Coffee Drinkers--Rejoice!

https://www.inverse.com/article/46253-coffee-heart-health-caffeine

The above article asserts that 'the health effects of caffeine at a “physiologically relevant amount” — namely, four cups. “It’s known that four cups or more of coffee lowers the risk for heart attack, stroke, and diabetes...”'

And the reason for this is that "caffeine can “push” a protein called p27 into the mitochondria, or energy powerhouses, of heart cells. This, in turn, can help those heart cells function more efficiently. In their experiments, Altschmied and Haendeler found this process had a time-machine effect: The mitochondria in caffeinated old rats performed as efficiently as mitochondria in the healthy younger rats."

So there you have it.  Furthermore, I was very much amused by the term "caffeinated old rats."  In fact, I very much identify with the term.  So much so, that I am contemplating changing my name to Caffeinated Old Rat.  All you younger rats better watch out!

Every five mins there's another study Caffeine is good, caffeine is bad, caffeine will kill you, caffeine is the goal to ever lasting life and enlightenment.  With the amount of coffee and tea I drink, I really want it to be true, and within the limits of this study it way well be, but there are dozens of conflicting, peer reviewed, scholarly articles.

This about sums it up for me

Medical studies are always an exercise in an absurd number of potential confounding variables.

... does that article say 4 cups?  As in 4 cups a day?!?   If I drank 4 cups I would be in a constant state of shaking and peeing.... and I do drink small amounts fairly regularly.

I am pretty sure, 4 cups a day puts you into the "I have to have it every day if I don't want a huge headache" territory.

In reply to Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) :

Paul Simon said it best in The Boxer:  "Still, a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest."

So, I'm positive that only studies proving the health benefits exist, and there are none to the contrary.

In reply to aircooled :

Lightweight! 

Wait a second...

...you are jacked up on the C juice right now, right?

In reply to aircooled :

Put down my cup to type this response:  Oh, heck yes!

Four cups a day!  You mean my pre breakfast routine right, your not actually thinking of stopping at four cups are you?  You're right, I'd be a shaking mess on four cups with massive withdrawal.

And joking aside, any actual study worth publishing would never mention four cups, unless it's just journalistic laziness.  A standard 8oz cup of coffee can have anything from 40 to over 100 mg's of caffeine meaning four cups could have anything from 160-400mg caffeine in it.  

not only can coffee have varying levels of caffeine per volume, there is no such thing as a standard 'cup' of coffee. So any study that uses cup of coffee as a metric is (even if only in the title) is suspect. 

I'd venture to guess that the average Starbucks order exceeds 4 "US coffee cups" in a single drink. 

Here's wikipedia: (US cup = 8 oz, US coffee cup = 4, Metric coffee cup = 5.07)

I would still argue that "cup of coffee" is perfectly adequate for getting the idea across.  Throw out the high and low extremes, calculate an average.  It's not exact.  It doesn't need to be. 

Do we really need a bunch of statistical dick-swinging?

Caffeine can't be that bad. I was in the hospital, actively dying from heart failure, and they still have me full strength cokes. 

In reply to aircooled :

4 cups is what I drink when I decide I'm not going to have coffee that day!

I tried going cold turkey once because I thought all the people that whined about getting a headache if they didn't have coffee were a bunch of wimps.  It took me about 7 days to come out the other side and for three or four of them I had flu-like symptoms.

1988RedT2 said:

I would still argue that "cup of coffee" is perfectly adequate for getting the idea across.  Throw out the high and low extremes, calculate an average.  It's not exact.  It doesn't need to be. 

Do we really need a bunch of statistical dick-swinging?

Nope, averages and generalities are fine up to a point.  But when you throw out cup as a measurement that can vary by 250% (40-100mg) then it's an utterly usless generalization.  

For me, it's caffeine-- yes, coffee-- no.

I had some coffee flavored spread (like nutella but coffee: sugar, coffee, oil, milk byproducts) and made brownies to use it up.  Those were really tasty, really sweet, and really rich.  One 1" x 1" bite was definitely enough at a time.

"Pro tip": Reign or Bang energy drinks are better mg/$ vs. Monster (the same cost if not cheaper and 300mg vs. 150mg).

The cheapest way is to dissolve no-doze tablets in water and add a squirt of the flavor/ vitamin/ electrolyte "water enhancer".

For a while I was trying to self-medicate with increasing amounts of caffeine (600mg, 800mg) rather than deal directly with berk'd up neurochemicals.  Not so effective.  I either tapered off enough or didn't care about withdrawal at that point.

Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) said:

1988RedT2 said:

I would still argue that "cup of coffee" is perfectly adequate for getting the idea across.  Throw out the high and low extremes, calculate an average.  It's not exact.  It doesn't need to be. 

Do we really need a bunch of statistical dick-swinging?

Nope, averages and generalities are fine up to a point.  But when you throw out cup as a measurement that can vary by 250% (40-100mg) then it's an utterly usless generalization.  

We'll agree to disagree.

1988RedT2 said:

I would still argue that "cup of coffee" is perfectly adequate for getting the idea across.  Throw out the high and low extremes, calculate an average.  It's not exact.  It doesn't need to be. 

Do we really need a bunch of statistical dick-swinging?

If you ordered "4 cups of coffee" at a coffee shop and they handed you a 16oz "medium" cup and said:

Look, it's the statistical average and gets the idea across, it's not exact, doesn't need to be.

Would you be cool with that?

You people are insufferable.

1988RedT2 said:

You people are insufferable.

They must not have had their coffee yet today.

In reply to Oapfu :

Energy drinks came up the other day.  I think the bigger reason they work as a pick me up over coffee isn't the caffeine, it's all the B vitamins they put in.  IF I'm feeling sluggish, I grab a couple of multi B, or B complex pills and in 30 mins when they enter the blood stream I'm far more awake than mainlining espresso shots.

I'm pretty sure the proper measurement for coffee is the pot. These cup things you speak of are entirely too small to be an effective form of measurement. 

Unless your cup is the size of mine. 

Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Oapfu :

Energy drinks came up the other day.  I think the bigger reason they work as a pick me up over coffee isn't the caffeine, it's all the B vitamins they put in.  IF I'm feeling sluggish, I grab a couple of multi B, or B complex pills and in 30 mins when they enter the blood stream I'm far more awake than mainlining espresso shots.

Those b vitamins can be dangerous.

Source: Me, with a rare genetic disorder that causes me to not process b6 so it can build up in my blood and mess with my autonomic nervous system. That was fun to figure out. 

Agreed with 4 cups being the "by 10am goal" .. as long as the next 4-8 cups aren't harmful. 

aircooled said:

Medical studies are always an exercise in an absurd number of potential confounding variables.

 

... does that article say 4 cups?  As in 4 cups a day?!?   If I drank 4 cups I would be in a constant state of shaking and peeing.... and I do drink small amounts fairly regularly.

I am pretty sure, 4 cups a day puts you into the "I have to have it every day if I don't want a huge headache" territory.

Yup but I shall live forever as a constantly peeing, shaking, grouchy mess! 

In reply to Byrneon27 :

Isn't that called life?