The National Addiction: Coffee
by Kurt W. Donsbach, Ph.D., D.Sc., N.D., D.C.
Coffee drinking is indisputably the drink of choice among Americans. Eight (8) out of 10 adults drink it daily: 3 times more than soft drinks, 4 times more than beer, and 50 times more than liquor. Coffee houses, coffee cake, coffee break are all words coined to accommodate the addiction to this brew. It is even used to substitute other addictions: AA members average 20 cups a day. You don't have to be an ex-alcoholic to consume that much. Many opposed to alcohol on religious principles see no wrong in drinking this beverage which can be just as addicting and health-destroying as alcohol.

ADDICTION - Ask any coffee drinker what happens when he abstains for a day. The answer is headaches, fatigue, stomach pains, etc. The major addictive factor in coffee is caffeine, a white crystalline alkaloid that stimulates the brain and artificially lessens fatigue. Caffeine is a poison. Injected into human muscles, it will cause paralysis. Ten (10) grams of caffeine accumulated suddenly in the human body would result in death. Coffee ingested in the common manner is not fatal, since the kidneys work overtime to eliminate this toxin and prevent its accumulation.

Even smaller caffeine doses make things happen which might cause some to reconsider:

1. After one or more cups of coffee, the stomach temperature rises 10 to 15 degrees.
2. Hydrochloric acid secretion increases 400% and salivary glands double their output.
3. The heart beats faster and the lungs work harder.
4. The blood vessels narrow in the brain and widen in and around the heart.
5. The metabolic rate increases.
6. Kidneys manufacture and discharge up to 100% more urine.

DISEASE CORRELATION - Psychiatrist Julius Rice declares, "Three or four cups of coffee taken in quick succession contain sufficient caffeine to produce irritability, nervousness, tremor, headache, and heart palpitations. Double or triple this amount may cause hallucinations and possibly convulsions." There is also evidence associating coffee with bladder cancer. The rate of bladder cancer among coffee drinkers is 2-1/2 times greater than among non-coffee drinkers. The very real risk of cancer can be documented by the fact that caffeine has been shown to cause mutations in cells in tissue cultures. In 1972 and again in 1973, studies implicated coffee consumption to myocardial infarction, a condition in which the heart muscle tissue degenerates because of a restricted blood flow. According to the studies, this disease is 200% more prevalent in coffee drinkers as in non-coffee drinkers. Coffee is also the major dietary source of cadmium, a toxic mineral which has been linked with heart disease and high blood pressure.

HYPOGLYCEMIA - This disease is characterized by periods of below normal levels of blood sugar which often produce symptoms of nervousness, insomnia, lack of concentration, headaches, chest pains, fatigue, sinusitis, cold sweats, depression, shortness of breath, irritability, forgetfulness, and many others. The victim soon finds that a cup of coffee can temporarily relieve these symptoms. Caffeine is such an irritant that it stimulates the release of adrenal hormones to help the body defend itself against it. Among other things, these hormones are the synergist which converts glycogen (inert storage sugar) into glucose which the brain depends upon exclusively for fuel. The inevitable result of an artificial raising of blood sugar by defensive reflex of the body, is an eventual addiction to the substance.

WHIPPING A TIRED HORSE - We have indicated that blood sugar can be raised by coffee, heart rates are increased, gastric secretions of hydrochloric acid are quadrupled, the lungs are stimulated, the kidneys work overtime, and changes take place in the blood vessels in the entire body. Can there be any benefit from such stimulation? If we feel fatigued, the body is trying to tell us something. We may need rest or food to replenish the fuel supply needed for energy. When we use a chemical substitute for either, we are whipping a tired horse. The result will be a temporary speeding up, but eventually the horse will collapse. Sooner or later we all have to accept the laws of nature.

YOUR BRAINS AND NERVES - Intensive tests of caffeine indicated that the effect on the brain and nervous tissues was more serious and destructive than doses of morphine. Would you use small amounts of morphine every day? Is it possible that your nervous system could work better without a constant bombardment with a destructive drug?

YOU DESERVE BETTER THINGS - Would you agree that everything you put in your body should be for the benefit and use of the body? Coffee does not come in such a category. It has no positive function. It furnishes no vitamins, minerals, enzymes or protein to the diet, but does create many problems which cause the body to expend much energy to overcome. Tea, cola drinks and chocolate contain caffeine. There are many herb teas and coffee substitutes which can be consumed to benefit the body. The elimination of caffeine-containing substances from your diet can be one of the most important health decisions you ever make.

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NSP offers an all-natural coffee alternative: Herbal Beverage

NSP's Herbal Beverage is a caffeine-free, herbal ?instant coffee? substitute, containing roasted barley, chicory, malt and rye, along with added ?herbal flavorings,? providing a rich coffee-like taste.
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