Ive been thinking of going caffeine and alcohol free for a while. Alcohol wouldnt be an issue but I really love coffee.
Why go caffeine free?
I sadly figure the oil companies will make us all go caffeine free in the medium to long term, so may as well enjoy it now before it becomes a luxury of the wealthy.
For one, to see if I can (been drinking coffee since I was maybe 7 or so)
For two, because maybe I’d feel better or sleep better !
I don’t drink coffee after 3pm for that reason, and it’s definitely helped with settling for sleep at night. Good luck with your efforts.
Pretty sure there is some caffinated tea leaf that is native to the USA.
Edit: Ilex vomitoria
Very cool, never heard of it… What an unfortunate latin name due to colonial misunderstanding.
I’m sure more enviromenally-hardy caffeine producing plants like this will become more popular and economically relevant as time goes on.
Yep. It’s alright. It doesn’t taste as good as tea or coffee, in my opinion, but it’s cool. I’ve thought about growing a bush/tree/whatever it’s called.
Caffeine is enjoyable to me but it affects my mental state a lot, in some ways negatively. In particular I feel less able to think about things holistically, way more tunnel vision type thinking. It’s worrying that so many people use it every day and I make an effort not to.
Totally fair enough, thanks for entertaining my curiousity. It is psychoactive which would be concerning about its widespread use if it wasn’t so clearly studied. Kicking the alcohol is definitely a far more impactful improvement to holistic health. Good luck in your efforts.
I have ADHD so caffeine is a useful tool for me, and I do love the flavour and scent.
Thanks, I agree alcohol is way worse (I feel so much better in general since I stopped drinking on a regular basis), caffeine isn’t likely to do major harm to a person using it, it’s just got that subtle influence, which may be a positive thing for you, I just think people should give it more consideration and not let it become an automatic choice.
You should try it - some people report various health benefits. Others report no effect. (and half from both groups are looking at what they care about and ignoring other evidence) Your doctors may have guidance on how it affects you.
I’m only asking for a 2 week trial. Then evaluate if it is worth going longer or not.
I love my caffeine, as an undiagnosed but very high certainty person with ADHD. However, I like to go caffeine free every once in a while, for like a week or so, at minimum to reset my tolerance. I can see why someone would want to go without. You don’t realize how it effects you until you don’t have any. You’ll have headaches for a few days, but the withdrawals aren’t too bad.
It’s a drug, like any other. You should try to understand how it effects you and your addiction/reliance on it. Sure, it isn’t particularly dangerous, but I still think it’s healthy to know how your body reacts. I think it’s weird that people treat caffeine as if it isn’t a drug, just because most people are addicted to it.
Ah, the classic tolerance break. Beloved by stoners and coffee drinkers alike.
deleted by creator
I don’t take anything (other than supplements, meds), still I could be eating healthier.
One thing that helped me quit coffee was drinking tea. I know it’s still got caffeine, but if you’re drinking 4 or 5 cups a day that brings the amount of caffeine waaaay down.
It also reduces dependency because the caffeine in tea acts more slowly and gives you less of a kick.
Tea has fun flavors too. I’m a favor of the fruit/spice ones like apple cinnamon or orange spice.
The fun flavor ones also don’t necessarily contain caffeine. Only the ones with black/green tea in it do, there are many so-called teas that don’t have any real tea leaves and just make the water taste better.
I am. I grew up around drug and alcohol addiction. Tried it. Hated it. Decided none of this was for me. Drugs is easy. Everybody in my house usually scampers away like roaches to do drugs. Alcohol is very much a family thing. Can’t watch a game without someone screaming shots or drink. I usually end up hiding in my room.
Coffee makes me nauseous and I’m not trying to feel like I need to shit before I got something to do. Plus the crash is way worse than the energy its supposedly supposed to give me.
The nukes are about to fly bro, just enjoy life.
I plan to!
Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy, and alcohol. Co-co-co-co-co-cocaine.
Definitely not 100%
Great album
Coffee has never been proven harmful, and may be protective for the brain. I quit caffeine a couple times when younger for months and (once past the initial withdrawal headache) all that happened was I got more migraines and gained a couple of pounds, saw no benefits.
So no.
Alcohol I practice moderation, once or twice a week but never, ever, ever an everyday drinker. That I’ve taken years off and didn’t feel better but not worse like when I tried no caffeine.
So usually no on that as well but I do sometimes go a month or two without.
I don’t do any other drugs.
they’re called hypertension and anxiety bruh just because a drug has benefits doesn’t mean it has no side effects
You are right, I ought to have said the benefits outweigh the risks for me, that the good is more than the harm not that it’s universally harmless.
That’s refreshingly normal tbh.
Coffee has never been proven harmful
Really?
You’re in a stimulant psychosis, probably. That or you just said that while knowing you’ve never actually even looked that claim up, while reading all the “caffeine is necessary for your brain” research funded by companies like Coca-Cola.
There’s a reason there’s a huge warning on energy drinks to only have a maximum of three a day. Less so for pregnant women. (Because of the caffeine content, which is in similar levels as coffee.)
Caffeine and cannabis are similarly low-risk drugs, but there are some important differences.
“In wise hands poison is medicine. In foolish hands medicine is poison.” – Casanova
Long-term caffeine use kills between 1,000 to 10,000 people every year in the US, from “stress, ulcers and triggering irregular heartbeats,” according to the US Bureau of Mortality Statistics.
Cannabis overuse deaths are, again, zero, according to the same source
Conclusion
To conclude, caffeine is clearly more risky, more dangerous, more deadly, more harmful and more costly than cannabis in every category – overdose deaths, overuse deaths, withdrawal symptoms and acute toxicity.
The only area where cannabis provides the greater risk is in regards to the impairment levels of novice users.
Regulations that treat cannabis as far more dangerous than caffeine don’t reflect reality, and should be challenged by drug peace activists. Society should treat each drug according to the risks that drug provides, rather than making rules based on ignorant myths and racist, outdated traditions.
How about
Caffeine Linked to Hallucinations
Hard-core coffee and tea drinkers tend to see and hear things that aren’t there
https://www.science.org/content/article/caffeine-linked-hallucinations
It’s quite well documented as well
According to a study published this week in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, “high caffeine users”* are three times more likely to experience auditory hallucinations—hearing voices when no has actually spoken—than people who consume little or no caffeine.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/caffeine-linked-to-hallucinations-51161154/
And obviously we know a hard upper limit for caffeine, after which people fucking die. No such thing for cannabis.
Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive compound worldwide. It is mostly found in coffee, tea, energizing drinks and in some drugs. However, it has become really easy to obtain pure caffeine (powder or tablets) on the Internet markets. Mechanisms of action are dose-dependent. Serious toxicities such as seizure and cardiac arrhythmias, seen with caffeine plasma concentrations of 15 mg/L or higher, have caused poisoning or, rarely, death; otherwise concentrations of 3–6 mg/kg are considered safe. Caffeine concentrations of 80–100 mg/L are considered lethal.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5986491/
I don’t do any other drugs.
Obviously, because you’ve drank the koolaid of drug propaganda.
Ok, that was unnecessary. We could go on rant about excess anything, like oxygen or water, also potentially causing harm or even death. People drinking beverages designed to have excess caffeine and other stimulants are not comparable to what would be considered normal consumption. FWIW I think energy drinks suck, they absolutely can cause harm.
Having a couple cups of coffee a day, as long as you don’t have any deleterious effects, has been associated with health benefits. Leave it at that.
Leave it at that.
“I want to be ignorant of any possible downsides in my addiction! >:( I don’t want to hear ‘science’ about it, I listen to my feelings.”
Especially when
FWIW I think energy drinks suck, they absolutely can cause harm.
That’s like someone dissing vaping while reeking of old tobacco. Rofl.
We could go on rant about excess anything, like oxygen or water,
“Sola dosis facit venenum” pffft. No, we really can’t in the same way. Water isn’t toxic in any amounts. Dehydration through hyponatremia is a thing called water toxicity, but it’s not aptly named, as you need distilled water and can’t have any salt, otherwise the water won’t be “toxic”. Also, you can breathe 100% oxygen and be completely fine.
Caffeine LD50 values are honestly rather low. Not as low as alcohol, but still, pretty low. And the amount it takes for harmful effects to show up is literally on the same level as an average to high daily caffeine user.
So no, your substance use isn’t the same as drinking water and breathing. All substance use has inherent risks, no matter how small. Yes, even caffeine and cannabis. What is ridiculous to me is that the same folk who literally can’t manage without a daily dose of their chosen substance without physical withdrawal (>70% caffeine users get headaches if they stop) and think there’s no harm in it, are the same people who think cannabis causes psychosis.
Stimulant psychosis is much more likely. Just like is psychosis brought on by alcohol.
excess caffeine and other stimulants are not comparable to what would be considered normal consumption
Ignorant. Just so ignorant.
Like any addict you’re rationalising your addiction. But unlike many addicts, you’re at the same time also judging others for the same addiction you have and making up “facts” you feel are right.
Regular, excessive coffee consumption (typically >4 cups/day or >400-600mg caffeine) can cause negative effects including, insomnia, jitters, anxiety, and heart palpitations. It may cause digestive distress (acid reflux, diarrhea), increased blood pressure, addiction, and potential bone density issues. Regular use often leads to tolerance, requiring more coffee to achieve the same effect
You’ve got too much free time on your hands.
Why is it always “lol do you think I’m reading all that” or an equivalent reply where you’re trying to mock a user on a forum for… using the forum.
And it’s never to do with the length (writing that took less time than smoking a cigarette, which I used to do years ago), but the content. You’re a bit ashamed that your take is so objectively biased due to your addiction.
“Coffee! Aaah, black as night and sweet as hell mmmm. Great, healthy, amazing!”
“A carbonated sugar-free drink with less caffeine? Poison!”
I don’t need to reply to a WoT that completely ignored the substance and intent of my reply. You’re wasting our time. I don’t see any reason to reply when you’re making up everything you think I would say, with a massive sprinkling of hyperbole, just fine on your own. You don’t need me to join the conversation you’re having in your head.
I don’t need to reply
Ah yes, after the “you’re wasting your time on Lemmy” it’s the “I’m not gonna reply”, he replied.
when you’re making up everything you think I would say
You literally said “coffee has never been proven harmful”. That’s like saying “cigarette smoking has never been associated with cancer” or “there’s no evidence we ever went to the moon”. About on the same level, factually and intellectually.
Secondly, you said that energydrinks are “definitely harmful” and thought they are overcaffeinated, when average coffee contains more caffeine than they do.
You don’t need me to join the conversation you’re having in your head.
Projecting a bit there, since you’re the one who’s literally making shit up, because you think it feels correct because of your ignorance. I never said something as silly as “coffee has never been proven harmful”, now did I?
I’m the one who’s linking actual science.
Coffee not powder caffeine - I know the refined drug caffeine is too strong to safely dose it. I’m not snorting caffeine or slamming monster drinks.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4862107/
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00409-y
ETA Coffee and I also like iced green tea. You are going to argue that unsweetened iced green tea is also a killer drink?
I am just not that worried about it, based on decades of use without apparent personal harm, and evident personal benefit. I enjoy the coffee and tea and the “high” from them, which I interpreted as the point of OP’s question about substances.
Honestly, this is like listening to some old smelly smoker puffing unfiltered rollups tell me how unhealthy vaping is.
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/02/coca-cola
I don’t care about your addictions, you’re welcome to have them. But to pretend it isn’t an addiction and is actually healthy for you is more ridiculous than those “you can’t get addicted to weed” bros.
Not to mention that caffeine is a more risky and harmful drug than cannabis, except for when it comes to first-time inebriation, where cannabis slightly takes the lead.
70% of daily users get physical withdrawal if they skip their daily fix.
Physical. Withdrawal.
Caffeine makes you much more likely to hear auditory hallucinations. We had one coworker at a phone dispatch, who yelled loud af and always banged her keyboard constantly, some sort of neurosis. She was literally banned from doing orders that the govt paid for because of her massive error rate, because she was always so amped on caffeine as to be half-blind. No-one drunk the shit she made. It was like tar. And she had like a dozen cups during the working day.
“Healthy” yeah sure.
If your daily caffeine fix is not an addiction and just for your health, would you believe my daily wake&bake is also just for health reasons and carries absolutely zero risk?
I didn’t say I am not addicted. Physical addiction, sure, because I get the headache when quitting. But as a drug I like it and it’s been an overall benefit to my life and health. Fewer migraines with daily coffee than without. Meaning even after a couple of years off it, increased incidence of migraine if I abstain from all caffeine. Reduced incidence if I use it daily.
My ex wrecked his teeth smoking pot, so I do not think smoking anything is good for you. But no I wouldn’t judge, whatever works for you. And no I don’t think cannabis is bad, certainly ought not be illegal I just hate the effect. Blah feeling, irritated not high just feel tired and slow.
Physical addiction, sure
Except that’s an oxymoron. You mean dependency. That’s a physical thing. Addiction is a brain disorder. They’re actually medically two different things. Like a psychiatrist and a psychologist. Sometimes a thing can be both at the same time, but those two are distinct medical things.
But as a drug I like it
Yeah see that’s the addiction speaking.
an overall benefit to my life and health.
Luckily I’ve never heard this from people who shoot up amphetamines and go to work (driving a HGV) and think their boss can’t see they’re high as balls. Oh wait, yes I have.
so I do not think smoking anything is good for you.
And who would argue otherwise? Cannabis can be used without staining one’s teeth, unlike coffee. Just eat it.
We’re not doing a comparison between coffee and cannabis, because this thread didn’t start with me saying “cannabis has never been proven harmful”, because I know that’s not true. You however you said is “coffee has never proven to be harmful”. Yes it has. Very clearly and obviously and there’s tons of data on it.
I’m as vapid as can be
Hell yeah brother
I‘m not drinking alcohol. Once or twice a month I do LSD, 2C-B, magic mushrooms, GHB, ketamine. Psychedelics and ketamine help reset, defragment, and refocus my mind. GHB is for relaxed and passionate sex.
I stopped cannabis two weeks ago and still feel a yearning to use it. It makes me lethargic, worse sleep, mental fog. CBD helps quench the desire to use.
Elvanse (lisdexamphetamine) daily as prescribed. Stopped all other amphetamines two years ago.
Started drinking coffee every other morning recently. It is nice, but I don’t want it to become a habit long term. Stopping caffeine has worked for me in the past without much effort.
No nicotine.
I haven’t been able to find some of this in years :( Mushrooms are not my favorite, always end up nauseated
Darknet markets are an option. Read the Darknet Market Bible.
Does this question mean “i consume substances and couldn’t do without it” or “i consume substances for recreational usages”?
because these questions entail very different consequences. imagine your hobby is woodworking. your friend snarkily asks you whether you’re ok or addicted and actually need therapy to learn to live without it. it would probably be a dumb thing to say because having hobbies is healthy, and i believe recreational drug use can be a hobby too. (within reasonable limits)
Lately I’ve been mostly avoiding caffeine, but probably for a different reason than OP.
My goal is to get to the point where if I need to stay alert, caffeine would have a significant effect. So far I believe I’m not there yet, if I ever will be. (Might be genetic)I don’t like the taste or smell of alcohol, so that’s just never been a thing for me.
Never smoked or vaped anything. Can’t understand why people start smoking nicotine, when it seems so obviously terrible.
As a corporate dev, I’ll keep my weed and caffeine thanks
I drink tea, but not like a “coffee drinker” drinks coffee, nor how the average American drinks soda.
The caffeine doesn’t feel noticeable to me, but I am still mindful of drinking it right before bed.
I just like my oolong sessions.
I quit alcohol 11 years ago. Haven’t smoked weed or nicotine since early January. I do drink coffee and will never let it go. Also I haven’t completely quit weed, I think. I just haven’t been arsed to get any in a while. Might be that I never will but I haven’t made a conscious decision to quit it.
