Tea and coffee?

spunkymunky

Hi guys
Just wondering what, if any, are the effects of tea and coffee on the system. Recently im drinking about 3-4 cups (no sugar) a day in work. Maybe a cup at home aswell.
Is this a lot? Is it bad for me?
Also
Does coffee actually help you stay awake? I seems to help a bit. Must be other ways.
Thanks
SM

Shrimp

Coffee does keep you awake, but in the same way a mars bar would if you eat them at night, it gives you a slight rush, then can wear you out a little.

pwd

Caffeine does keep you awake it's a stimulant.
Very large dosages considerably improve sprint times, but are likely to make you sick. Not a good idea really.
It is also a diarrhetic so you need to make sure you consume enough water, especially if you are doing endurance exercise, and/or using creatine.

*Angel*

I'm living proof that coffee keeps you awake, I have a bad habit of staying up late and therefore I deprive myself of sleep. Coffee keeps me awake so much but I do drink about 6 cups a day of strong coffee (2 teaspoons) after 6 o'clock, I know it's really bad to drink that much it's the only thing that keeps me awake!

Pherekydes

pwd wrote:

Caffeine ...Very large dosages considerably improve sprint times...

That's BS. Where did you get that idea from?

secret_squirrel

If you want an interesting test of the effect of caffiene on your system, cut all tea and coffee out for a week. I did this as part of a detox diet and was shocked by the withdrawal symptons - splitting migranes and really light sensitive. I've never had a migrane before or since cant believe how bad it was.

For the record I drink around 3 cups of tea and 2.5 cups of filter coffee a day.

Supercell

secret_squirrel wrote:

If you want an interesting test of the effect of caffiene on your system, cut all tea and coffee out for a week. I did this as part of a detox diet and was shocked by the withdrawal symptons - splitting migranes and really light sensitive. I've never had a migrane before or since cant believe how bad it was.

For the record I drink around 3 cups of tea and 2.5 cups of filter coffee a day.

I didnt have it so bad stopping smoking and i stopped drinking the 6 cups of coffee a day at the time too because coffee and cigs seemed to go together!!..unlike nicotine, I think the effects of not drinking caffiene are more dramatic on some individuals and non existant on others..giving up smoking is bejayus hard on all tho it seems (took me about 10 attempts over many years before it was beaten) and some days have coffee and others forget to grab a morning cuppa as other matters take precidance..which never ever happened on the cigs.

pwd

saw it in a sports journal. It caused vomiting and severe stomach cramps in most of the tresters in a 400 m dash. The ones who finished showed signioficant improvement.

http://www.medformation.com/ac/crssma.nsf/file/crs-sma-sma_caffeine.and.athletic.performance

quick google. Random clicked result provides article describing this. Not bs. Appears to be endurance it effects rather than explosive power.

kazzer

I back up pwd's point. I have read this before.

irlirishkev

I used to drink anything up to 10 cups of coffee a day. I'd live on the stuff in work, and then relax with a few cups at home. Before dinner, after dinner..

I decided to cut it out of my diet in November, as I was having digestion problems and was trying to isolate what was causing it. I cut out Tea aswell. I haven't drank either since. I replaced all my caffiene intake with water.

The difference is amazing! I have more energy, I sleep better, the formentioned digestion problem has subsided considerably.
I drink Green Tea occasionally, but never touch coffee anymore.

I'd recommend to anyone, to try going without tea/coffee for a while, and see how it affects them.

Kev.

spunkymunky

But its so tasty and somewhat addictive. I dont have digestive problems as such but i do notice myself heading to the toilet a lot. Does get annoying. Maybe a tempory time out would be a good idea

irlirishkev

spunkymunky wrote:

But its so tasty and somewhat addictive. I dont have digestive problems as such but i do notice myself heading to the toilet a lot. Does get annoying. Maybe a tempory time out would be a good idea

Ah yes. Coffee-dumps. That's a thing of the past for me too, and by God I don't miss it one little bit :eek:

K

Gryzor

i drink about 5 or 6 cups of tea a day...noticed it on holidays when i didn't drink any for the week that i was away...seemed to feel tired during the day...was the only thing i could put it down to....didn't feel any cravings for the stuff or anything, just tired

idontknowmyname

Too many cups a day can actually damage ur kidneys.....I was told I had to stop drinking anything with caffeine in it- that was 3 years ago and i dont miss it at all. I used to drink coke, coffee, red bull etc all the time but then i started gettin a few problems which were linked to it

Rossonero

Slow coach wrote:

That's BS. Where did you get that idea from?

One famous cyclist (can't remember name), used to train high in the Colombian/ Venezuela hills. He used to drink 1-2 pots of extremely strong black coffee (strongest in the world) 2 hours before his training (takes 2 hours to kick in)

irlirishkev

Herr Capitan wrote:

One famous cyclist (can't remember name), used to train high in the Colombian/ Venezuela hills. He used to drink 1-2 pots of extremely strong black coffee (strongest in the world) 2 hours before his training (takes 2 hours to kick in)

His poor bowels. That's all I'm saying!

secret_squirrel

irlirishkev wrote:

His poor bowels. That's all I'm saying!

Why do you think he went so fast?

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Transform

irlirishkev wrote:

His poor bowels. That's all I'm saying!

I did my final year sports science dissertation on caffeine in regards to sports performance so i know a thing or two about the stimulant.

1. I does improve sprint times and reaction times at doeses of about 300-400mg
2. Improves endurance times at doses of 150mg
3. You should drink more H20 with caffeine intake
4. It takes 30-45mins to kick in NOT 2 hrs!!
5. Aids in fat loss as during the first 20mins of long and slow exercise e.g. jogging for 60min, it aids fat being used as an energy substrate during this initial stage and thus will allow the participant to exercise for longer.
5. All the above results are referring to caffeine tablets and NOT coffee which will cause the water loss effect and cramping.

Please do not ask me to give references as for all those who have ever done college dissertations the last thing you ever want to do is to go back over it again!

esperanza

Just some advice on tea and coffee issue ...

The only liquid the human body needs is water. I no longer drink (black) tea or coffee and TBH I don't miss these at all!

Black tea (more than 2 cups a day) leads to iron deficiency and steals the calcium from your bones. It's advised to eat foods rich in iron (both heme and non-heme) such as beef, dried apricots and lentils. To avoid calcium loss, take calcium supplements.

As for coffee, due to an increase in my blood pressure, I had little choice but to kick my addiction. Click on this link for more info regarding coffee and increased blood pressure:
http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/hliving/CoffBP.html

If you find it difficult, to give up tea or coffee, try the caffeine-free types instead or limit drinking to max. 2 cups a day. I must admit, there is nothing nicer than a strong cup of pressed coffee first thing in the morning!

You may find this link interesting too:
http://www.nms.on.ca/Secondary/iron_is_good_for_you.htm


Happy reading!

esperanza

First, think. Second, believe. Third, dream. And finally, dare.
(Walt Disney)

CerebralCortex

*Angel* wrote:

I'm living proof that coffee keeps you awake, I have a bad habit of staying up late and therefore I deprive myself of sleep. Coffee keeps me awake so much but I do drink about 6 cups a day of strong coffee (2 teaspoons) after 6 o'clock, I know it's really bad to drink that much it's the only thing that keeps me awake!

You should try fruit it works alot better especially bananas.

*Angel*

CerebralCortex wrote:

You should try fruit it works alot better especially bananas.

I do eat fruit, but I find that coffee just works better. I could be falling asleep and the only thing that would work would be coffee, I plan on kicking the habit after the leaving cert.

esperanza

Do you exercise regularly?

*Angel*

I exercise, I have hockey training twice a week and matches twice a week aswell.

esperanza

Angel,

If you are feeling unnaturally tired, take a better look at your diet. Do you consume AT LEAST five portions of fruit and vegetables each day? If you eat any processed foods, these will make you feel tired also.

If your diet is in order, then try looking at how you manage your study time. For my Leaving Cert, I never resorted to coffee to keep me awake and managed to get all my homework and study done nonetheless.

If you feel lethargic, increase your iron intake. Lentils and dried fruit are good sources of non-heme iron.

In the long term, coffee raises your blood pressure so be careful.

Best of luck!

secret_squirrel

are you capable of posting in a normal font and colour?

esperanza

Yes, secret_squirrel, I am perfectly capable of doing so, but it's nice to put a little 'personality' into a post, don't you agree?

idontknowmyname

I drink herbal teas such as Peppermint Tea and Orange and Cinnamon, they dont contain caffeine at all. The peppermint tea is totally natural just contains peppermint leaves.

Water is the best for you but its bland and you get bored drinking it.

I have to drink 2 litres a day and I'll drink one litre of water and the rest is made up of juice and the herbal teas. During the summer I added dilute orange to my water cause i got sick and tired of water and wanted variation.

Pherekydes

esperanza wrote:

Yes, secret_squirrel, I am perfectly capable of doing so, but it's nice to put a little 'personality' into a post, don't you agree?

Lovely! Really it is!








...not.

Orla1

Tea and coffee used to be all that I drank... i'd drink three cups in school and more before i went in the morning and when I got home in the evening...
I decided that for the new year I could cut them all out and I've never felt better... I'm fitter and not as lethargic in the evenings.
Cutting them out was the worst thing i ever did... or so i felt at the time, i got splitting headaches, couldnt eat and some other nasty stuff... I'm glad i did it now tho'

esperanza

Well done, Orla.

I know what you mean about water being boring, but instead of adding diluted orange, why don't you try some apple juice instead. It goes well with sparkling water. You could also add a slice of lemon.

Lorcan26

i love tea, and i feel better after having a cup (milk two sugar). i usually have about 2 in the morning. It calms me down as well.
tea rocks my socks

*Angel*

Thanks esperanza the problem is I can't stick to a study timetable and I find I study well at night, therefore I stay up late. Another issue I have is for every bit of study I do I have to have some 'relaxing' time (tv, music ...) or I go mad. Therefore I end up getting 4-6 hrs sleep a night during the week, and lie-ins on Sundays. I keep meaning to change this habit but it's hard to get out of routine.

OFDM

esperanza wrote:

but it's nice to put a little 'personality' into a post, don't you agree?

No.

*Angel*

esperanza wrote:

it's nice to put a little 'personality' into a post, don't you agree?

Yep! it's a good change

ranDom_tAsk

btw there's no flavour/taste off tea

Transform

secret_squirrel wrote:

are you capable of posting in a normal font and colour?

espernza please post in normal font and colour as its more difficult to read in its current form

SantaHoe

esperanza wrote:

Yes, secret_squirrel, I am perfectly capable of doing so, but it's nice to put a little 'personality' into a post, don't you agree?

Yeah, great stuff... keep up the good work.

Mohanned

spunkymunky wrote:

Hi guys
Just wondering what, if any, are the effects of tea and coffee on the system. Recently im drinking about 3-4 cups (no sugar) a day in work. Maybe a cup at home aswell.
Is this a lot? Is it bad for me?
Also
Does coffee actually help you stay awake? I seems to help a bit. Must be other ways.
Thanks
SM

3 or 4 spoons :eek:
Thats too bad mate I used to bee like that now I take 1 or 1/2 a spoon now

ranDom_tAsk

Mohanned wrote:

3 or 4 spoons :eek:
Thats too bad mate I used to bee like that now I take 1 or 1/2 a spoon now

LOL he said 3/4 cups of coffee a day, not 3/4 sugars in his coffee