What is Digg?124 Comments
- sockpuppets, on 08/20/2008, -0/+52Drink 100 cups of coffee and time stands still. You can see a hummingbirds wings and save your friends from burning buildings.
- stonebear, on 08/19/2008, -7/+59They left out that caffeine is both psychologically and physically addicting, tantamount to a very mild crack. One develops a tolerance for it, and it's easy to find one's self imbibing it in increasing excess. This eventually leads to adrenal exhaustion, and the accompanying chronic fatigue which leads to yet more caffeine consumption, as well as various metabolic disorders. One literally "burns out," as one's endocrine system frantically tries to compensate. I often wonder how much obesity this cycle has contributed to. And, of course; cranky caffeine addicts saying and doing mean things they wouldn't normally is proverbial. Road rage? You bet. Thank you Starbucks.
I now enjoy a couple of cups of caffeinated coffee in the morning, but have suffered from the effects of abusing it in the past. One danger signal is not being able to function in the morning without it, as is sudden exhaustion in the afternoon. My solution is to not rely on caffeine as my sole stimulant. I use 5htp and vitamin D (a lot of D ~ 5000iu per day) to prevent caffeine cravings during the day. They effectively blunt the physical addiction, and I enjoy decaffeinated coffee in the afternoon as a kind of placebo for the psychological addiction. I actually enjoy drinking coffee more, now that it is not a vice. - nobody98, on 08/20/2008, -3/+40Cofee, as with a lot things, is fine for you in moderation. I thought that has always been perfectly clear.
- cavefish01, on 08/19/2008, -3/+291. Question the Nutritional Value of Popular Food/Drink
2. Cite Random News Article
3. ???
4. Profit - TJ11240, on 08/19/2008, -0/+23No mention of antioxidants
- Narrwald, on 08/20/2008, -0/+23Coffee is good for me because it lets me write 10 page papers between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m.
Fin. - vault, on 08/19/2008, -2/+24I can quit any time I want.
But seriously, it's such a mild drug and it's cheap and available pretty much anywhere in the world. I don't really see the harm. I've been drinking the same amount of coffee for years, so for me it has sort of plateaued. I still enjoy the morning boost I get from it. - thegrantman, on 08/20/2008, -1/+19Or win 8 gold medals.
- TheKingInYellow, on 08/20/2008, -1/+18coffee will always be good for me no matter what.
- inactive, on 08/20/2008, -0/+15Coffee helps me *****
- shatteringfast, on 08/20/2008, -0/+14Or curve the bullet.
- dragon76, on 08/20/2008, -2/+16How much did you get paid for that?
- ciano, on 08/20/2008, -0/+13Lowers the risk of Parkinson's, but still makes you shake.
- braininabox, on 08/20/2008, -3/+15So this article basically says that Coffee is roughly as harmless/harmful as marijuana
- Poochyfud, on 08/20/2008, -0/+10Or have a heart attack.
- BrainInAJar, on 08/20/2008, -0/+10"4 grams of caffeine will kill you if taken orally.
Granted, that's about 40 cups of coffee."
Your math seems fishy.
LD50 of caffeine is 192 mg/kg [1]
average body weight of an american male is 191lbs [2] which is the same as 86.6kg.
This means you'd need 16 627.2mg, or 16.62 grams of caffeine to kill 50% of a population comprised of your average american male.
Now, the average cup ( 7oz ) of drip coffee contains 115–175 mg of caffeine. [3]
Taking the high answer, that means that given 100 average american males, you would need approximately 94.97 ( or we can even round down and call it 94 ) cups of coffee each to give them a 50/50 chance of dying.
Taking in to account that the body processes caffeine fairly quickly , particularly when over-hydrated ( the half life of caffeine is 3-4 hours [4] ), and the volume of the human stomach is only about 1L [5], it's EXTREMELY unlikely that one could drink enough caffeine through coffee to be dangerous before your body has time to flush it out.
[1] Peters, Josef M. (1967). "Factors Affecting Caffeine Toxicity: A Review of the Literature". The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and the Journal of New Drugs (7): 131–141.
[2] CL Ogden, CD Fryar, MD Carroll, KM Flegal (2004 ) "Mean body weight, height, and body mass index, United States 1960–2002" - Adv Data (www.cdc.gov.mill1.sjlibrary.org)
[3] Bunker, M. L.; McWilliams, M. (January 1979). "Caffeine content of common beverages". J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 74: 28–32.
[4] Meyer, FP; Canzler E, Giers H, Walther H. (1991). "Time course of inhibition of caffeine elimination in response to the oral depot contraceptive agent Deposiston. Hormonal contraceptives and caffeine elimination". Zentralbl Gynakol 113 (6): 297–302.
[5] Sherwood, Lauralee (1997). Human physiology: from cells to systems. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub. Co - Reziarfg, on 08/20/2008, -2/+12"it's such a mild drug"
4 grams of caffeine will kill you if taken orally.
Granted, that's about 40 cups of coffee. But still, I don't think that much cocaine would kill you if you ate it.
Disclaimer: Don't eat cocaine. - subliminalurge, on 08/20/2008, -1/+11"physically addicting, tantamount to a very mild crack."
Anyone who has ever suffered from a REAL addiction is laughing their asses off at you right now. Yes, caffeine is addictive. But you can't possibly compare it to cocaine addiction, meth addiction, heroine addiction, or alcohol addiction. Hell, you can't even compare it to nicotine addiction.
Out of the addictions I mentioned, I suffer from three: Alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine. I've also quit each of those habits at least twice in my life. Quitting nicotine involves 3 weeks of being out of your mind insane, pissed off for no reason, and constantly having this out of breath feeling like you had just run a marathon. Quitting alcohol involves a week of uncontrollable shaking, unbearable sweating and puking. Convulsions, hallucinations. In severe cases it can involve seizures and death.
On the other hand, giving up caffeine involves having a mild headache for a day or so.
Be careful with your comparisons, because you seem to be making invalid ones. - MikeFallopian, on 08/20/2008, -0/+8There is a strong correlation between cigarettes and lung cancer. The correlations between coffee and various medical benefits/harms are generally much weaker, and the underlying mechanisms are not obvious (unlike the pretty straightforward idea that lots of smoke + organ that is responsible for breathing = bad).
- lroche, on 08/20/2008, -0/+8I can live with that
- explnx, on 04/27/2009, -2/+9I don't see the problem with being addicted to something that isn't harmful, so long as you know you won't be deprived of it. Since caffeine is cheap and legal, that isn't an issue.
- Culero, on 08/20/2008, -0/+7A-
- cien750hp, on 08/20/2008, -0/+7I used to drink coffee every morning, now i just take GNC megamen sport multivitamin every morning, and I'm even more awake and mentally "there" during school. Plus, for what people spend on two weeks of starbucks, you could get three months of multivitamins.
- cien750hp, on 08/20/2008, -0/+7nothing, i was just pointing out what i use that works for me. use whatever you want.
- bluesatin, on 08/20/2008, -1/+8@Reziarfg
When he says mild, I presume he means how much you'd need to take compared to an average dose to overdose/do damage or whatever.
40 cups of coffee is hardly an achievable thing for an average person. :b - cromulent742, on 08/20/2008, -1/+7"This eventually leads to adrenal exhaustion, and the accompanying chronic fatigue which leads to yet more caffeine consumption, as well as various metabolic disorders. One literally "burns out," as one's endocrine system frantically tries to compensate."
[citation needed] - Jonh, on 08/20/2008, -2/+8What nobody knows is that without coffee there is no civilization.
- inactive, on 08/20/2008, -0/+5I eat 4 grams of cocaine for breakfast.
- karaokekidd, on 08/20/2008, -0/+5But coffee on the other hand, it'll cause reefer madness.
- KMartSheriff, on 08/20/2008, -1/+6Oh please, stop being a sensationalist. You'd need to drink like 40 cups a day for it to be a big deal. As with ANYTHING in life, it's all about moderation.
- vault, on 08/20/2008, -0/+5The "I can quit any time I want" then followed by "but seriously" was meant to point out what you just did. Maybe one day you'll be a little more perceptive.
- kurupt, on 08/20/2008, -1/+6Digg: Debunking the myths about coffee since 2006.
- username7410, on 08/20/2008, -0/+5I snort coffee grounds. Am I addicted?
- swagv, on 08/19/2008, -7/+11Let me get this straight. 50 years ago with the primitive science and medical knowledge we had, we were able to nail cigarettes as a killer.
Now add 50 more years of medical research and technology, weekly studies reporting conflicting facts over and over again, 1,000 years of epidemiological evidence of humans consuming coffee throughout history, and we still don't have a medical clue?
This suggests either gross incompetence or deliberate deception. I am siding with the latter. If it's been so inconclusive by now, any further research is a waste of money and a waste of consumer attention.
Sounds to me like both media publishers and research grant underwriters alike are addicted to ready-made readership in keeping this fake controversy alive when coffee is basically irrelevant to your health. This dead horse has been thoroughly flogged. - ElTomacco, on 08/20/2008, -1/+5Wrong.
http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/110/109786.ht ...
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/30823.php
http://www.healthcastle.com/coffee.shtml - Halsfield, on 08/20/2008, -0/+4i just love all the people who drink coffee and dont think they're doing a drug, and then look down their noses at people who do "street" drugs. Morphine can be taken in a controlled dose and not kill you either, in a micro dose it can simply add a little pep to your step. Either taken in an overdose will kill you and are both addictive and have withdrawal symptoms if a long term dose is stopped. I really hate double standards like this.
Either stuff like this is illegal or its not, but you cant pick and choose simply because of tradition, thats not what laws are about. Laws are about protecting people, and the drug laws do not do that. They simply make a criminal element out of people doing the same thing they do everyday. - melissa1031, on 08/20/2008, -5/+9as with everything...moderation is the key. all hail the bean!
- comalies, on 08/20/2008, -0/+4I agree!
- arkaycee, on 08/20/2008, -0/+3At one point in life (thank a good coffee shop literally about 100' from my desk) I gradually ramped up my caffeine intake, so gradually I never knew I was addicted -- I'd just walk over if I needed a couple of minutes to think and get my mug refilled. One day I thought I had the 'flu, even my joints felt sore, and at 6pm I was ready to go to bed. I was talking to a friend and said something about having had such a busy day I hadn't had time to go get coffee once, and she pointed out that it was likely not the 'flu I had.
I had no real trouble ramping it back down, despite my worries. I enjoyed the taste and having the bit of a walk, but I gradually got it down to one normal-sized travel mug a day (was up to like 3-4 big-sized travel mugs) without really missing it. So for me, it was physically addictive but not really psychologically. I didn't suffer any withdrawls and cut it down over maybe a two-week period. - colasrtney, on 08/20/2008, -1/+4Coffee makes me poop good. Pooping=good so coffee=good.
- brad016, on 08/20/2008, -5/+8cause non present, too processed, too old by the time it gets superheated in your cup which also destroys antioxidants.
- HxChris91, on 08/20/2008, -1/+4Since when does the fact that it is widely available make it safe?
- benburned, on 08/20/2008, -1/+4There is such thing as too many caps.
- dagamer34, on 08/20/2008, -0/+3I've stayed away from coffee most of the time until I'll need to be working extremely long shifts on little to no sleep. Until then, a cold slap to the face will do.
- inactive, on 08/20/2008, -2/+5If you like the taste, whether it is good or bad for you is completely irrelevant.
- jwaycuilis, on 08/20/2008, -1/+4Unless you're the same commenter as the one in the original article, way to comment-jack.
- xenuxenuts, on 08/20/2008, -0/+2Thankfully draino tastes like crap.
- inactive, on 08/21/2008, -0/+2Indeed. Coffee contains the highest level of antioxidants in any common foods in a Western diet, by far.
- SevenTwo, on 08/20/2008, -1/+3About as harmful as unlocking a hidden sex game in a free roaming crime simulator, wait what...
- Ellipsys, on 08/20/2008, -1/+3Any stimulant in sufficient quantities will do this. Obviously, its a lot easier to do so with amphetamines, but the principle is the same. It is a well documented phenomenon. It may be difficult to find a verifiable study that links this solely to coffee (Ie. There are other lifestyle factors as well that will "burn you out" quicker. For instance, you'll be in better state if you're well hydrated and get 7-8 hours of sleep a night nomatter how much coffee you drink), but I'll see what I can dredge up from PubMed.
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