Sometimes, nutrition writers put it so perfectly (or disgustingly) that it sets you straight for life.
Dr. Barnard, describing how chicken processing baths are not unlike “a tub of fecal soup,” comes to mind. As for other animals processed in factories, there are equally grotesque cesspools-of-salmonella studies to turn a person off forever.
So what about the bean?
Besides the Starbucks effect, turning the coffee shop into a virtual candy store of gargantuan, fatty concoctions, there’s the coffee itself—the buzz, the lure, the killer aroma. I’ve had a range of experiences on coffee, from pleasant alertness to bug-eyed near panic attacks, so I’m never sure whether to trust it completely. Plus, I like tea, the marijuana of the mind-altering beverage trade. Coffee, that’s more like the crack.
An acupuncturist once told me to ditch it for good. And I did. Until I found myself mindlessly ordering yet another iced mocha. Well, fecal soup is bad, but so is poison. Check out what Matthew Kenny and Sarma Melngailis have to say about coffee in their beautiful (nutritional powerhouse of a) book…
Stephen Cherniske, in his seminal book Caffeine Blues, calls caffeine a “biological poison used by plants as a pesticide,” noting that “caffeine gives leaves and seeds a bitter taste, which discourages their consumption by insects and animals. If predators insist on eating a caffeine-containing plant, the caffeine can cause central nervous system disruptions and even lethal side effects.”
Unfortunately, humans are the most persistent of pests, and we’ve found ways to make irresistibly palatable what is essentially a psychoactive drug that impairs us; the so-called “stimulating” effect of caffeine is merely your body stepping up the system to flush the poison out as quickly as possible. In fact, coffee beans were first employed as a drug to “detoxify” the sick. Caffeine has a similar make-up to morphine, nicotine, and cocaine, to which very few of us with non-bling celeb status would be proud or solvent enough to admit an addiction. But it’s not uncommon for us to claim that we can’t function without our coffee.
Aside from being addictive, coffee is damaging to the liver, which has to detoxify the caffeine in it. Decaffeinated coffee is not an a-okay replacement. Decaf also contains a variety of chemicals, including the same cancer-causing agents found in barbecued foods. And the decaffeinating process itself often uses chemicals.
Still, if the necessary organs can process moderate amounts of caffeine and related substances, why should we go cold turkey on coffee? Perhaps because daily doses of caffeine have been implicated in the following: gastrointestinal disease, sleep disorders, malnutrition (it drains kidneys of the ability to hold onto calcium, magnesium, potassium, and zinc), headaches, and depression. Plus every cup of coffee is a glass of body-refreshing water you didn’t drink.
Makes ya think.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Kristine!
Thanks for your comment on my blog!
I came to HK when I was six but left for post secondary education in Canada. I returned around four years ago but I’m unsure of how long I’ll be staying! I can speak the language enough to get around but its definitely pathetic for how long I’ve been here for and I am trying to improve!
Yes, travel definitely is one of the most fun things about life!
Glad you wrote b/c I had lost your link! Went to China last year (first time to Asia) and loved so many aspects about the culture—food, architecture, clothes, entertainment. Look forward to more of your photos.
H Kristine,
Thanks for the comment on my blog. I’m just starting out so I don’t get a lot of them and I tend to get really excited when it happens.
I enjoyed your coffee post. My mother is a coffee addict and I feel so lucky not to have inherited the addiction from her. I’ve only tried it once at summer camp when a friend found out I’d never had any and poured some down my throat (it scalded me). That was enough to keep me away from the stuff for good. I drink green tea every morning with breakfast, and occasionally I’ll treat myself at Starbucks with a vanilla creme (steamed milk with a shot of vanilla flavouring).
I’d hate to be one of those people who claims that they can’t wake up without their double double from Tim Hortons every morning. It’s not like saying “I couldn’t get a tattoo unless I was drunk” – it’s saying “My state of consciousness depends on caffiene.” No thanks.
Amy: Was going to email you but don’t see a way to do so from your blog….and actually I think the same is true of my own. Blog lessons 101 : )
I love email! That’s a good idea, I just added it to my profile. Let’s hope we don’t start getting tons of spam or hate mail. Oh and to save you a step, it’s robins.amy@gmail.com