Did Anyone Actually Improve Their Health By Drinking Coffee?

OP
C

Collden

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
630
It has for me. I really tried to get 32 oz a day to work, and probably did that for 6-9 months. But no matter what I would get lower back pain and some bloating from it. When I lowered the amount those subsided. I also was influenced by some elderly people in good health who I talked to at a few health food stores. Many of them drink coffee, but just do a cup or two a day. So it is definitely OKAY to do a small amount, and I would say outside this forum, that is the norm.
Definitely, I read a recent paper on association between coffee and liver cancer in different european countries, and it was striking from their data that in several countries including Italy, Spain and Greece, 70-90% of the population drank only 1-1,5 or fewer cups of coffee a day. But its easy to get seduced by studies and posts from peatarians suggesting that basically the more coffee you drink, the better.

I can tell you that our experiences differ in that coffee did not sit well with me at first, and overtime has felt better and better. In the beginning it actually caused quite a bit of depression, so that might make our results incongruent.
I've been going on and off coffee basically every 1-3 months for the past 3 years after being completely off it for more than 4 years previous to that, I relate to your experience in that I was definitely far more sensitive and less able to manage some of the negative side effects like tension, anxiety/paranoia and racing dark thought patterns in the beginning than I am now. What I mean is that basically every time I go on coffee again I feel predominantly positive effects the first few days up to a week, but then the negatives like upset stomach, brain fog and procrastination start to take over as I increase my consumption from 1 cup/day up to 3-5 cups/day. I'm guessing that caffeine levels will actually build up from day to day if you constantly overdo it, or else that its an accumulated effect of disturbed sleep quality, because I dont feel the negatives of excessive coffee right away.

Anyway I'm just gonna try sticking with two small espressos per day and see where that goes.
 

cyclops

Member
Joined
May 30, 2017
Messages
1,636
Drinking Coffee in the morning, for people who are relatively undisciplined, which I have been in years past, can structure your energy in a way that your peak output is during daylight hours, and you are lazy and tired during night time hours. A big sign of dysfunction in people is when that swaps and people are lazy all day and then bam at night they wake up and start being productive. That is just stress hormones speaking. I will make the exception that some really productive past geniuses, composers, writers, etc have been night owls.

I know someone like this. How can they have energy during morning and day?
 

alywest

Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2017
Messages
1,028
High dose caffeine is ruining my mental health but keeps giving me a better and better head of hair. I've gone beyond having just a full head of hair to a very lush and thick full head of hair.

Sounds like a winning eharmony profile!
 

raypeatclips

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2016
Messages
2,555
Drinking Coffee in the morning, for people who are relatively undisciplined, which I have been in years past, can structure your energy in a way that your peak output is during daylight hours, and you are lazy and tired during night time hours. A big sign of dysfunction in people is when that swaps and people are lazy all day and then bam at night they wake up and start being productive. That is just stress hormones speaking. I will make the exception that some really productive past geniuses, composers, writers, etc have been night owls.

Thanks. Is there a certain time you don't drink coffee afterwards? I experience what you described above. I wouldn't say I felt lazy during the day but I definitely perk up around 9pm-midnight
 

Soundios

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2017
Messages
46
Im 1 month off any caffeine...was tough for 2 weeks with brain fog and sleepiness...but now, best ive felt since as long as i can remember. ...been doing gbolduev's recommendations for pfs and hair growth, and am seeing all the benefits. ..ive always drank coffee...as a truck driver, and now as a nurse. ...i definitely need to heal my adrenals...now i sleep deeper, and run off my own adrenaline
Would you care to elaborate on Gbold's recommendations that you have found success with? Thanks!
 

cyclops

Member
Joined
May 30, 2017
Messages
1,636
I've tried to go off coffee before. The longest I could bare was 2 months and I definitely did sleep better and felt oddly, strangely calm. Clean too like I was running more naturally. But after 2 months I just can't take it anymore. The downside of being off the caffeine was aches and feeling like I couldn't get anything done.
 

Frankdee20

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2017
Messages
3,772
Location
Sun Coast, USA
It’s really interesting with coffee caffeine and it’s unpredictable outcomes. Today, I’ve had 3 cups and a 12 ounce Red Bull, and no stress feelings whatsoever. Some days, 3 cups will cause anxiety. The days I take a Magnesium Glycinate, I’m good. I guess there was also a gram of Taurine in Redbull too. Why does this matter? Because the profound stoner like effects of Glycinate, if kept to one during the daytime, are just enough to not overpower caffeine’s effects. Using too much Magnesium Glycinate during the day makes me a complete space cadet, where no amount of caffeine can offset. I guess the one capsule helps alleviate 3 coffees.
 

Tarmander

Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2015
Messages
3,753
I know someone like this. How can they have energy during morning and day?

I think the best cure is camping. People's circadian rhythms get back on track really fast when they spend all day in the sun, and get tired when the sun goes down. In the city it is harder with artifical light, computers, etc. Caffeine is a good tool, but it does have downsides.

They have to make it a goal. I used to stay up all night playing video games when I was a teenager, and it was stimulating and fun, but you burn out. You don't have a life. Plus good luck moving up in any kind of organization filled with actual quality people. Managers and owners who are highly productive with a strong work ethic will take one look at a droopy eyed night owl and offer them a job in the mail room, part time too! So I made the changes necessary, experimented, sometimes laid in bed staring at the ceiling. Takes awhile. But now days, I take a shower at 9:30, asleep by 10:15-11, and up at 6:30 to7, no alarm clock, sleep great.


Thanks. Is there a certain time you don't drink coffee afterwards? I experience what you described above. I wouldn't say I felt lazy during the day but I definitely perk up around 9pm-midnight

I always drink coffee in the morning, maybe within an hour or two of waking. Rarely have caffeine after that unless I do a work lunch and get an arnold palmer.
 

Sucrates

Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2014
Messages
619
I agree and not being on an empty stomach when you drink coffee is important, as it lowers blood sugar. Ray Peat said on KMUD that eating carrots with the coffee can slow the absorption of caffeine so it's a good excuse to eat carrot salad or at least a few carrot sticks.

Yeah. I never drink it without food. Usually make it strong and then add warm milk and sugar too.
 

dfspcc20

Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2015
Messages
633
The last couple of vacations I was on (at all-inclusive type resorts), I was able to go through 5-6 cups of coffee/day and felt great and had no trouble falling asleep. But I was in an environment with practically no stress.

Back in my real life, I can do maybe 1 cup of coffee/day at most. And I have to make sure I have it with a significant meal. I feel great throughout the day and it really increases my appetite. But I need to make sure I heed that appetite, or adrenaline will kick in. And if I get into a stressful situation or feel rushed, then it hits me even harder. It's difficult since such situations can happen on a whim.
 

Constatine

Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2016
Messages
1,781
I get bad effects from coffee sometimes (nervousness, cold hands and feat, strange headspace) but don't get bad effects from tea or redbull.
 

Birdie

Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2012
Messages
5,783
Location
USA
I drink coffee with milk all day long. Caf with breakfast. Decaf instant with milk starting in early afternoon. And sugar. It keeps me even.. I don’t get cravings or hunger attacks this way. I’d started with lattes after breakfast before meeting up with RP. Then, his advice to add sugar made it work even better.
 

Revo

Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2016
Messages
50
Growing up and for 55 years did not drink coffee. Then I kept ready about all of these health benefits. So I started drinking it. And I truly enjoyed it. A good cup of coffee was a welcome part of my day. However, as far as health benefits I did not really see anything. Then I heard it suppresses your adrenals, and this was a concern of mine due to not enough energy so I quit.

I never had a problem being jittery or sleeplessness did not have a problem quitting it. I just quit one day no headaches. I guess people really are different. I never noticed any effect either way.

Just as an extension to this. I rarely seem to notice an improvement or a decline in any condition with most of these interventions or dietary changes. It is strange since so many people offer anecdotal as well as empirical evidence. But I simply do not see any change. The one thing that made a big change with me was eating a lot of sugar and carbs made me gain a lot of weight and all of it around my stomach.
 

jyb

Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2012
Messages
2,783
Location
UK
It took me a few years to realise coffee harms my sleep quality and therefore should be avoided completely. This was difficult to find out because can happen even in small quantities and taken early in the day, and the taste and short term effects are nice (no jitters).

I believe coffee is probably positive for some people, but negative for others. The reason is unclear, but in my case the negative effects have absolutely nothing to do with diet or not eating enough sugar with it.
 
Last edited:

skittles

Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
141
I used to drink coffee like crazy, working at a little coffee shop in Toronto. Coffee was free for staff. If we had a morning shift, we'd have to taste the espresso as we dialed it in. Then when it was dialed perfectly, we'd always have a shot of it. And we always pulled double shots. And then we'd dial the single-origin special feature too - taste, taste, taste, double shot. Within an hour of work, we'd usually make a round of cortados or cappucinos for the staff, and throughout the day, we'd make some more. Then we'd sip on cold brews or regular ol' coffee. We'd get the staff together to do 'cuppings', which is, tasting 12 or so different single-origin coffees, and we'd do mini-cuppings during shifts with a Chemex.

You'd get so used to drinking so much coffee on a morning shift that even if you worked the night shift, you were taking in just as much. On an average day, most of us drank at least 5 coffees, plus we were tasting the espresso diligently to make sure the dial was perfect. It wasn't uncommon for new staff to have 7 or 8 in a day.

Looking back, we were /really/ hyper. Bouncing-off-the-walls hyper. The customers really seemed to appreciate our seemingly endless energy, as it was pretty contagious. But it kinda burnt us out after a while and you'd reach a point where you'd /need/ 6 coffees a day just to maintain a high level of energy.

After I moved away from Toronto, I pretty much cut out caffeine except for the occasional single small cup of coffee or glass of coke. After a few weeks of exhaustion, I found a bit of equilibrium for a few months before reintroducing it regularly.

Now that I've reintroduced it, I find I can have 1, 2, or even 3 (although that's pushing it) coffees without any ill-effects, as long as they're all within the first few hours of the morning. If I drink coffee like that, it greatly improves my circadian rhythm better than anything else I've tried.
 

GreekDemiGod

Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2019
Messages
3,325
Location
Romania
High dose caffeine is ruining my mental health but keeps giving me a better and better head of hair. I've gone beyond having just a full head of hair to a very lush and thick full head of hair.
Caffeine as in obtained from drinking coffee, right?:artist: Not caffeine pills.
 

lampofred

Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2016
Messages
3,244
Caffeine as in obtained from drinking coffee, right?:artist: Not caffeine pills.

Back then about half of it was from pills, that's probably why it gave me mental problems. Now it's all actual coffee, and it's actually the best thing I'm doing for my health tied with completely removing PUFA.
 

magnesiumania

Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2018
Messages
607
Doesent do anything noticable except making me angry if i have 3 cups in a day. Small amounts now and then may be beneficial to most but its a very overrated compound, especially on this forum it seems.
 

_lppaiva

Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2019
Messages
116
Well, I drink it mostly in the morning with oatmeal.

Yeah yeah, I know, oatmeal is the worse. I kinda of ****88 up my liver with eating too much fruit, not sure in what context however. Was probably getting 100g-120g of fructose from fruit and sacarose combined, 50-70g just from fruit. Started having liver pain after week three and it subsided after cutting out the fruits. Since then I went back to a "normal diet" while still incorporating some Peat's aspects. My PUFA and overall fat are still low (below 3g while consuming fruit, below 6g with conventional foods), high protein and carbs, overly cooked starches like beans, rice, potatoes, oats, etc. I drink about two cups a day of coffee + 3 or 4 green tea, about 300mg of caffeine. The coffee is mostly with the oats due to their high iron content, so It's not like I feel any effect. My temps go up and I get a little jittery if I take it alone, so I always try to eat it with a meal. If I have enough carbs it has a really calming effect, so then I know it works. I'd say the food is more than the sum of it's parts, so just because you react to Caffeine doesn't mean that coffee won't work for you in the right context.

Dr Greger showed some studies on arterial impairment after coffee consumption though.
 
EMF Mitigation - Flush Niacin - Big 5 Minerals

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom