To Quit Coffee or Not to Quit Coffee
Been on the fence on this one for a while - to quit coffee or not.
I've been a coffee drinker for a long time and have looked into the research on the benefits of quitting. From everything I can tell, it seems like there are some small marginal benefits to quitting coffee or potentially switching to tea. But, it's not a slam dunk. Also, I'm already drinking my coffee almost black with no sugar so there's little consideration from a calorie perspective.
In addition, when talking with people who have quit, I have not heard any stellar reviews, mostly things like "yeah, I have maybe a little bit more consistent energy throughout the day....maybe."
Despite this, something in the back of my head makes me distrustful about the long term health effects of coffee. It seems like too much of a free lunch - you get this nice jolt with seemingly little to no down side. Across all of life, there are basically no free lunches. Something tastes great - it has lots of calories. Something makes you feel good: alcohol, drugs, nicotine, etc. - it has drawbacks, which makes me skeptical of coffee escaping this paradigm (even if the science currently does not show a smoking gun).
Wanted to open a forum to discuss: to quit or not to quit coffee? As busy professionals on here, we all understand that quitting coffee is not a zero cost decision in terms of lifestyle, but is it worth it?
Studies show that coffee consumed in moderation provides many benefits and antioxidants.
Yes, this too! Research shows that there also seem to be some small marginal benefits of consuming coffee which makes the decision even less straightforward.
EDIT: My skeptical side perks up here as well though.....so it gives me a nice jolt and it's good for me? Almost sounds too good to be true.
Yeah, it gives you a good jolt and is good for you. You don't want to get Alzheimer's do you? Drink coffee. Also, MCT Oil is healthy to add as well if you really want to get serious.
Sources say the healthiest way to intake Dr. Pepper is to freeze it and then crush it up into lines and snort it.
I would have sworn you were gonna start the hard sell for green tea.
haha - the answer is to do both ... good memory on my love for green tea though - cheers
don't get him started
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Why not just try it and see how you feel? No downside at all.
Whoa whoa.....the coffee monster that lives inside of me barely let me write this post. Let's not jump to any rash decisions....he says.
I used to never drink coffee. Then in college would drink the local version of a Frappuccino.
First job after college I’d do a half cup protein shake with a K-Cup. Next job had a nicer coffee machine so would do a latte.
I love the taste of coffee, but I can’t drink it black. Not a fan of cold brew nor iced, but I love Starbucks Nitro.
Ask me even a year ago about spending $7 on one cup of coffee and I’d say you’re insane, but I have the money now and enjoy it. Have been going daily for around 2 weeks now - I have 3 Starbucks within 10 minutes or so of my office, but I’ll drive a bit further to one that does the best job. I’ll go in and pick it up - they know me by name and it’s a nice 30 minute break in my day.
As I’ve gotten older (and have a lot more money), I’ve realized that it’s ok to spend money on stuff you enjoy, even if there are “better” uses for that money. I have an uncle who like karaoke - he’s got a $10k+ setup to do it. I think it’s absurd, but dude is a self made multi-millionaire. Who am I to tell him “hey you could invest that and make more money”?
Anyways, on health benefits, I can see both sides of the argument. I feel fine when I don’t have caffeine - if I drink a cup after not having it for a while, I definitely feel the buzz. However, now that I’ve been drinking it a lot lately, it’s more of a “get me feeling ready to do stuff”. I’ve been WFH and I just wake up, stretch, then plop into my office chair. Coffee puts me in the mood to leave the apartment.
I’m going to go get a nitro now - thanks
I think regarding the "no free lunch" aspect, that would come with abusing it (i.e. slamming back six cups every day just to get by, leading to a dependency and heart problems). Using it normally though probably won't give you any issues, and as people above have stated, certain health benefits are there.
The obvious negative of coffee is that you become dependent on it (e.g., headaches if you don't drink it).
I love that I can actually get to sleep when off it
I'm trying to quit rn and have gone through some hard stop attempts... now I'm trying some of the mushroom products to help ween me off. It's hard.
I'd recommend doing late in the week or weekend if trying cold turkey. The crashes are real.
Why wouldn't you want to drink coffee?
To improve sleep.
I drink 3 cups of strong black coffee every day, then guzzle a juicer. Every other day I run or workout...depending on how I feel, I'll do a 45 minute workout or hour slow run. Beyond 3, you mignt have an issue..so I've heard. Lots of fuzzy, woke libs are afraid of anything exccept tofu and vegan. Just saying.
Watch Andrew Huberman, I’ll stick to 1-2 cups a day
I drink 3 cups a day and will probably never stop. It gives you an excuse to go take breaks and talk to people. Sitting at your desk just cranking nonstop without coffee just sounds miserable.
I just switched to highly caffeinated tea, keeps the teeth a little more white and is more of a steady energy buzz.
Tea stains worse than coffee.
Source: the dentist
Not sure if it was on this account or not but I’ve written this exact same post. Coffee was making me irritable, making me sleep less, giving me anxiety, making me eat less… it was bad. To my body, it was basically like any other drug. Tastes / feels amazing but the side effects and after effects were bad.
So I quit and maybe enjoy coffee once a week at best. The best answer is to exercise regularly, avoid sugary foods before bed and go to sleep early. Takes a lot of willpower but it works for me
re: andrew huberman. I stopped trusting him after his alcohol and testosterone recommendations. the studies/data he uses have essentially no validity (laughable r-squared), so take everything he says with a dose of skepticism, he's a better podcaster than he is a statistician
my rule of thumb - if coffee works for you, great, use in moderation and don't add shit to it. if it doesn't work, don't drink it.
I drink 2-4 espressos a day and have no issues sleeping. I've done multi week coffee fasts from time to time and sometimes I'll get headaches, sometimes I won't, but I don't get any better sleep and I don't have any noticeable differences (positive or negative) in energy level so I've continued to drink it as I enjoy espresso
if you're exercising regularly, eating healthy, have good social relationships, low stress, good sleep, and not horrific air quality, coffee or not coffee won't move the needle for you health wise. continue drinking in moderation if you enjoy it, or stop if you don't. overoptimization of health is one of the worst sins of the post-2015 podcast boom (fuck off david sinclair, andrew huberman, peter attia & co., simple is beautiful)
Example?
alcohol episode: https://hubermanlab.com/what-alcohol-does-to-your-body-brain-health/
Study he referenced to show that alcohol leads to neurodegeneration: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28735-5
the r-squared in the article is laughable. This is a direct quote: Alcohol intake explains 1% of the variance in global GMV and 0.3% of the variance in global WMV across individuals beyond all other control variables (both p < 10−16).
which means for GMV 99% of the variation is due to factors other than alcohol consumption so how the fuck can you conclude alcohol is the reason? Just because something gets published in nature doesn't mean that there's an incredibly tight relationship between the independent and dependent variable.
after this episode I wrote huberman off, anyone who uses an r-squared that low to make any claim is an idiot at best, a charlatan at worst, but take what he says very skeptically
EDIT: if you're going to throw MS, at least have a rebuttal. I'm not saying I'm a genius or even that I'm smarter than huberman (I'm likely not), I just know bad statistics when I see them
How do you deal with coffee breath/teeth stains? Do you brush right after?
yes, after morning coffee I always floss & brush, never had an issue. my teeth are not paper white but I get compliments on them from time to time
I've talked to a few people who will temporarily quit coffee for a month or two just to do a bit of a reset and they feel a lot better after.
Exercise also makes people feel good and look good and it's even free! Must be too good to be true, maybe you should give that up?
Since most jobs I've worked have been remote / hybrid, I either make coffee or get it from the office (<$1 a day vs. buying $5-10 worth of coffee from outside). In business school, I'll admit I went to Dunkin way more frequently than I should have. Starbucks IMO does taste better but it's way too pricey (their ground coffee is very good to make coffee at home, favorite ground coffee brand is Black Rifle Coffee Company). Also mix coffee with protein shakes assuming it's not an evening workout.
Barely drank coffee in college, stuck mostly with Arizona Ice Teas from 7-11s when it came to late nights in the library.
Now I drink coffee daily at least once. Tried switching to Matcha but those are hard to make at home and don't taste nearly as good as the one I buy from Dunkin once in awhile.
Caffeine is a drug and can be overdone. As many allude to, it has many benefits such as providing antioxidants.
However, if you 1) consume a lot of it or 2) consume it too late in the day, it will have deleterious effects. Having caffeine too late in the day can interfere with REM sleep (as does alcohol btw), which would over the long term have effects on your memory, mood, and mental acuity. Additionally, if you are having 500/600mg or above, that raises your resting heart rate significantly, can increase feelings of anxiety, and may increase stress which would lead to many other issues such as hair loss.
If you have 100-200mg before noon, there is nearly nothing to worry about. Just keep it in moderation. Use tea or a low-caffeine beverage some days to switch it up and really feel the punch of a nitro cold brew when you need it.
If you get close to the 400mg threshold, try to take 3 weeks off during the holidays, the end of summer, or another slow period. This will help to reset your tolerance and allow you to have that 'first sip' feeling that Starbucks talks about.
coffee is one of the healthiest things in the American diet, and generally, it has a lot of benefits (no need to list them over here because you can look it up on Google).
the issue is when you add sugar to it, you drink it before sleep (last coffee ought to be 10 hours before sleep - source: Why We Sleep), and you don't take 2-3 days off per week to avoid caffeine addiction
some point out that coffee makes them more stressed and anxious, but that's not true, coffee only amplifies those if you have them. So the issue is not on coffee, but on them for being unable to manage their health issues (or throwing more fuel to some existing fires).
I drink 2-3 black coffees daily and sometimes I tend to add whipped cream because it has more vitamins (A,K,D,E) than milk.
coffee is also a no-brainer if you're into exercise. It's a huge performance boost. the peaceful coffee-free lifestyle is for older guys that don't enjoy the adrenaline or motivation boost that coffee gives
also, for good coffee hygiene, make sure to stay hydrated all day, and preferably, after you drink coffee, drink a glass of water to dilute the acidity of coffee in your stomach and also to "clean" the acidity from your mouth (stained teeth happen because people neglect this tip).
people that quit coffee and feel better do so because they didn't have proper ways to balance the adrenaline rushes of their lifestyle. If you drink coffee you better have a consistent exercise routine, some hobbies, saunas, etc. If you're constantly going on adrenaline and stress you get tired, so you must have some activities that help you relax or "de-stress" to counterbalance the effects of constant adrenaline
Use WeanCaffeine
I'd recommend listening to what Andrew Huberman has to say on it.
Probably best to take advice of medical professionals than us moronic apes of WSO.
Know someone who quit caffeine and stopped going bald. Poster child for quitting
no way, ill quit right now.
Tried the “Andrew Huberman” way this year and ~6 months in, I can absolutely feel the effects.
Used to be a 3-4 cup drinker - caffeine pill before morning workout, 1-2 cup when I sat down at the office, 1 right after lunch following the major afternoon crash.
I started getting really bad headaches between 1-4pm because of caffeine withdrawals when I tried to cut back and knew I had to make a change.
I now wait 90+ minutes after waking to have my first sip of caffeine and have only 1 large cup in the morning. If I need any kind of pick me up after that, I’ll have a green tea here and there but I really don’t even have the urge for more coffee which before would be insane.
Since making the change, I feel like I have double the amount of energy, getting up in the morning is so much easier, I sleep deeper, and I am much less irritable / susceptible to stress.
That's interesting. Have you tried only having 1 large cup but not waiting 90 minutes? Curious if the change you see is due to the lower amount or is actually due to waiting 90 minutes.
I get on kicks sometimes where I do 300 - 500mg a day for a month, but generally most of the year I keep it around 150 - 200mg and stop after 2pm. I've never had a problem with headaches (I can literally go from 300 - 500mg a day for a month to 0 and not get a headache), but I always have at least 50 mg like 15 minutes after I wake up (I use caffeine powder most of the time with occasional coffee which is how I know the exact mg I'm using). I wake up with sufficient energy, but I need the caffeine to snap me into my motivated mindset. Without it, I can go a few hours with having plenty of energy but not giving af about trying hard at work, but even with just 50mg I immediately get a rush of motivation which sets me into my zone for the day
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