[.ca] Caffeine Blues: Wake UpTo The Hidden Dangers Of ... (ISBN 0446673919)

From Amazon.com:
Get ready to give up that morning latte and kiss cola goodbye. Here comes Caffeine Blues, by Stephen Cherniske, M.S., the first book to expose the dark side of America's No. 1 drug: caffeine. If you are one of the nearly 80 percent of Americans hooked on caffeine--a natural component of coffee, tea, and chocolate and a common ingredient in drugs, soda, candy, and other products--this book will be a wake-up call. In Caffeine Blues, Cherniske, a nutritional biochemist with more than 25 years of academic research and clinical experience and author of the bestseller The DHEA Breakthrough, reveals the truth about caffeine and explains how to kick the habit forever. Cherniske discusses how caffeine affects the body and brain and why it can increase your risk of dozens of health disorders ranging from osteoporosis, diabetes, and PMS to hypertension and heartburn. After spending 300 pages documenting all of caffeine's evils, Cherniske finally offers a decaffeinated life line: "Off the Bean and on to Vitality," a step-by-step, clinically proven program to help readers kick the habit and boost energy levels naturally. --Ellen Albertson

To thine own self be true:
I have loved coffee for much of my life. I have even been heard to utter, in mock appreciation of Socrates, that "the uncaffeinated life is not worth living." One time I quite coffee, felt really good, but during a flat stage, I got back on, more than ever, with the comment that without caffeine, I had lost the "joy of living." I have read this book by Cherniske. I have read all the reviews here. I have laughed hardest at the ones that recommend "The Caffeine Advantage," which supposedly about how great caffeine can make your life. Perhaps this book is over the top in its indictment of coffee and caffeine. But the fact is, that I will not quit the stuff without a little shouting at me to do it. Those reasonable persons who would suggest to have only a cup a day or so, or who only have coffee in the morning, or who can go weeks without it, with no headaches; well, more power to you. But I am not one of you. I am an ADDICT. I cannot drink coffee in moderation. I can only drink it to excess, and it invariably messes up my life. It messes with my sleep patterns, leading me to get less sleep and to then be tired often during the day. It screws up my diet, causing me to binge on sweets to try to counter the feeling of being too hyped up and hungry from caffeine. It messes with my breathing, as I occasionally experience a shortness of breath sensation that I notice when I am drinking lots of caffeine. And most of all, I know all of this in my heart. I know that caffeine is bad for me, that using it is using a powerful drug, and that the only answer for me is to gett of it completely. There is no possibility of moderation. I have tried that most earnestly and failed. This book has provided the only successful incentive I have ever had to make a serious effort to get myself off caffeine. And I have not done it yet. It is a battle. But I know it must be done. As I write this, I am in day 3 of weaning off in accordance with the guidance of the book. To sum up, referring to the title of my review, look at your own heart. You know, many of you, that caffein is bad for you. So don't kid yourself, get off of it, and be the person you were created to be.

Caffeine or Snake Oil?:
This book will scare the coffee right out of you -- at first. Maybe growing up around Mormons made me always a bit suspicious of coffee, and drinking the strong brew served in Tokyo certainly confirmed that you can overdose on it. But Caffeine Blues laid more crimes to the body at the door of the Bean than there are Kennedy conspirosy theories. Except for regular strident comments about the medical profession ignoring caffeine (I have certainly seen plenty of warnings), he makes a logical case that caffeine induces stress-like reactions in the body, which long term, are bad for the body. Enough said for me to give it a go. The disappointment sets in with his Off the Bean program which includes good advice about easing off coffee and adding exercise and sleep, but also suggests taking half a dozen supplements that I would need to read a dozen books to feel safe with. Precious little is said about them. It turns out he is president of a company that makes stuff to make you better. And the FDA did make him sign a consent agreement to stop over-promising about his fountain of youth consummables and tests. (Search Findlaw under his name). So I worry he has overstated some of the research referred to related to caffeine. But he has raised enough points about caffeine, and done it in a reasonable enough tone, that I will go without for a while. Interesting read, but maybe to be taken with a grain of salt.

Ask yourself a question:
I have read every review by readers, and find that some people have thought out this question: "Am I an Addict?". Those who believe that "Caffeine Blues" is TOTALLY against caffeine didn't read it correctly. In regards to health, it mentions that coffee and tea ARE powerful antioxicants...but, that it is so powerful that it also "flushes" your body of Essential Nutrients...Calcium Magnesium Potassium and Zinc being MAJOR ones. There are antioxidants like, Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins that are far better, and healthier. I would also like to mention, that in this day of "increased knowledge" that there is a wealth of information available to anyone who wishes to learn about "natural healing" and health issues...so I wouldn't have cared if Cherniske didn't have "M.S." after his name; this book ROCKS! with information. I could go on...but would just like to say that anyone who would defend caffeine with as much or MORE zeal, than Cherniske's opposition, might want to ask themselves, "why?". And, finally, the ADHD fellow...READ THE BOOK! and pay closer attention...the subject IS touched on...sugar and caffeine "crashes" can cause attention problems...O.K.? Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins would be a better choice. If a product such a coffee substitutes change my life...I would probably sell them myself...even join a "down-line" in network marketing:), if that helps anyone. The book has helped me, and he does challenge people to get off the bean for 2 months. What's the matter? CAN'T?

Bypass this awful book:
Read the Caffeine Advantage if you want the true story of caffeine - which is an antioxidant, which scientists are finding prevents Parkinsons Disease, etc. Beware of junk science. Truth is, if caffeine could be marketed as a drug by pharmaceutical companies it would be selling like hotcakes, and the health claims would be incredible. Lucky for us we can buy a pack of Vivarin at the corner drug store, or sip our tea or coffee. Go read The Caffeine Advantage and find out the truth for yourself. You may never look at caffeine the same way again. I know I don't!

A VERY Intriguing Book:
This was a very intriguing book. For a long time now, I've had a feeling that caffeine was not so good for you. I've been reading Men's Health magazine, regularly, and every issue seems to have two or three blurbs about why coffee is either bad or good for you. It seems like every study comes up with new evidence for one case or the another. Contradiction after contradiction. So, I was dying for a good book to give me some facts. I saw this one in the library, and scooped it up. I tried to be open-minded and skeptical at the same time, as I usually do when I read one-sided books like this, but I really became alarmed as I turned more pages. What Cherniske has to say really rings true, so I followed his advice and gave up the bean, and as he promised, I felt MUCH better once my withdrawal pains eased off. The biggest improvements were in my energy level, and the quality of sleep. I felt fully alert and ready to go as soon as I woke up every morning- without a single cup! The most compelling statement he makes is that it will take about eight weeks of no caffeine to truly feel the benefits of its absence. Then he asks, "What do you have to lose?" If after two months of no coffee you don't feel a lot better, go back to drinking it for all we care. However, you'll be amazed at how hard it is to quit caffeine for two months. After two or three days, you will get some really hairy headaches unless you wean yourself off it slowly. And just try to walk by a coffee shop or the flavored coffee display in the grocery store without getting the shakes as soon as that old familiar aroma hits you. Anyway, if you try to quit, you'll have no doubt that this is one powerful drug, and when you get those headaches, you can feel how bad it must be for your body. -The only problem I have with this book, is that it was published in 1998, and there is no updated version, or newer books on the subject, and even Cherniske's website hasn't been updated in ages. Meanwhile, I still see plenty of new pro-coffee research articles in health magazines and such, and I *still* get the cravings every now and then, and I have to wonder how bad could one cup be now and then, or every two days or so? My will power is beginning to buckle here, and I could use some positive reinforcement despite the benefits I've felt. The pressure is pretty strong! How about it Steve? We need you to refute these new claims!