Why should I stop drinking coffee?

July 12, 2006 1:23 PM

Why should I stop drinking coffee?

The internet is full of articles about giving up coffee, getting over caffeine withdrawal, and so on. But why? What's bad about being "addicted" to coffee?

posted by DangerIsMyMiddleName to food & drink (45 comments total)

For one thing, coffee can seriously discolor your teeth.
posted by leesh at 1:25 PM on July 12, 2006

Well, today at work I've had half a gallon of coffee, and now I am shaking like a tiny chihuahua. And I feel sick. Gah.
posted by mhuckaba at 1:29 PM on July 12, 2006

look into the effects coffee has on your kidneys and adrenal glands "Like sugar, coffee constantly stimulates the production of adrenaline, putting excessive wear and tear on the adrenal glands." The more you imbibe caffeine, the more your body stops producing energy on its own and comes to rely on the energy released from digesting caffeine and its resultant effects on your bodily chemistry.

(this is coming from a currently-multiple-cups-a-day drinker)
posted by iurodivii at 1:32 PM on July 12, 2006

There are also lots of articles about the pluses of coffee. I think as long as your blood pressure and such are normal, don't sweat it.
posted by stormygrey at 1:32 PM on July 12, 2006

If your blood pressure and cholesterol are alright and you don't experience any gastric issues, the only reason I can think of is to cease the obnoxious comments from Mormon relatives.

I think cholesterol is only a problem if you drink coffee that is made without a paper/cloth filter. It sure tastes a lot better but the oils in the beans can apparently have an effect on your (LDL, as in bad) cholesterol.

If you're an older lady, caffeine is apparently associated with lower bone density. Coffee is also associated with increased incidence of kidney stones.

Basically, in my very very humble opinion (and resentment of my sanctimonious family members), people who are anti-coffee just want to feel superior to you despite their bland palette and lack of productivity.

On preview: I drink a lot of coffee and have pretty, white teeth. I have never had artificial whitening treatments, though I do brush twice daily with a Sonicare toothbrush. Lately I have taken to chewing Orbit White gum but have not used the product frequently or long enough to effect the color of my enamel. Your mileage may vary, but I suspect the largest factor for people with gross grills is their inattentive hygiene habits.
posted by polyhedron at 1:34 PM on July 12, 2006

Like a lot of things, coffee consumption in moderation can be good and even beneficial. An important factor is to remember to increase your water intake the more coffee you drink. This will help counter the side effects of caffeine and digestion problems as well as keeping you properly hydrated.
posted by birdlips at 1:34 PM on July 12, 2006

Oddly enough, I was just reading this.
posted by penchant at 1:36 PM on July 12, 2006

I actually quit drinking coffee on July 25, 2004. I was going to have surgery and seemed like the perfect time to do it. I have no reason why I wanted to except that I was relying both physically and psychologically on a huge huge cup of black coffee to start my day.

I have kept with it just to say I can. I get very unusual reactions when I tell folks who ask if I want coffee that I don't drink it. When I tell them, "I don't drink the devil's brew" I get even more unusual reactions. Whatever. I have learned to circumvent the quiting by getting my caffeine from Excedrin Migraine chewable tablets or diet coke, so my initial goal of being peppy on my own is worthless.

Bottomline. The only reason to quit is to see if you can. I am about to start up again.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 1:38 PM on July 12, 2006

Devil's brew? That's Diet Coke, if you ask me.
posted by penchant at 1:42 PM on July 12, 2006

I quit drinking coffee every once in awhile just to break the addiction, mild as it is. It's inconvenient sometimes to have to have a cup just to avoid the headache. If I'm going to be travelling or otherwise off schedule, I get myself off the caffeine habit so I can enjoy my time off without looking for a Starbucks (or any decent source). It's just wrong to be driven by desperation to look at Folgers as if that's an acceptable cuppa.
posted by dness2 at 1:45 PM on July 12, 2006

Why should I stop drinking coffee?

I think it's healthy to take a few months off a drug that you use regularly to see how you feel without it. I quit coffee for a little over a year, didn't really feel a whole lot better and kind of missed it, so I started drinking it again. Your experience may be different.
posted by teleskiving at 1:47 PM on July 12, 2006

I sleep slightly better since quitting caffeine a few months ago.
posted by teki at 1:48 PM on July 12, 2006

I drink 16 oz. a day and often get pretty bad headaches if I go without. So it's definitely addictive, but addictive ≠ bad. There are studies suggesting both coffee's healthful and deterioriative affects, just as there are for red wine, tomatoes, peanut butter and anything else we consume.

Of course, there are other, humanitarian reasons to quit.

Not that I'm suggesting you do, or that I will anytime soon.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 1:50 PM on July 12, 2006

I quit coffee around 9 months ago for no real reason, just that I'd been drinking it every day for 38 years and had grown a little tired of it.
I had no withdrawal symptoms, no cravings, and no noticeable beneficial effects as a result. I'm sure my breath smells better, but that's about it.
posted by Floydd at 1:59 PM on July 12, 2006

There's an old joke about Puritans being constantly bothered by the idea that "someone, somewhere is having a good time."

Olde style Puritans were religious ascetics. Modern Puritans are atheist ascetics who hate everything that wasn't part of the human environment 8,000 years ago. They are even more worried about the fact that someone, somewhere is having a good time -- by using technology or by polluting their essential bodily fluids with horrible things like refined sugar, meat, or any drug that you can't smoke (except tobacco).

Why are there articles out there opposing caffeine use? Because there are articles out there opposing damned near everything.

As to caffeine, it is by far the single most used drug on earth, prescription or otherwise. More than half the human race imbibes caffeine in some form or other nearly daily, and there's no evidence that when used moderately it represents any substantial health hazard for the vast majority.

Why do most of us use it? Because we like what it does to us -- and that drives the modern ascetics wild.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 2:04 PM on July 12, 2006

You know that awful feeling you get in the morning before you've had your first cup? And that blissful feeling afterwards?
Well, that first feeling is withdrawal, and once you quit and get over the addiction you'll never feel it again. If you're basically healthy you'll wake up every morning with that second feeling.
posted by rocket88 at 2:04 PM on July 12, 2006

I quit drinking caffeinated coffee bacause I developed these palpatations -- not really dangerous, but very uncomfortable. Quitting was of course one of the most difficult things ever.

As for why YOU should stop, health issues are the usual reason. These usually don't appear until you get older (when quitting will be more painful).
posted by Rash at 2:08 PM on July 12, 2006

If you're basically healthy you'll wake up every morning with that second feeling.

That's not true at all. Ever since I was a wee child, and way before I started drinking coffee, I had an awful feeling when I woke up in the morning. And that happened because my alarm went off, and I didn't want to get up out of my comfy bed or comfy home to go to school or work at some godawful early hour.

Coffee just helps to make the inevitable need to wake up and get moving a little bit easier.
posted by tastybrains at 2:11 PM on July 12, 2006

The expense?
posted by peep at 2:18 PM on July 12, 2006

The only reason to quit is if you feel like drinking it is doing you harm in some way (blood pressure, inability to sleep, teeth discolouration) or for abovementioned humanitarian reasons. Otherwise, enjoy!
posted by gaspode at 2:19 PM on July 12, 2006

Ever since I was a wee child, and way before I started drinking coffee, I had an awful feeling when I woke up in the morning.

That's a different feeling.
Try to answer the question that was asked, folks. The poster didn't ask for reasons not to quit.
posted by rocket88 at 2:21 PM on July 12, 2006

The simple indignity of dependance.

Coffee begets more coffee, and within a few years, you are only semi-functional in the morning without it, and struggle to get up without it. Soon, people don't like being around you in the morning when you couldn't get your coffee for whatever reason, because you're either a zombie, a grouch, or both.

The Heinlein quote "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly."
could be amended to include "be able to wake up without the aid of drugs" :-)
posted by -harlequin- at 2:38 PM on July 12, 2006

that said, if you have coffee randomly, rather than as part of a schedule or related to a specific activity, drinking none on as many days as some, then I doubt dependance is going to become an issue.
posted by -harlequin- at 2:40 PM on July 12, 2006

Well, if you're buying it at Starbucks or the neighborhood coffee stand, the amount of money saved could be an incentive as well. Even black coffee can add up to $10 a week.

Obviously if you're making coffee at home or having it at the office, this isn't an issue.
posted by rossination at 2:40 PM on July 12, 2006

If you are addicted to coffee (I am), you can suffer bad headaches if you skip a day. I'm prone to migraines, so this is serious business: I've actually grown much more tolerant to skipping days as I've gotten older, but when I was younger, it was like clockwork: if I didn't get coffee by 1:00 PM, I probably had a migraine by 3:00 PM.

So, like harlequin eloquently put it, the "indignity of dependance." I'm willing to put up with that indignity for some tasty, tasty coffee though.
posted by adamrice at 2:57 PM on July 12, 2006

If you quit drinking coffee, and avoid just changing over to caffeine containing sodas, in about 3 or 4 weeks, you may have a happier GI tract. It's definitely something to eliminate for women with IBS or Crohn's disease.

If you quit drinking coffee, you may learn to enjoy high cocoa solids dark chocolate a lot more. This is a purely personal observation, but I have found that people without big caffeine habits are more likely to allow dense dark chocolate to melt slowly on the tongue, and enjoy the full rush. Regular coffee drinkers seem to expect a faster "kick" from the stimulants being released by the chocolate.

If you at least cut your coffee consumption back to those instances where you can get a really good, fresh brewed cup or espresso shot, you'll enjoy what coffee you do drink immensely more. Life is too short to gulp down mediocore or just bad coffee.
posted by paulsc at 3:12 PM on July 12, 2006

The caffeine in coffee can unconsciously cause you to clench your teeth/jaws- too much coffee and too much clenching can contribute to TMJ or Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Dysfunction. I know different people who this happened to, it's possible (although debatable) that caffeine intake contributed to this . . .

Because caffiene is a diuretic (it makes you pee) it will deplete the amount of calcium in your system, there's some debate as to whether this increases or decreases the risk of kidney stones in men.

Basically all things in moderation is how you should proceed.
posted by jeremias at 3:40 PM on July 12, 2006

Caffeine Allergy: Past Disorder or Present Epidemic? - How Much Mental Illness is an Allergy to Caffeine?

Not sure how much to read into that article, but it gave me pause for thought.

Simple reason to give up: no-one really needs caffiene; it's probably an inefficent use of your resources (time, health, money) in the long run, unless you really only use it in a measured, moderate manner.

All that said, nothing yet has suceeded in making me give up caffiene altogther, though I personally now prefer a strong tea, as it's less of a bumpy ride than coffee.
posted by MetaMonkey at 3:43 PM on July 12, 2006

The only reason I would stop drinking coffee (or at least un-decaffineated coffee) is if I am training for some athletic event--10k, half marathon or somesuch. I've found that when I take in moderate amounts of caffiene (e.g. a cup or two of coffee in the morning), my heart rate is higher by 10 or 15 bpm for the entire length of my workout, which limits how hard I can train.
posted by scalespace at 3:45 PM on July 12, 2006

Why are there articles out there opposing caffeine use? Because there are articles out there opposing damned near everything.

Bingo. There's no reason to give up coffee unless you decide you don't like it any more. It's a cheap, harmless indulgence. (If you don't like the tooth stains, get them cleaned.)
posted by languagehat at 3:57 PM on July 12, 2006

I once casually explained to a friend how caffeine works, unintentionally putting him off it.
posted by evil holiday magic at 4:18 PM on July 12, 2006

It also follows that you'll see diminishing returns as you maintain your habit. I'm on an ungodly amount of caffeine, but since I've been doing this for so long, I don't feel anything. I'm just putting off the headaches. As a fan of coffee and the high it can provide, it's more gratifying to make it the exception rather than the daily rule if you really value your buzz.
posted by evil holiday magic at 4:27 PM on July 12, 2006

1. You don't like things that are delicious
   
2. You don't like fun / awesome things
   
3. You already have dangerously high blood pressure
   
4. Psychological or physiological addiction creeps you out
   
5. You hate things that grow at high elevation.
   
6. You are mormon / some other religion that hates fun / awesome things
   
7. You are Ian MacKaye
   
8. You don't want coffee breath or coffee teeth
   
9. A man with a donkey killed your parents
   
10. You hate anything that may reduce the risk of type II diabetes.

posted by Hildago at 4:34 PM on July 12, 2006 [4 favorites]

There is a sort of health meme that coffee is intrinsically bad for you in general. This is not, in fact, true. It is bad for people with certain health conditions (see upthread). I hear this a lot from folks about my parents' age (60s-70).
posted by desuetude at 4:36 PM on July 12, 2006

I too attempted (and succeeded) on this one a few times in the recent past but then I thought... you know what, is it really that important. If you can drink coffee in a normal ( no more than 2 or 3 cups per day) way then why the heck make your life harder?? Seriously, there are far more important health risks out there to fret about and that little ritual in the morning might not be so bad after all. If youre worried about the overdoing it then maybe your need to set limits but honestly, coffee is just one of those semi-universal "good things in life" that make it all that much sweeter.
posted by Meemer at 4:46 PM on July 12, 2006

It can make anxiety worse. If you find yourself feeling anxious a lot of the time, try cutting out coffee for a few days and see if it settles down.

This advice probably not applicable to those with danger for a middle name, though :-)
posted by flabdablet at 5:07 PM on July 12, 2006

Also: Drinking coffee makes you more open-minded

I think the lesson there is not to drink coffee before contemplating major pruchases.

Also, I must chime in in agreeance with the anxiety related comments - when you are accustomed to daily caffiene intake, it is easy to forget how relaxed it is possible be, and to consider irratibility, short-attention span and general tension to be normal.
posted by MetaMonkey at 5:50 PM on July 12, 2006

IIRC, it's the second biggest single import after oil. (Can that possibly be right?) Thinking about vegetable fields being turned into coffee plantations almost did it for me. But instead I just started buying the super-do-gooder kind (Some Trader Joe's brand that's triple-certified -- organic, Fair Trade, and bird-friendly/shade-grown.)
posted by salvia at 6:59 PM on July 12, 2006

Import to the US. My bad as usual. MeFi is an international forum. MeFi is an international forum. MeFi is an international forum. (Don't flame me!)
posted by salvia at 7:00 PM on July 12, 2006

Because you're a health-paranoid nouveau nutrition puritan and you think your body is a temple? I'm being flippant, of course. But my god, that seems to be more-or-less the attitude of many people who fret and mither about coffee. Still, at least they're not as insufferable as the anti-alcohol brigade, we must be grateful for that small mercy.

Why should you give up coffee? The only good reason is this: because you don't like it. If you like it, enjoy it and stop worrying what the neurotic piss-bloods think. That's no way for a red-blooded, sensual human to go through life, by golly.
posted by Decani at 7:20 PM on July 12, 2006

I am less prone to agitation, anger, and anxiety now that I'm off the crackffeine. I still indulge now and then, because I do like coffee and sodas, and that's when I really notice the difference. I think it shortens the fuse and tightens the screws a bit. Having a hot drink is still nice though, so I've gotten into herbal teas. There are so many different varieties and flavors. Loves me some peppermint.

The idea of being addicted to anything, even something fairly innocuous like caffeine, just bothers me. YMMV.
posted by kookoobirdz at 7:51 PM on July 12, 2006

From my experience with drinking it myself and being with other people who drink it, coffee changes your personality.

When I drank coffee, I'd be giddy for a few hours, then horribly anxious and pessimistic for the rest of the day.

Now that I've given it up, I notice how it affects other people. For my coffee-drinking friends, they must have at least one cup a day. Without it, they're zombies. With it, they become much more animated. My mom used to work in an office, and drank 3 cups of coffee a day. It kept her going, but when she came home and it wore off, she was super grouchy, irritable and grumpy---a total bear. She didn't realize it was the coffee until much later.

Besides the personality changes, buying coffee can be an expensive habit. If you buy a $2 cup a day, that's $2*365 = $730/year.
posted by hooray at 8:32 PM on July 12, 2006

You shouldn't. 730 bucks a year for something you enjoy and that you get to enjoy daily is nothing.

Probably a good reason to drink more coffee.
posted by justgary at 10:13 PM on July 12, 2006

Because you're pushing the price up for the rest of us.
posted by pompomtom at 10:14 PM on July 12, 2006

i used to be a severe caffeine addict (though during college i went through a detox every summer so as to get my tolerance levels back down to a reasonable level for the next year), and since graduating have taken myself off any regular caffeine consumption. once in a while i'll drink green or black tea, but that's about it.

my reasons for quitting included:
- desensitization to epinepherine, as well as becoming chemically dependent on caffeine in order for my adrenal glands to function properly, were not very exciting prospects to me.
- neurophysiological addictions cause withdrawal symptoms that manifest behaviorally. see above.
- coffee in particular (as well as cola) causes your blood pH to lower significantly. your body compensates by stripping alkaline minerals (such as calcium) from your bones, decreasing bone density and increasing chances of kidney stones (among other things).
- when off of caffeine, much more of my energy comes from 'within'. also, my overall energy output is higher (though perhaps not as high as when in the midst of a caffeine high).
- i have less chronic tension, and when i am tense it does not escalate to the levels that it used to.
- all it takes to wake me up in the morning is a little moving around and some fresh air.
- habitual behavior is in general stifling to one's continued mental growth.

ymmv. different people react differently to different chemical regimes - i never experienced headaches among my caffeine withdrawal symptoms, for instance. obviously, caffeine addiction is not nearly as harmful or stifling as many other drug addictions, but if you think that it's all sunshine and roses health-wise then you're deceiving yourself.

the extent to which you want to fuss about your health is up to you of course, but i find it a little disconcerting to see so many people on this thread lumping together health-conscious people with self-righeous puritan hippy luddites.
posted by working.hypothesis at 10:33 PM on July 12, 2006 [2 favorites]