ExRx.net

We all know we should drink lots of water. And I dare say that most of us will agree that we don't drink enough water. This is especially true for me.

I would say on average, I drink 6-10 cups of water daily. However, I am a BIG Coffee Drinker.
Monday - Friday, I drink at least 1.5 pots of (12 cups to a pot) coffee. I drink it at my desk and almost always have a cup of coffee with me whenever I am walking around the office.

Obviously, Coffee is mostly water, but is it close enough to count it as water intake? I drink my Coffee Black and completely unflavored. The Only flavoring I want is the Type or country of Origin.

Additionally, besides the obvious side effects of the Caffeine, should I be concerned about the amount of Coffee I drink daily.

Cliff

I wish more people would drink truly good coffee that isn't over roasted, and appreciate the subtleties that each origin, and each farm/region within a country for that matter, has to offer.

Coffee is food!



That really wasn't an answer.....just had to comment. Coffee is a passion of mine!

Nothing wrong with drinking coffee.

I love dark-roast coffee. So much so, that I care little for the subtleties that are lost with darker roasting. What do I care about slight differences between coffees that I don't really enjoy. My taste.

Caffeine does suppress antidiuretic hormone (ADH) slightly, and therefore has a diuretic effect, causing increased water loss from the kidneys. I was once taught that this caused more water loss than the amount of water in a cup of coffee, tea or cola, and I used to tell my patients that they needed to drink at least one cup of water for each cup of coffee, tea or cola they drank. But I've read more lately that the effect isn't anywhere that strong. So most of your cup of coffee counts as water intake.

Are you talking 12 cups a day or 12 spread throughout the week? That sounds a little excessive if its just one day...but I usually drink around 4 a day, so I can't say much. . I gotta have some sweetener in mine though.


The only bad thing about coffee= bad breath, stains teeth, and I've heard it can block iron absorption.

i love coffee too

I read an interesting thing about caffeine being good pre workout. Something about it increasing the amount of fat in your blood which gives you more fuel to burn when exercising

I am talking 15-20+ cups a day. Measured as the Standard Cup (8oz). The smallest mug I have is 2.5 cups.

Weekends are lower though. I had less a full pot today. This is fairly normal for a Weekend.

Cliff

Thanks Doc, This is what I had hoped to hear...

Also, I'm sure you already know, but PNG has some really good coffee.

Cliff

I truly can't understand why so many want to add Chocolate, sugar, or any other sweetener to Coffee. It only masks the true taste of the Beans. If the goal is to drink Chocolate, then drink Hot Chocolate, not Coffee.

Cliff

I heartily agree! Flavored coffee actually makes me nauseated. Unfortunately, many of my friends who know that I like "gourmet" coffee, buy flavored coffee from the gourmet coffee section to serve to me, and think they have done me a great favor. I just drink it as best as I can, and try to be gracious.

Yes, PNG produces some fine coffee. Kigabah Estate, just down the road form us, was the recipient of the 2005 Black Apron award. Of course, the coffee trade concerns exports, which is all green coffee. There are very few roasters here, and only one who roasts to my tastes. Sadly, my wife bought the last packet of their dark roast in the store--enough to last us about 2 1/2 days. Now we're drinking their medium roast, which isn't too bad.

I sure hope some of those are decaff...otherwise that's just absolutely ridiculous.

Must be like that MAD TV coffee guy...

Rarely ever decaf..

I don't watch mad tv. Do you have a clip? But a pot of coffee really isn't much to coffee the drinkers I know.

Cliff

there are lots of coffee fiends out there. i too prefer my coffee black and unadulterated with fancy flavorings, and i usually end up drinking about 16-20 oz a day.

at your amount per day, my only concerns would be bad breath, stained teeth (and it stains anything you spill on, including clothes - nothing worse than ruining a brand-new $50 tie), and you probably have to take a whiz every 30 minutes. i also find that if i drink too much coffee in the afternoon, i don't sleep as well that night.

i think that unless you REALLY like coffee, you might want to wean yourself down to a smaller amount.

15-20 cups is on the high side, but doesn't reach the standard of "absolutely ridiculous"! I probably drank that much my 3rd and 4th years of med school, and through most of my residency. After that I drank less, and started losing my tolerance for effects on sleep. I now drink decaf after 5 or 6 PM, but still try to find a good dark (French, Italian, Espresso roast) decaf.

I agree that it's a shame to ruin a $50 tie. So I don't wear ties except to weddings (and then not as often as in the past) and funerals. And then the tie has to be less than $10 from WalMart (who can tell?)

I had a patient once who drank 12 pots per day. She came in because she was nervous and jittery, had sleep problems. It hadn't occurred to her that there might be a connection between her symptoms and her coffee drinking. I suggested that before I did a big $1000 (or more) work-up, she should try tapering her coffee. She tapered it over a period of 2-3 weeks to 1 pot/day, and felt fine. And I had to go to medical school to be able to figure that one out? I wish all my patients were that easy.

It's Possible that I am estimating my total amount drank daily incorrectly. I don't exactly count my cups, but I do know that when my mug gets 3/4 empty, I fill it up, and I make several trips to the coffee pot daily.

And, Yes I usually take the time while I am up getting more Coffee to empty the excess coffee from my system. However, I will say that if I were to substiture Water for the majority of my Coffee, I would still need to Empty the System quite often.

I don't think I own a $50 Tie, so that's not really an issue.

Bad Breath and Stained Teeth.... I used to Smoke, trust me when I say Coffee Breath is nothing compared to Coffee and Cigarrette Breath..

Doc,
You must have gone to the wrong Medical School. All of the Dr's I have gone to would have ran thousands of dollars of tests, then prescribed something to calm me down, then prescribed something else to counteract the side effects of the last drug. Then Repeat that process over and over all while collecting money from me and my insurance company for all the Office Visits..

I will say that 12pots a day is a bit excessive, but I am fairly impressed that she was able to cut down to 1pot a day in just 3 weeks. The Caffeine is quite addictive and can cause all kinds of pain and headaches when trying to cut back...

Cliff