Should Christians be drinking caffeine

[Anon]

Wow nine pages.....

[kevinmiller]

People are passionate about coffee.

[amblivion]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak <---- found coffee for everyone (ok, it's alittle gross so don't read how they made it, but it is the most expensive coffee)

Now we can both enjoy a cup of this undigested nastiness!!

[Ron]

[HappyChristian]

I don't think a little hurts most people - it's been found to be slightly good for the heart. But I know it bothers me, so I don't drink much at all.

As to marijuana being equal to cigarettes, Kevin, sorry but not so. Cigarettes destroy the lungs and pollute the blood, as does marijuana, but marijuana also destroys brain cells. Don't get me wrong, I don't think either is right, just saying...It does seem to have some efficacy with glaucoma, but so do other things.

As to ADD - in many cases, ADD can be attributed to lack of discipline. As a former teacher, I had kids who were ADD and it was completely due to no discipline. However, there are also many cases (and I saw some of these in my classrooms as well) in which certain chemicals are missing from the brain which causes ADD. I've seen children who were horrible cases of it transformed by getting the proper nutritional supplements in their bodies.

What we eat (or drink) most certainly does create or solve prOBlems. Alzheimer's has been linked to aluminum - pans, food cans and soda cans (used to be aluminum). There are preservatives in foods that can cause hardening of the arteries; there are chemicals added in the name of "nutrients" that are not truly so. God designed our bodies in an amazing way, and the fuel we put in them does determine how they function - both in quality and length of time.

[Pastor Matt]

I do not know what the big deal is, quitting drinking coffee is the easiest thing in the world to do, I've done it hundreds of times.

[HappyChristian]

I do not know what the big deal is, quitting drinking coffee is the easiest thing in the world to do, I've done it hundreds of times.

[bzmomo7]

I do not know what the big deal is, quitting drinking coffee is the easiest thing in the world to do, I've done it hundreds of times.

You are truly an inspiration!

[amblivion]

As long as I can eat my chocolate and drink hot chocolate filled with marshmallows I am all good. Coffee doesn't taste that great unless it has enough sugar and creamer. I have been a night owl with or without caffeine.

[Psalms18_28]

I do not know what the big deal is, quitting drinking coffee is the easiest thing in the world to do, I've done it hundreds of times.

yeah, I don't what the deal is either. I quit drinking coffee everyday. I'm not an addict. LOL

[frankferguson]

I believe it is ok for a Christian to drink and to live in the perimeters. It is no different than when Christians smoke, over eat, drink power drinks, drink coffee/tea, watch UFC, gamble, etc. All of these may not be for everyone and some are bad for your health, but if you wind up doing any of these in excess which takes your thoughts and focus away from Jesus, well, then the answer is NO.




natural cholesterol remedies

Edited April 1, 2010 by frankferguson

[1Timothy115]

Caffeine's Effect is Long Lasting and Compounds Stress

DURHAM, N.C. - - A study by researchers at Duke University Medical Center shows that caffeine taken in the morning has effects on the body that persist until bedtime and amplifies stress consistently throughout the day. These results show for the first time that the effects of caffeine last considerably longer than originally thought, said the scientists, and that caffeine exaggerates stress in people who consume it every day.
The study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, appears in the July/August 2002 issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.

"The effects of coffee drinking are long-lasting and exaggerate the stress response both in terms of the body's physiological response in blood pressure elevations and stress hormone levels, but it also magnifies a person's perception of stress," said James D. Lane, Ph.D., associate research professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke and lead author of the study. "People haven't really accepted the fact that there could be a health downside to caffeine consumption, but our evidence ? and that of other studies ? shows that this downside exists and people should be aware of it in order to make the best possible health choices."

To determine the effects of caffeine on people as they go about their normal activities, the researchers enrolled 47 healthy, habitual coffee drinkers in a double blind, placebo-controlled study. That is, neither the participants nor the researchers knew when the participants were receiving caffeine or the placebo.

To qualify for the study, the coffee drinkers were asked to fill out a daily diary of caffeine intake for a period of one week. They kept the diary in order to determine the average amount of caffeine they consumed on a daily basis, the type of caffeinated beverages they drank, and the variation from day to day, all of which helped verify the participants as habitual coffee drinkers.

Once the coffee drinkers qualified for the study, their responses to caffeine were measured on two different, randomly chosen days. On one day, the coffee drinkers were given a 250-milligram dose of caffeine in the morning and again at lunchtime. On the other day, they were given identical capsules containing a placebo at the same time interval. The doses of caffeine -- equal to four cups of coffee -- and the dosage times were chosen to reflect normal patterns of coffee drinking in adults. Half of the study participants received caffeine on the first day of study and the others received it on the second day. The coffee drinkers were given, on average, two to three days off between study days during which they could consume as many caffeinated beverages as they normally desired.

On both study days, coffee drinkers wore a portable monitor that measured blood pressure and heart rate four times an hour from early morning until bedtime, while they went about their normal daily activities. They were asked to collect urine samples so that the researchers could measure the amount of stress hormones they had produced that day. They were also asked to keep a diary to record their perceived stress levels as well as their physical position ? standing, sitting or lying down ? each time the monitor was activated.

When the researchers compared the caffeine days to the placebo days they discovered that caffeine consumption significantly raised systolic and diastolic blood pressure consistently throughout the day and night, and adrenaline levels rose by 32 percent. The researchers found that the elevated levels persisted as the evening progressed to bedtime.

The study also showed that while caffeine increases blood pressure and heart rate, it also amplifies those effects at the times when participants report higher levels of stress during their day, said Lane. The caffeine appears to compound the effects of stress both psychologically in terms of perceived stress levels and physiologically in terms of elevated blood pressures and stress hormone levels -- as if the stressor is actually of greater magnitude, he said.

"The caffeine we drink enhances the effects of the stresses we experience, so if we have a stressful jOB, drinking coffee makes our body respond more to the ordinary stresses we experience," he said. "The combination of stress and caffeine has a multiplying, or synergistically negative effect.

"Everyone accepts that stress can be unhealthy. Our results suggest that drinking coffee or other caffeinated drinks can make stress even more unhealthy."

The researchers noted that while habitual coffee drinkers might be expected to demonstrate tolerance to the effects of caffeine, they still showed significant responses to the drug.

"Our findings indicate that eliminating coffee and other caffeinated beverages from the diet could be a helpful way to decrease blood pressure and other stress reactions," said Lane. "I think that people who feel 'stressed out' should at least consider quitting caffeine to see if they feel better. Quitting caffeine could be particularly beneficial for people suffering from high blood pressure, just as diet and exercise can help keep blood pressure under control.

The researchers said that despite the perceived safety of overwhelmingly popular caffeinated beverages such as coffee, the drug does show short-term negative health effects that, if continued over a period of years, could increase risk of heart attack and stroke.

"While today's cup of coffee might not, by itself, cause you much harm, the cumulative effects of drinking it day after day over a lifetime could really be unhealthy," Lane concluded.

Other authors on the study are Carl Pieper, DrPH, Barbara Phillips-Bute, Ph.D., John Bryant, Ph.D., and Cynthia Kuhn, Ph.D., all of Duke.

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And the category with examples that caffeine falls into:
Stimulants
Effects
*
Speeds up the central nervous system.
*
Desired effects would include a sense of well being or euphoria, or an enhanced ability to think and function.
*
Other effects include anxiety, paranoia, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, reduced appetite, restlessness, insomnia, and a feeling of being ?shaky.?

Examples:
Cocaine
Dexedrine
Methedrine
Tenuate
Ionamin
Ritalin
Fastin
TOBacco
Caffeine

In Gal 5:20 one of the works of the flesh that is listed is witchcraft. According to Strong's the definition is:
G5331
?????????
pharmakeia
far-mak-i'-ah
From G5332; medication (?pharmacy?), that is, (by extension) magic (literal or figurative): - sorcery, witchcraft.

Caffeine clearly falls into the category of a drug, and according to research it has short and long term negative effects, yet christians use it daily without regard. I was just wondering what you all thought?

C

Romans 14:1-10
1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth
not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or
falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let
every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not
the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for
he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth
God thanks.
7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord:
whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both
of the dead and living.
10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for
we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

[Jerry]

I believe it is ok for a Christian to drink and to live in the perimeters. It is no different than when Christians smoke, over eat, drink power drinks, drink coffee/tea, watch UFC, gamble, etc. All of these may not be for everyone and some are bad for your health, but if you wind up doing any of these in excess which takes your thoughts and focus away from Jesus, well, then the answer is NO.

Biblically, I think you would have a hard time justifying even a little bit of gambling from the Bible. No, it does not directly address the subject (ie. no verse that says, "Thou shalt not gamble."), but there are many Bible principles that clearly do apply to this issue.

[Reformation Man35]

Romans 14:1-10
1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth
not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or
falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let
every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not
the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for
he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth
God thanks.
7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord:
whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both
of the dead and living.
10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for
we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

I would also add verse 17 in this, which is the kicker.

17For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Where we get into real trouble in legalistic sanctification, is the focus on outward appearance. Satan has a wonderful way of getting Christians to focus all their attention on what another Christian is going to think of them. This is one of the largest epidemic herasies in the church today. If your focus is on how righteous or how holy someone might or might not think you are due to outward acts of religious duty, you have fallen from grace and have begun the work in the flesh. Jesus himself was accused of doing unholy things in His day. Eating with sinners, those that were considered unsaveable. Tax collectors, the unclean, those with demons. The Christian life is to be Spirit led, not guided by legalistic do's and dont's. Can God use you if drink caffeine? You bet! Can God use you if you don't? Yes indeed!! Are you less filled with the Spirit after your first sip of coffee? By no means!! Are you more filled with the Spirit of God by abstaining! By no means. The Spirit's filled life is not based on cokes or coffee, it's based on faith. I can gauntee that if we as Christians focused more on the Spirit Filled life, the issues of coffee, cokes will fade. Maybe if we practiced more of this life by the Spirit, we would know that God's Holy and righteous Spirit is not going to lead us wrong. Instead we choose to take our Christian life in our own hands, and manage it by a grocery list of things that could or could not be wrong. The Spiritual life is a life that is lived by God. He accomplishes tasks that are impossible for us. If you find that your spiritual life is easy and managable, your not living it through God. Because God doesn't get the glory, your will and management gets the glory!! Praise our God who has mercy on sinners!! Amen.