I’m reading the 65-page chapter titled “Caffeine” in Michael Pollan’s book This Is Your Mind on Plants (Penguin Press, 2021). His books are always entertaining as well as informative. I’m just going to hit on the interesting points as I read along.
Here are the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal: “headache, fatigue, lethargy, difficulty concentrating, decreased motivation, irritability, intense distress, loss of confidence, and dysphoria” (p. 93). An opposite set of descriptions apply to the caffeinated brain and body: energy, concentration, motivation, focus, and so forth. The predictable result: “Something like 90 percent of humans ingest caffeine regularly …” (p. 92).
Plants produce caffeine, of course. They do so because it was an effective adaptation: caffeine wards off predatory insects while, in some cases, attracting pollinators (the bees like the buzz and come back for more). Given the attraction caffeine has for humans, caffeine addiction has been a boon for caffeine-producing plants, which are now widely cultivated. From the point of view of the plant species, caffeine has manipulated humans into spreading the plants widely. That’s evolutionary success.
Before the 17th century, when coffee was introduced to Europe, when the ale house and the tavern ruled town and village, alcohol was the drug of choice (which killed bacteria and was therefore a healthier beverage than water). After coffee arrived, which was boiled in preparation (also killing pathogens), the state of mind of much of the population changed. From alcohol-induced quiescence and brain fog, to caffeine-fueled energy and concentration. [Note: Coffee displacing alcohol means coffee promotes sobriety.] Suddenly everyone became more productive. Voltaire drank 70 cups a day (p. 112) and other scientists and intellectuals followed a similar regime, if not to such a degree. Supported by first-person reports of caffeine-fueled writing or research, the author suggests the discoveries of the Age of Science (17th century) and the Enlightenment (18th century) owe a debt to caffeine.
Seriously? Well, such speculation is to some degree supported by more recent studies as well. Pollan reports:
I found numerous studies conducted over the years reporting that caffeine improved performance on a range of cognitive measures — of memory, focus, alertness, vigilance, attention, and learning. An experiment done in the 1930s found that chess players on caffeine performed significantly better than players who abstained. In another study, caffeine users completed a variety of mental tasks more quickly, though they made more errors: as one paper put it, people on caffeine are faster, not smarter. (p. 117-18).
What about negative effects? Surely there must be some? Well, it affects sleep by binding to and therefore blocking neuroreceptors for adenosine, “a psychoactive compound that has a depressive and hypnotic (that is, sleep-inducing) effect on the brain when it binds to its receptor” (p. 131). Let’s not minimize the cost of less and poorer sleep. An English researcher concluded: “The shorter you sleep, the shorter your lifespan” (p. 134).
But for the most part, caffeine has been absolved of serious negative effects:
The current scientific consensus is more than reassuring — in fact, the research suggests that coffee and tea, far from being deleterious to our health, may offer some important benefits, as long as they aren’t consumed to excess. Regular coffee consumption is associated with a decreased risk of several cancers (including breast, prostate, colorectal, and endomerial), cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, and possibly depression and suicide. (p. 133)
So much for avoiding coffee and caffeine as part of a “law of health.” Caveat: the risk of committing suicide increases among those who drink more than 7 cups of coffee per day. That would be, what, maybe 30 Diet Cokes? Coffee, even decaf, also provides antioxidants.
Here’s where we turn to readers to get some additional first-person reports. Some of you drink a couple of cups of coffee a day. Some of you drink a few Diet Cokes a day. I drink a Coke Zero mid-morning and try to stop there, generally successfully. And some of you don’t do any caffeine.
So what is your relationship with and experience of caffeine?
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“On the Go” packets to flavor water have caffeine (60 mg per packet – a can of soda has around 37 I think) as well. I abstained from caffeine most my life (the occasional Sunkist soda excluded). My husband got diagnosed with ADHD (and we heard the stories about self-medication with caffeine) which normalized a more medical use for it. I first started with my “On the Go” caffeine habit because I needed to be able to stay up late at night to drive home from my Pathways class (I kid you not) and I found on days that I took my caffeine, my anxiety was handled in real-time better then the SSRI I was on for anxiety. Now, I am sitting in the 120-240 mg per day zone (they recommend between 100 and 400 mg of caffeine a day if you are going go that route).
As a twenty- and early-thirty-something I went back and forth between Sodas (mt. dew and dr. pepper) and energy drinks, sometimes drinking up to a half-gallon a day. When I left the church, I replaced that with coffee, at first with several cups throughout the day, and now down to one mug in the morning and no-caffeine after mid-day (thanks Sgt. Angel!). Sometimes, that mug is a large, sugary, creamy Starbucks that gives me the jitters, I think more from the sugar than the caffeine, because an equivalent amount of black coffee doesn’t do it. The rest of the time, I make coffee at home in a french press, which I’ve found doesn’t really take much more time than using a coffee-maker, doesn’t need to be de-scaled (we have very hard water), and tastes great!
I’ve also found recently that a very, very small dose of Melatonin takes care of most of my sleep problems, whether caffeine-related or otherwise. We have 1.5mg gummies and I cut off maybe an eighth of one and take it an our or two before bed. Taking any more than that makes my sleep worse, though.
As an active LDS, I never tasted tea or coffee – I am now in my mid 80s. 36 yrs ago I was put into a situation where all-you-want soda drinks were available, so I developed a daily Coke/Pepsi routine. I now consume perhaps 2 liters/day, but I have noticed absolutely no effect from the caffeine – either on the days that I am drinking, or the occcasions when I don’t have soda available. I am a 74″/180# male.
OTOH, my wife – a petite blonde – is quickly affected by a coke; it gives her a measurable energy/alertness boost. She has learned to not drink it for several hours before bedtime.
Some caffeine content numbers for anyone curious (in mg per serving) as quoted by Google:
20ish Sunkist, Barq’s
35-45 Coke, Coke Zero, Pepsi, Dr Pepper, Diet Coke
55-65 Mountain Dew, Espresso (1oz)
20-90 Tea (Black, Oolong, Green, White)
75-80 Yerba Mate, Red Bull
90-200 Drip Coffee, Cold Brew Coffee
160 Monster Energy
I consume virtually no caffeine. I don’t enjoy colas. I try to avoid soda because water is cheaper, and also because it’s healthier. When I do consume caffeine, I really can’t tell. Not, “I don’t notice much of a difference” but “I consumed 100mg of caffeine without realizing I was even drinking a caffeinated drink”. Evidently I’m one of those people that just doesn’t react much to caffeine. (This is a real thing; there are genes that impact your sensitivity to caffeine. Some people metabolize caffeine quickly enough that it doesn’t stick around long enough to do much.)
Most of my siblings do not share this trait with me as they seem to be physically dependent on caffeine. They complain of headaches if they don’t drink their morning Coke. My guess is that they are consuming about 150mg per day, every day. I suppose word of wisdom lessons from my youth probably add to my dislike for this physical dependance. (Though those same lessons don’t seem to have caused the same reaction from my family, which range from completely out for 20+ years to nuanced members to fully active.)
My son has ADHD and usually prefers self medicating with caffeine over prescription meds we have tried, though I’m not sure he’s consistent enough in his habits to make strong conclusions about the efficacy.
IMO black coffee is much better for you than sodas or energy drinks, which is why I don’t think the WOW computes with how people are now living.
The other thing to keep in mind is that there were politics behind the WoW branded bans – the tobacco one was probably the cleanup policy-inspired one with general “best/aspirational practices” improvised by Joseph Smith. the coffee/tea one was in part a “Buy American” campaign by Brigham Young (and maybe also a “Buy Mormon Colony” campaign as well. The alcohol one circled the Prohibition social issues (sometimes using the same language and arguments). “Substance Abuse” has been a big umbrella conversation that spans “drugs” without commenting on sugar or food additives per se. Also, not all parts have had equal enforcement or attention throughout.
I was about 60 when I had my first coffee. Being raised in the church it was a big decision. But after a lot of questions I had to answer myself and feelings about things I missed in life, I decided to try it.
Questions:
Is the WOW about caffeine or drinks in general, coffee and tea?
If it’s about caffeine, why do so many members drink caffeinated sodas?
If it’s not about caffeine, why are sodas carbonated water, flavoring, and sugar or artificial sweeteners better OK than coffee and tea, with their thousands of beneficial compounds excluded?
If it’s about health, see the above question and also ask what about overconsumption of food?
If the WOW is not by commandment or constraint, why is it part of the temple reccommend? Was it ever meant to be a measuring stick of worthiness? How did it become a commandment? Was it God or a man’s (prophet’s) opinion that he could impose?
Is a cup of coffee better for your body than a 32-ounce soda with sugar or diet sweeteners in order to get the same amount of caffeine?
I read a book called “History of the World in Six Glasses – Beer, Wine, Spirits, Coffee, Tea, and Coke.” The first couple was drunk because it was safer than water. Spirits were technology that gave the first two a bigger hit. Tea was an old drink from Asia, and coffee from the Middle East, both of which transformed the world out of stupor because of how caffeine awoke the soul while alcohol put it to sleep. Coke was a modern invention that transformed the world not because of the caffeine but because of the money made selling sugar water.
There were probably more questions I asked myself and realizations in my process, but after considering my feelings, I started drinking coffee.
Feelings that contributed to my decision:
Not being able to have a coffee with my grandparents, who were from Norway, at their daily “supper” of coffee, cookies, meats and cheeses.
Not sharing a coffee with my father at breakfast when we went out to eat on weekends.
Having to hide something that I eventually came to believe was not a commandment but was a WOW and that moderation was more important.
Results since I started drinking coffee:
I enjoy the relationships without having to make excuses with my wife, children, family, and friends who drink coffee.
My kidneys and heart are thanking me for not having to process so much fluid and sugar.
It is a time to slow down and enjoy a bit of peace before tackling the day.
One last word:
My wife and I went to Hawaii a few years ago. At the hotel and at restaurants, if we had a coffee, it was grown there in Hawaii. It was by far the best coffee I’ve ever had. I truely thought I had tasted heaven.
I was raised in a home where caffeinated soda was poison! I didn’t much mind the prohibition as I preferred root beer and grape sodas. But the dogma that “I can’t drink caffeine” was my answer throughout my youth for why I couldn’t drink tea & coffee.
My manager in my first full-time job was LDS and he shared with me that he had explicitly asked his stake president about caffeinated sodas and was told they were not prohibited. At that moment I stopped caring about what sodas were caffeinated.
Caffeine can keep me up at night if I consume it in the late afternoon or evening. Otherwise, I’m a fan of it. However, my main source is diet Coke and I don’t care for other colas. Some iced teas I like but it is rare that I go that route. Not a coffee drinker and I’m not sure I’ll become one. Not a fan of energy drinks as I find them too stimulating.
I am ADHD, and self medicate. I have seen the results of the crap the doctors give and I’ll take coffee any day. My one daughter ruined her teeth because the prescription destroys tooth enamel, and a granddaughter gets into rages that never used to happen before medication, and another hates the side effects to how the feel emotionally that they refuse the medication.
I drink the equivalent of two cups a day. I measure my ground coffee, then add 32-34 oz of water to the coffee maker, then pour it over ice for iced weak coffee. My daughter is disgusted and doesn’t think that qualifies as “coffee” at all. But, I just cannot stand the taste of coffee. That pot lasts me all day and I drink it right up till bed time. No problem sleeping or side effects if I miss.
As to the effectiveness of it for ADHD, my husband notices my inability to focus if I don’t have any. But, I know of people that say it doesn’t work for them.
I gave up all soft drinks to optimize my diet as a competitive runner in high school and still only drink them a few times a year. I guess I’m a “social soda drinker”.
About 4 years ago, I did drink some soda for dinner. I was on a college recuiting visit with my daughter on the east coast. It turned out that the place we ate at included a soft drink with our meals, so I decided to try one that I’d never heard of before from the all-you-can-drink self-serve soda fountain. It’s called “Cheerwine”, and I’ve since noticed it on subsequent visits to the east coast, but this was the first time I’d come across it. It’s not alcoholic, despite having “wine” in the name. It’s some sort of a cherry-flavored drink, and I quite liked it, so I ended up getting at least one refill. That was absolutely the most soda I’d had in many, many years. Little did I know, though, that Cheerwine contains caffeine (more than Coke, less than Mountain Dew). That caffeine buzz kept me up pretty much all night! Years of very low caffeine consumption presumably made me very sensitive to caffeine!
Once this daughter went off to college, my wife and I became empty nesters, so I changed my work life so that I am now out of the country more than I’m at home. I’ve spent significant amounts of time living in countries where both tea and coffee are deeply ingrained in the culture. Since I don’t really believe the WoW is inspired from heaven–and my wife is not always with my on these trips (she definitely wouldn’t be happy with this)–I decided to try the local teas and coffees in these places. I’ve now tried quite a variety of both from various parts of the world.
Despite having tried what are supposed to be very high quality teas, I find tea to be just so-so. It’s hot water with some mediocre flavor in it. To me, just the plain hot water by itself would taste just about as good as it is with the tea added to it.
Coffee, on the other hand, is a different story. I quite like coffee. I heard that coffee can be hard to like at first, so I was careful to try versions of it with milk and sugar mixed in at first. However, it wasn’t long before I just tried drinking it straight, and I found that I quite like it that way, too.
I am careful to drink tea and coffee primarily early in the day to avoid another Cheerwine type of experience, but even when I have had a little in the evenings, it hasn’t seemed to have affected my sleep.
I’m certainly not “addicted” to either coffee or tea. If that’s even possible, I think it’s quite rare? When I’m across the ocean and safely out of sight of my wife and local ward members, I partake, and when I’m home, I don’t. I honestly would like to drink coffee when I’m home, though–I really do quite like it.
I’ve found that being willing to drink the local drink, whether it’s coffee or tea, in certain cultures helps break the ice and develop relationships with the locals. This is in contrast to my mission. I served in a country where one of these drinks was very important, plus the culture of hospitality in the country almost mandated that you were offered a cup of it whenever you visited anyone’s home. It was so awkward to refuse over and over again based on religious grounds. The people were so confused because they view the drink as something that promotes health and longetivity (and they’re right!), so they couldn’t understand why a religion would prohibit it. It’s so much nicer just to accept the drink when offered by a local and to sit with them and chat for a bit.
I don’t do any caffeine. Seeing how people get addicted to their caffeinated drinks leaves me satisfied with being raised that way and continuing to live that way.
I rarely drink caffeine. This was never for any religious reason; all of my grandparents drank cola so I wasn’t raised in a family that believed that was against the WOW even though my parents chose not to drink it (or soda of any kind.) I just never liked the way caffeine made me feel. I did use it occasionally when I needed something to keep me awake. Mtn Dew was my delivery method of choice.
For a big portion of my life I was on an ADHD medication that they warn you not to take caffeine with. I never took any caffeine whenever I was on it. My doctor was shocked when she learned I did that. She said that no one ever actually follows that advice. On the other hand, whenever supply shortages meant I had to go without it for a while I substituted caffeine. It wasn’t as good for my ADHD but it was better than nothing.
I’ve been on different ADHD medication for a few years now and haven’t used caffeine at all even though it’s not medically prohibited. I haven’t had any need for it.
Coffee flavored things are gross to me and it often smells gross to me too. I can’t imagine why I’d try it.
Meh. I think I’m genetically a fast metabolizer of caffeine, so I just don’t consume it much at all. I feel nothing from a can of Diet Coke. I feel a little bit from an energy drink, for a little while. It has to be a lot, very late in the day, to disrupt sleep. I’ve tried drinking energy drinks on long drives when I need to stay alert, but it doesn’t seem any more effective that sugary snacks.
I don’t like carbonation, so drinking caffeinated sodas was never my thing. I wanted to like coffee because of the social aspects — going to get coffee with someone is a great way to spend some time together. I never noticed a difference with the caffeine. It didn’t make me energetic and I could drink caffeine an hour before bedtime and still sleep fine. I liked coffee so much that I drank too much. When I ran out, I had a terrible headache for three days until I got coffee again. I hated the headache enough to cut waaaay back on coffee and caffeine. I drink about 30-40mg of caffeine per day. My second cup of coffee is decaf. Now, when I skip a day, I don’t get a headache.
I’m with Former Nonbinary Sunbeam – the smell for me is quite nauseating. I had a roommate once who got a job working at a fancy coffee place. Not content with all that was on offer there, he decided he needed to start brewing at home. If I was ever home when he started grinding the beans (quite apart from ear-splitting sound) I had to leave the apartment as the fumes of noxious compounds spread through the air. Otherwise a nice guy, but luckily for my breathing pleasure, he didn’t stick around very long.
I remembered today how the only other Mormon family at my elementary school believed that chocolate was against the Word of Wisdom and all the staff were informed that their children were not to have chocolate under any circumstances and I had a speech all prepared for if anyone asked me why I was eating chocolate when I was the same religion but it never came up.
I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m a fast metabolizer of caffeine too, because one of the reasons I preferred Mtn Dew was because I don’t know that I could tell cola levels of caffeine apart from a placebo, and because I know I’m a fast metabolizer of some other medications.
I love the smell of coffee. It reminds me of waking up at my grandparents home growing up. I love tiramisu. I like jamoca shakes, chocolate covered coffee beans, and dark chocolate scotchmallows. So I have no issues with foods that have coffee as an ingredient, but I’ve haven’t had a straight up cup o joe.
I’ll drink the occasional iced tea. Sometimes I’ll mix myself a Brisk and Coke at the soda fountain. Never had a straight up cup of hot green tea.
Every 2 years I can honestly say I follow the Word of Wisdom to get a slip of paper.
I don’t drink sodas, but started to put energy powder in my drink before I when out and surfed. At 69 any boost can help. Then I read that those powders have artificial sweeteners in them (no bueno), and were costing me about $0.25 a packet. So then last month I went to Walmart and got a bottle of “caffeine pills”. I got 100 pills, 200 mg each, for $5. I break them in half, so I’m taking 100 mg before I work out (swimming 1000 yards, or lifting, or surfing). I never take them after 11 am, so they have never bothered my sleep, and I have no issue if I don’t take them (no withdrawals)