI might I add.

Jupiter - I like how it is a social thing for you. That would be one way to curb mine as I rarely hang out with others outside of work.

Thank you Maid! I have spent much time trying to figure out where the heck that one was from.

You are most certainly welcome my dear. I'm just glad I was able to help someone... haven't done much for anyone in awhile and it is getting on my nerves... oh wait... haven't had a Dr. Pepper or any coffee in over 8 hours... that is more likely the reason I am not happy ^_^