Decaffeinated Coffee
Your humble reporter has always been skeptical about all those people who ask for decaf coffee because it is supposed to be somehow safer and not cause insomnia.
Not only have I had the philosophical question, “How can chemically altering a natural substance be safer?!” but I’ve seen plenty of people with all the clinical signs of caffeinism after only drinking decaffeinated coffee. You probably know – or perhaps have experienced – the key features:
- Restlessness
- Nervousness
- Excitement
- Insomnia
- Flushed face
- Diuresis (passing excessive amounts of urine)
- Gastrointestinal disturbance
- Muscle twitching
- Rambling flow of thought and speech
- Tachycardia or cardiac arrhythmia (Fast heart rate or irregularity of the heart)
- Periods of inexhaustibility
- Psychomotor agitation
People vary greatly in their sensitivity to caffeine. It is also important to know that caffeine can interact with some medications like lithium and anxiolytics.
Now researchers from the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, Florida and ConeChem Research in Maryland have published an interesting paper in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology.
The researchers tested ten cup of decaf coffee collected from nine independent and national coffee establishments. They found that drinking five or more mugs of coffee could have the same kick as drinking one or two cups of regular coffee.
The conclusion: you need to know that decaffeinated coffee can contain significant amounts of caffeine that may cause you all kinds of symptoms, as well as possible interfering with the actions of some herbal and homeopathic remedies.
“Moderately drunk, coffee removes vapours from the brain, occasioned by fumes of wine, or other strong liquors; eases pains in the head, prevents sour belchings, and provokes appetite.”
–England’s Happiness Improved (1699)
Dr. Richard G. Petty, MD is a world-renowned authority on the brain, and his revolutionary work on human energy systems has been acclaimed around the globe.
He is also an accredited specialist in internal and metabolic medicine, endocrinology, psychiatry, acupuncture and homeopathy. He has been an innovator and leader of the human potential movement for over thirty years and is also an active researcher, teacher, writer, professional speaker and broadcaster. He is the author of five books, including the groundbreaking and best selling CD series Healing, Meaning and Purpose. He has taught in over 45 countries and 48 states in the last ten years, but spends as much time as possible on his horse farm in Georgia.
