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Drink Decaf and Die

jose parinas writes "Decaffeinated -- not caffeinated -- coffee may cause an increase in harmful LDL cholesterol by increasing a specific type of blood fat linked to the metabolic syndrome, hints a new study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2005."

34 of 467 comments (clear)

  1. Robust == Robust flavor? This is incorrect by ReformedExCon · · Score: 5, Informative

    From the article:

    quote:
    "Whether coffee has caffeine is not the only thing that differentiates caffeinated from decaffeinated types," Superko said. "Caffeinated and decaffeinated coffees are often made from different species of beans. Caffeinated coffee, by and large, comes from a bean species called coffee Arabica, while many decaffeinated coffees are made from coffee Robusta. The decaffeination process can extract flavonoids and ingredients that give coffee flavor. So decaffeinated brands usually use a bean that has a more robust flavor."
    / end quote

    Robusto is named not because it has a more robust flavor than Arabica, but because it is a hardier species. In fact, the taste of robusto coffee is so heinous that only people without the sense to drink freshly ground coffee are susceptible to this travesty. I suppose that also includes decaf drinkers, but it also includes those who drink freeze dried coffees and mass produced brown powder that comes in cans.

    To be blunt, Starbucks coffee would actually be a step up in quality from robusto beans.

    --
    Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.
  2. Thats it, I quit everything by Snamh+Da+Ean · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is the last straw - I quite drinkng tea and coffee because caffeine is bad for health, quite smoking because nicotine is bad, quite drinking soft drinks because sugar and all that stuff that makes the drink fizzy is bad for you, and now freaking decaff has been sliently killing me. From now on, all bets are off, I'm just going to smoke crack and to hell with the consequences.

    1. Re:Thats it, I quit everything by johnhoward666 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I also read once that sunscreen can give you skin cancer too, if used too much. I think these days dying is the ONLY safe option.

    2. Re:Thats it, I quit everything by Sheriff+Fatman · · Score: 4, Funny

      They're misinterpreting their results.

      All they've actually proved, over and over again, is that research is bad for you, and that 'new studies' cause cancer in rats.

      --
      -- Open Source: It's mad, but you don't have to work here to help.
    3. Re:Thats it, I quit everything by Scarblac · · Score: 4, Funny

      Have you ever owned rats? Existence causes cancer in rats.

      --
      I believe posters are recognized by their sig. So I made one.
  3. Everything bad for you is good for you again by pubjames · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Things that have recently been found to have positive health properties: beer, chocolate, coffee. In moderation of course.

    Personally I follow a very simple rule - eat and drink everything, just don't eat or drink too much of any one thing.

    There was an interesting study recently - the French (yes, we hate them, yawn) apparently eat lots of stuff that is supposed to be bad for you, and yet remain healthy and slim. How do they do it? Basically, eat in moderation and don't snack between meals.

  4. I guess Garfield was right by QuantumG · · Score: 4, Funny

    Shame he's rarely funny.

    --
    How we know is more important than what we know.
  5. Bernard was right! by meringuoid · · Score: 4, Funny
    "He's already unconscious - decaf might kill him!"
    -- Bernard Bernoulli, on attempting to revive Dr. Fred Edison after rescuing him from the IRS.

    --
    Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
  6. Re:Robust == Robust flavor? This is incorrect by RocketRainbow · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I've always understood that the reason decaffeination removes flavour is that the caffeine tastes bitter. The solution is not to use different beans, but to roast a little darker to restore the strong bitter taste.

    My favourite decaf comes from a little boutique that measures it out at the point of sale. Next to their darkest roast coffee, it is clearly even darker still!

    I think the reason most decaf is so bad is that you have to get it pre-ground (even at restaurants and cafes) and thus it's stale and the wrong grind anyway, or else it's such a fringe item that it sits around longer on the shelf going stale between roasting batches.

    --
    *#*#*#*#*#******* I love peanut butter sandwiches!
  7. Newspaper article by pubjames · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I read a newspaper article the other day decrying MacDonalds again - criticising their fruit salads. The article (in the UK Guardian as I remember) said that MacDonalds fruit salads had been bathed in artificial chemicals, and how dare MacDonalds feed such dangerous stuff to our children etc. etc. Reading futher into the article, the chemicals in question were citric acid and ascorbic acid (vitamin C).

  8. Re:Old is much better by McCarrum · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is very true. Take for example, how bleeding the body is healthy. Or kissing a toad can cure the cold.

    There is a middle ground, and thats what we need. It's called balance, or moderation. Simple example, a glass of red wine is good for you. A glass of red wine every half hour is not.

    Myself, I think the only way we're going to start to "scientifically" prove this is when we finally get quantum computers up and running, and can being to use a virtual human in close to real time. Start to feed in the variety of the bazillion different theories that come out of the single focus scientific groups and begin to understand the holistic solution.

    For now, I'm going back to my few glasses of wine.

  9. thanks by Use+Psychology · · Score: 5, Funny

    Decaffeinated -- not caffeinated
    thanks for that clarification!

  10. Moderation is Key by kripkenstein · · Score: 5, Funny

    I also try to do everything in moderation. I even moderate in moderation, so I end up doing some stuff to the extreme, just so I won't be an extremist at moderation, also known as an extremist moderationist. Or is that a moderate extremist. I give up, time for another cup of coffee.

  11. Re:I've always known... by RocketRainbow · · Score: 5, Informative
    Grandparent:Can you imagine what chemicals are needed to turn plant fats into something you can put on your bread?

    Parent replied:hydrogen

    Problem is, once you bind the hydrogen it's trans fat and no longer vegetable oil - it's gone from super yummy and healthy to ugly grey goo that happens to be one of the unhealthiest things you can eat.

    Personally, I prefer to make my sandwiches with hommus and dip my bread roll in fresh olive oil.

    --
    *#*#*#*#*#******* I love peanut butter sandwiches!
  12. Yellow snow by rev_karol · · Score: 4, Funny

    You don't drink decaf for the same reason as you don't eat yellow snow. They're both piss. End of story.

  13. Somebody has to remember this by Keichann · · Score: 4, Funny

    From Garfield sometime...

    John walks into the room, yawning, and picks up a mug of coffee.
    Garfield: No, don't do it John!
    John takes a sip and promptly collapses, asleep.
    Garfield: I warned you! That was decaf...

  14. Re:di-hydrogen monoxide by orzetto · · Score: 4, Informative

    Di-hydrogen monoxide is the main cause of death in drowning. Di-hydrogen monoxide, in large quantities, can harbour aggressive biological agents ("sharks") that can be lethal to your health.

    More seriously, I was told some college students had a challenge on who could drink most water. Similar competition with beer normally result in someone dropping drunk, but with water no such effect appeared, of course. So, someone discovered the hard way that there is a lethal dose of water, about 20 liters, beyond which synapses lose their conductivity due to dilution, and you die of heart failure. Can't really be sure on most details and this could be a urban legend, but in general there is always a quantity of anything that will kill you.

    --
    Victims of 9/11: <3000. Traffic in the US: >30,000/y
  15. Starbucks is good coffee by xtermin8 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I beleive Starbucks was one of the first chains to insist on only selling Arabica beans. Its decaf coffees have always been made with Arabica beans. Basically Starbucks was a leading voice in the trade for discouraging the use of Robusta. You may not like Starbucks, but to criticize their large selection of various coffees as being second rate is barking up the wrong tree.

    1. Re:Starbucks is good coffee by Levilprivateer · · Score: 5, Informative

      As a former barista at a Starbucks competitor, I have to disagree. While Starbucks coffee might not be the premium coffee on the planet, it is no worse (and oftentimes, better) that competing specialty shops. Granted, you are right about people adding so much to the coffee that it becomes a dessert rather than coffee. Still, I can get a good Americano or French press at Starbucks too... and they pull the shots properly, unlike a few other places around here.

      The prioes are, alas, competitive too.

    2. Re:Starbucks is good coffee by Rxke · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The guy might be rated informative, but he's just a coffee or food snob, dissing Starbucks because it's too regular. I drink my coffe because it has caffeine in it. All the rest is just posing.

    3. Re:Starbucks is good coffee by mellon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I assume what you've said is essentially a troll, but I can't resist. You are actually a poseur, in the most basic sense - you are projecting an attitude about something in a way that implies it is the only correct attitude. Lamers who drink coffee because they like the way it tastes are simply deluded, from the view you present.

      I will admit that there is some justice to your view - the amount of effort I spend making coffee in the morning is kind of bizarre. However, for what it's worth, the ritual evolved naturally, and I can in fact taste and enjoy the difference between the coffee I brew and what is typically served in a restaurant. I am sorry that you do not share this enjoyment, but as long as coffee does for you what you want, it's all good, right?

      As for the whole robusta vs. arabica thing, espresso fiends should be aware that a lot of espresso includes robusta beans to sharpen the flavor. Robusta has a bad rep because a lot of cheap coffee is made with robusta, but it is a legitimate bean with a legitimate flavor that works well in some blends.

    4. Re:Starbucks is good coffee by mellon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Maybe if you treated McDonalds workers better, you'd enjoy the food there more?

      I've noticed over the years that there's this strong stratification in society, where some jobs are "okay", and some are "lower class." A person who sees themselves as "in" expects peopel with "lower class" jobs to provide them with good service, but has no respect for those who provide them that service.

      Calling an espresso maker a "barista" adds some cachet to the job, and maybe gives some respect to the barista that is missing from the term "burger flipper". I have trouble seeing that as a bad thing. People who make food for you deserve your respect. The fact that you don't respect them is why it's so hard to find a decent food experience anymore these days.

  16. Slashdot Headline by krygny · · Score: 5, Funny

    "DRINK DECAF AND DIE!!"



    When the hell did Rupert Murdoch buy Slashdot?!!

    --
    Research shows that 67% of those who use the term "research shows", are just making shit up.
  17. Roasting decreases caffeine by xtermin8 · · Score: 4, Informative

    It is a common misconception that darker, stronger coffees have more caffeine. Actually the lightest roast coffees have the most caffeine. In fact espresso roast, pound for pound, has less caffeine than regular coffees. It is only the brewing process that makes the drink more caffeinated than regular coffee. This fact doesn't contradict you're theory, but you might find decaf roasted dark for reasons other than flavour

  18. Re:It is a matter of equilibrium by aug24 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Like I keep pointing out to people who say "I read today that too much X will kill you":

    Yes of course it fucking will! That's what *too* fucking *much* means!

    Find out where 'too much' and 'too little' are for everything, and get on with enjoying life.

    Justin.

    --
    You're only jealous cos the little penguins are talking to me.
  19. I don't care about these crap articles anymore ... by raulfragoso · · Score: 5, Funny

    Once I read that smoking could kill me, then I stopped smoking

    Then I read that drinking alcohol is bad, so I stopped drinking

    Then I read that too much sex could cause a heart stroke ... so I stop reading !

  20. Life is a Lethal Disease by RAMMS+EIN · · Score: 4, Funny

    A study I conducted in private has found that life is a lethal disease. In fact, it has been identified as the leading cause of death in nations around the world. The disease is slowly degenerative, with some individuals surviving for over a hundred years; but eventually, the disease exhausts the body's resources, resulting in organ failure, followed by death. The incubation time of the disease is about 9 months, and it spreads through unprotected sexual intercourse.

    Symptoms of the disease vary wildly from individual to individual, but generally include excessive motion, episodes of sadness as well as happiness, aggression, anxiousness, nervosity, and compulsive eating and drinking.

    Various drugs have been found to weaken the symptoms of the disease, and some substances can even slow the progress of the disease, but a definite cure has not been found, despite elaborate research. So for now the only remedy is prevention.

    --
    Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
  21. And yet, the real cause is ignored..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The real cause of death doesn't lie in food or beverage. Here's a recent study that explains everything:

    "We all know that Heart Disease is the #1 cause of death in the U.S. But think hard about this: In Japan, they've got a diet that is low in fat and they have less heart disease than the US. While in France, the diet is very high in fat, and they also have less heart disease than in the US. In India, almost nobody drinks red wine and the heart disease rate is lower than in the US. But in Spain, everybody drinks too much red wine and sure enough they have less heart disease than the US. Algeria has the lowest sexual activity rate, and they've got less heart disease than in the US. But Brazil has the highest sexual activity rate and sure enough...the heart disease ratio is lower than in the US. His sage wisdom to me? Drink, eat and make merry all you want. It's speaking English that kills you."

    1. Re:And yet, the real cause is ignored..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      My hypothesis: We have more heart disease due to the aggravating factors, due to obesity increasing the bad effects of those factors in the U.S. In the US, people drive their cars and watch their televisions a lot more than in those other countries. (As opposed to walking more, to get around.)
      Someone I met from the Netherlands told me he went to Chicago and expected to be amazed by the size of the huge skyscrapers... instead he was amazed by the size of the huge people. When I travelled in the Netherlands, and in France, I saw very few obese people. This is waaay different than the situation in the U.S. midwest.

  22. Drink Water. by rolfwind · · Score: 4, Informative

    Nothing is bad in moderation. Or at least worrying about. Drink water most of the time and I doubt you have to worry what the occasional cup of coffee, wine, hard liquor, soda does to you.

    I repeat simple common sense - drink water most of the time. It seems nothing else is safe these days. Some weeks it comes out that red wine/coca-cola/coffee is good because of X and then the next week it's bad because of Y.

    Above all - don't drink the shit that has 'corn syrup' or 'high fruchtose corn syrup' or whatever 'syrup' in it. It'll just get you diabetes faster. This includes most sweet drinks not diet. Like Starbucks Frappacinos at the next 7-eleven.

    I'm serious about water. Up to 50 years ago, most people had water most of the time. It's good for you body and there is nothing for your kidneys/liver has to filter. Now, I know people who wouldn't look at a glass water - much less have one for days on end - instead ingesting endless gallons of soda. I hate to see their health 20 years down the road.

    It's probably going to get worse in the future as this generation are accustomed to the friendly coca-cola vending machines besides the non-working water founta in schools these days.

    Coffee is bad because it encourages you to consume more calories through milk and sugar, plus it has caffiene and the various crap that goes with it. I think caffeine is more of a addiction - I seen people who never had coffee before turn into caffeine addicts who needed a cup 'to wake up' and then one at lunch and then another at 4pm. I wouldn't care but they actually became cranky if they didn't get their fix.

    Not that I don't like a good cappacino at lunch myself. But if common sense prevailed and people didn't have an insatiable want of drinking something more 'tasty' or sugary or exotic or whatever at every turn - I doubt reports of this kind would worry anybody.

    *I'd say unsweetended green tea is okay too in mass quantities but then there will be a report out next week:)

    1. Re:Drink Water. by naich · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "Up to 50 years ago, most people had water most of the time."

      Not really. Ordinary water tended to have nasty bugs in it, so the way to get rid of them was to either boil it (and make tea, as they did in the East) or ferment it (as they did in the West).

      Because people in the East used the boiling method, rather than the fermentation method of purifying water, they didn't develop the same tolerance to alcohol that people in the West have.

  23. Re:It is a matter of equilibrium by indifferent+children · · Score: 5, Funny
    "I read today that too much X will kill you"

    That's just vicious FUD spread by Apple and Microsoft. X is no more likely to kill you than any other GUI technology.

    --
    Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it. --Mark Twain
  24. Re:di-hydrogen monoxide by ray-auch · · Score: 4, Informative

    Not an urban legend - drinking large amounts of water can indeed be fatal.

    Hyponatremia is probably the effect you were thinking of - but excess water can cause other serious problems also.

    Links here and here

  25. Re:Steamed water by pedestrian+crossing · · Score: 4, Funny

    Of course, you are correct. But you might want to switch to decaf anyway, you seem a little uptight...

    --
    A house divided against itself cannot stand.