Do you remember the frustration about eating eggs many years a go? During the 80's scientists insisted even eating one egg can increase the chance of heart attack because of the cholesterol in it. Later, they found out there are two types of cholesterol. Hence, it was ok to eat the whites of the egg but not the yellow part. Nowadays, eggs are fine and nobody even sure what cholesterol is anymore. Furthermore, scientists say, it doesn't even matter what you eat. It all depends on your DNA.
Same kind of confusion is happening to coffee right now because different branches of science and government come up with their own research but nobody takes the time to compare the results.
According to U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the amount of caffeine one should take is 400mg a day, which equals to four cups of coffee. Now, the 400mg of caffeine limit is important. If you breach that, you open the gates of your body to a migraine, insomnia, nervousness, irritability, restlessness, stomach upset, faster heartbeat, muscle tremors and frequent urination (...lots of it).
2015, U.S. Dietary Guidelines suggested to drink up to five cups of coffee per day or 400mg of caffeine is ok. While you try to make up your mind about how many cups of coffee equal to 400mg of caffeine; U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health revealed drinking one to six or more cups of coffee reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes around %22 percent.
Until this point, you might think ''Meh... I f I stick to three cups of coffee per day I am golden''
Let me ask you this: Have you ever heard about DSM-5? DSM is an acronym for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It is a manual published by American Psychiatric Association. 5 stands for the fifth edition which became available in 2013. The DSM-5 clearly indicates caffeine addiction is not as a mental disorder. Yet, it refers caffeine addiction as Caffeine Use Disorder (CUD) and recognizes CUD as ''Condition for further study''. According to DSM-5 consuming more than 200mg of caffeine can cause caffeine intoxication. Which is less than two cups of coffee.
The information pollution can be evaded. Until the day we find out scientifically how much coffee is beneficial or not harmful to our body.
Of course, that is not easy to do either because of the other weakness of coffee: Caffeine is highly addictive.
Answer this question: When you stop drinking coffee any length of time, do you experience anxiety or stress? If your answer is ''Yes'' you most likely suffer from caffeine addiction.
Sure, nobody drinks a gallon of coffee or a dozen can of Redbull, wakes up in a different city and can't remember what happened yesterday.
Yet, not able to function without caffeine is a real problem. There are at least two caffeine addict anonymous sites on the internet. One of them has a 12 step program to quit caffeine
and offers weekly phone meetings to break your caffeine addiction.
When you have coffee, you will most likely end up with two other highly addictive consumables: Sugar and cigarettes. Coffee's bitter taste is not for everyone. Even people who like black coffee without any additives pour sugar into their Java every now and then. We always hear the phrase ''I am addicted to coffee'' In fact, most coffee drinkers addicted to coffee and sugar without even realizing it.
If you are a smoker you know that coffee and cigarettes go well together. Especially if you have a nice conversation with a friend, or after a blg dinner. I can't talk much about coffee and cigarettes because I am not a smoker but what I see from outside, people seem to enjoy this trio a lot.
Jim Jarmusch directed a great film called ''Coffee and Cigarettes'' It is all about how important these items to fuel the small conversations we have in daily life.
Still, an awesome movie doesn't change the fact that combination of coffee, sugar and cigarettes' dangerous effects on your heart, lungs, and liver on the long run.
This concludes the second part of the S.W.O.T. analysis for coffee. If you interested to read more about relations between your diet and your DNA, Caffeine Use Disorder or would like to get help from Caffeine Addicts Anonymous click to links below.
Would you like to read the first part of this S.W.O.T. analysis? Then click here:
http://www.dailynoms.org/2017/07/swot-analysis-for-coffee-part-1.html
Would you like to know why I started this blog? Then feel free to read my very first post here:
http://www.dailynoms.org/2017/07/food.html
While you are doing that I am going to make more coffee and watch ''Coffee and Cigarettes''. After that, I am going to start to write the third part of this series.
The Role of Genetics in Diet and Health:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19901143?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum&ordinalpos=1
Caffeine Use Disorder:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3777290/
Caffeine Addicts Anonymous:
http://www.caffeineaddictsanonymous.com/home.html
