The Ins and Outs of Caffeine and Decaffeinated Coffee

There are many myths regarding coffee and part of finding the truth is reading about coffee to find out what is true. Caffeine has always been considered a bad thing to drink, especially if you drink it everyday. There are grounds for this in being true. There are others who have decided for one reason or another that they don’t want caffeine in their drinks so they drink decaffeinated coffee as well as caffeine free sodas.

First, caffeine can be bad for you. Caffeine is an oxygen inhibitor, which means you are not supplying your body with enough oxygen when you drink a lot of caffeine. You may notice that you get a lot of cramps in your legs or other areas when you drink caffeine in excess. You can also become addicted to caffeine. The more you drink it the more you feel you need it to get through the day because without the kick you feel tired. Another part of needing the caffeine is the withdrawal headaches you may get. Not everyone is the same. It is partially based on your body type. The myth that you can get cancer or other diseases by drinking coffee is only partially true. Caffeine back in the fifties was known to increase the risk of getting certain types of cancer, however what most people fail to realize is that any thing including coffee can be bad for you if you have it in excess and at the same time everyday. A varied routine and changing what you eat every once in a while will save you from certain harmful affects, especially with coffee. So you may find that decaffeinated coffee is the better choice for you, but there are a few things you should realize about decaf as well.

Decaf has most of the caffeine taken out of it; however, it is impossible to get all of the caffeine out of the coffees beans. So you may find a little decaf will help you get through the day without those headaches and addiction. You still need to know that there is caffeine in decaf. If you are not used to drinking coffee and ask for decaf you may be surprised at the fact you will feel a difference in being more alert. There are also those allergic to caffeine. Often they feel they are safe with drinking decaf without realizing they are still drinking a little caffeine.

The last thing about coffee and caffeine drinks you should know is that black tea has more caffeine in it than coffee has. So if you are looking to get rid of the caffeine you will also want to check the tea you may drink. If you think you will be safe from caffeine by drinking tea as it is supposed to be healthier remember to check for the caffeine free versions. Chai tea is also filled with caffeine like black tea, which is another common drink to find at a coffee shop.

This doesn’t mean you should just forego your favorite drinks, but being aware of the effects of caffeine and drinking it in excess is important. After all ulcers have been known to be create from stress and a downing of coffee so to be healthy and happy you should be aware of the consequences of drinking too much coffee. Try drinking the coffee at different times in the day or skipping a day every once in a while. A varied pattern can always keep you from an addiction to the affects of caffeine if you find decaf to be too boring.

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Comments

  1. Sophie says

    I love coffee :) altho at the moment i am starting to turn to the decaf stuff as i drink about 5 cups (i say cups but i meant giant mugs really) a day & that can’t be good! doesnt taste as good as the normal stuff but it satisfys my craving so tis all good! :) normall drink green tea tho, i prefer that to tea & coffee but we’ve run out in this house at the moment so coffee it is!! :) X

  2. Mr (Coffee)Bean says

    Great site! however through reading the above article I noticed a false statement… It is not true that black tea has more caffeine than coffe. The mistake is easy to make though… it is true that a pound of raw tea has more caffeine than a pond of raw coffee, due to the fact that tealeaves have a lighter waight than coffee beans. However a cup of tea does not have more caffeine than a cup of coffee.

  3. Kim says

    @Wendy.. That statement in the article is correct. I saw an article few years back from U.S. Food and Drug Administration to that effect. International Coffee Organization ( which by the way is a UK based organization) has the same info on their site http://www.ico.org/caffeine.asp ( hope my link would not be considered spam). So, it is right that tea has more caffeine than coffee. the only difference been that tea’s are not brewed for as long as coffees are. But the fact is that more caffeine would come from 100gm of tea than from the same size of coffee. hope that helps :)

  4. Wendy says

    Reading that black tea contains more caffeine than coffee makes me doubt everything else I’ve read on this site. It contains less caffeine, according to UK government statistics – 75mg a mug whereas a mug of filter coffee contains 140mg and e.g. a double espresso probably contains much more.

  5. spresso says

    cheese Susan…..get a french press..your body will thank you for it……..don’t pump out your drinks like a mc donalds does burgers. Make it like a fine wine or a nice dinner. ;)

    ps. this info. is good but not the gospel…i hope
    you gather other info. to check against statements made here.

    cheers!

  6. Susan says

    We just bought a Hamilton Beach Brew Station. It will not make a full 12 cups of decaf coffee. It will only make 1-4 cups of decaf. It is going back to the store.

    Can anyone tell us what coffeemakers are best for making 10-12 cups of decaf coffee?

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