Coffee, a Friend or a Foe?

Fateh Srajeldin N.D.*

Coffee is one of the most popular among non-food items that is accused of being a food item. It is sold in the western hemisphere like there is no tomorrow. All scientific studies have indicated that coffee is an addictive drug. Some people assume that scientific studies were done for others excluding them of course. They claim that diseases strike others and spare them. This group of people tend to pay an expensive price for this legal socially accepted drug.

During the course of the treatment, I want my patients to refrain from consuming coffee. I mean coffee regardless of its type whether regular or decaffeinated, organic or non-organic. Allowing a patient to consume coffee during the course of the treatment is an indirect statement telling the patient that you will never be without a doctor’s care.

Coffee consumption would result in several harmful effects on the entire body

1. overstimulating the entire nervous system;
2. increases the pulse rate;
3. raises blood pressure;
4. raises blood sugar level through adrenal cortisol stimulation;
5. suppresses appetite;
6. produces a sense of false high energy;
7. leaches calcium from the body’ storage;
8. a rebound effect on blood sugar level which drops to a low margin shortly after coffee.

Consumption leading to the following effects

i) Jittery;
ii) Irritability;
iii) Inability to concentrate; and
iv) Depression.
v)     Ground coffee oxidizes quickly causing loss of flavor and rancidity.

Commercial coffee contains

I would like to see commitment from those who came seeking help and being sincere about it.
I do realize that long lived habits are so powering that they may sway some people away from their goals.

- chemicals;
- pesticides;
- caffeine;
- tri-gonelline;
- aromatic oils,
- acids;
- tannin;
- some essential minerals and
- B vitamins.

Action in the body

Coffee depletes the body of the following vitamins and minerals:
- B-complex vitamins causing general fatigue and general malaise;
- Thiamine (B1) causing skin problems;
- calcium causing muscle spasm and indigestion; and
- ascorbic acid causing immune deficiency.

The long term effects of coffee are that it affects the following organs:
- weakens the kidneys;
- weakens the intestines;
- weakens the nervous system;
- it clouds the memory;
- reduces the sex drive;
- produces insomnia;
- causes migraines;
- leads to anxiety and;
- prevents absorbed of vitamins and minerals from the intestine;
- leads to nervousness;

Organic Coffee

A better alternative to coffee are herbal teas and coffee substitutes (Caf-lib etc.) which do not contain tannin or caffeine. It’s always best to read labels before purchasing. While I insist that embarking on this diet and therapy much control and discipline is needed, I do not object much to the use of this type of organic coffee substitute or organic coffee to those who are unfortunate and weak. I would like to see commitment from those who came seeking help and being sincere about it. I do realize that long lived habits are so powering that they may sway some people away from their goals. Should you wish to use this organic coffee, moderation is of great therapy to every one. Please remember that coffee had to do with you being unwell.

Some research facts about coffee

• Autopsies have shown that the brown colour found in the coffee bean pigments the cells of the cerebral tissue of the brain;
  

• Caffeine in coffee makes it a narcotic beverage. Caffeine belongs to the same alkaloid group of chemicals as morphine, nicotine, cocaine and strychnine;
  

• Nitrosomines, which occur naturally in coffee beans are the same carcinogens as used in manufacturing deli meats and bacon;
  

• Chlorogenic acid is one of the elements in coffee that causes it to be a harmful drink;
  

• Columbian coffee planters have used, regularly and heavily for 20 years, deadly pesticides on their plants such as Aldrin, Dieldrin, Chlordane and Heptachlor; and
  

• On the other hand, one may be running a greater risk drinking decaffeinated coffee because of a large concentration of the chemical, Trichloroethylene used to decaffeinate coffee. It is a close relative of the plastic chemical, vinyl chloride, which has been causing a rare type of liver cancer. Trichloroethylene is used mainly as a de-greasing agent in the metal industry and as a solvent and dry cleaning agent in the clothing industry. It is also used as an anaesthetic in minor operations and to extract substances from food, such as the removal of caffeine from coffee and resins from spices.

NO COFFEE, OKAY!

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Naturopathic doctor and the director of the Naturopathic and Allergy Clinic in the city of Toronto.