Coffee as an Herbal Medicine
/>CAUTIONS AND CONTRAINDICATIONS:
* Not in pregnancy or while nursing.
* Not with gastritis, insomnia, heart palpitations, agitation
* Not in large doses with muscle spasm; shoulder, neck, or back pain.
* Not without giving me some.
POSSIBLE DRUG INTERACTIONS:
Bronchodialtors, quinolones, and oral contraceptives potentiate the stimulatory effects of coffee
Can raise blood pressure when taken with MAOIs. Also coffee contains tyramine.
Sedative effects of benzodiazapines are inhibited (poor man’s speed ball).
Beta-blockers (coffee can raise blood pressure),
Histamine blockers (coffee can irritate the GI system – H2 receptors)
Inhibits hemodynamic effects of adenosine (the core of ATP) by preventing it from binding in the brain.
Very high blood pressure and mania can result when mixing coffee with phenylpropanolamine. (Acutrim, Dexatrim)
Coffee reduces blood levels of lithium.
PREPARATION OF MEDICINE: Preparation: Infused. Black.
DOSAGE: Dosage: 1-2 cups
COMBINATIONS:
* “Combines well with digitalis” [Esoterica – Dangerous – DO NOT try this at home, kids]
* Caffeine with aspirin in over-the-counter analgesics
* For arthritis black coffee is mixed with lime juice [Trinidad]
RANGE: Native to Ethiopia.
RESEARCH:
* Antioxidant
* Coffee will raise serum cholesterol unless filtered through a paper filter.
* Increases gastric secretions, [NO SOURCE] plasma homocysteine [Urgert 2000] and catecholamine levels [NO SOURCE]. It reduces urea and phosphoric acid in the urine. [NO SOURCE]
* Increases blood pressure in non-habitual users. [NO SOURCE]
* Heavy coffee drinking is correlated to increased risk of suicide [Tanskanen 2000] and decreased risk of colorectal cancer [Tavani 2000] and Parkinsons disease [Abbot 2003, Ragonese 2003].
* Coffee is used as a stimulant, used to ward off coma in narcotic overdose and snake bite. In acute cases administered as an enema. (As if a coma wasn’t enough of an indignity.)
* A Harvard study concludes that the incidence of kidney stones drops 10% if you drink coffee, and 14% if you drink tea.
* Causes relaxation of the bronchial tubes and the smooth muscles of the blood vessels (except cerebral blood vessels).
* A diet of 20% green coffee in hamsters reduces tumor growth by 90%.
* Caffeine is injected with sodium benzoate for poisoning or respiratory failure
* Wake up and smell the coffee! A University of California study reports that the steam rising from a cup of coffee has the same amount of antioxidants as three oranges.
LEGENDS OF THE DISCOVERY OF COFFEE:
* Middle Eastern shepherds noticed that when their sheep ate the berries both the sheep and the shepherd were up all night.
* In 1258 Sheik Omar was in exile and was complaining about his problems when a bird began singing in a tree. Trying to grab the bird, he instead ended up with a handful of berries and flowers. He then proceeded to make a “perfumed drink” from the berries and felt much better.
* An Islamic monk was vexed by his inability to stay awake during his prayers. One day he saw a goat herd dancing with his goats and was told that the goat herd’s happiness was caused by a specific bean. He was convinced that Mohammed had sent him this herb as a gift to keep him awake. The monastery was thereafter called the home of the “Wakeful Monks”, as they would drink coffee as they prayed. (A similar legend exists in China regarding tea.)
NOTES:
* Coffee and chocolate (those twin guilt-marinated New-Age bogeymen) are to many of people what sex was to the Victorians… vices that are publicly reviled while being craved and lusted-after behind closed doors. Both have now been shown to have strong anti-oxidant properties. The antioxidants in coffee are heterocyclic compounds which may prevent heart disease and cancer, while other ingredients may increase these risks.
* Coffee is second only to oil as a world commodity and is the most popular beverage worldwide with over 400 billion cups consumed each year. In the last three centuries, 90% of all people living in the Western world have switched from tea to coffee.
* The caffeine in coffee beans is bound to an organic acid and requires roasting to become active, but dark roasted coffee (unlike tea) has less caffeine than the lighter brews.
* Coffee can be burned as a room deodorizer
* October 1st is Coffee Day in Japan.
* African warriors would mix mashed coffee berries with animal fat, roll them into balls, and eat them before battle.
* In Bolivia, the bark is used to make a coffee substitute called