Why we feel so bad when we get the flu

On the whole, my health is excellent and I take about 3000 units of D a day plus a multi with zinc, but due to a stupid move on my part in the supermarket, I picked up a flu bug. Pretty certain that I would recover quickly and with a certain smug flourish, I am sad to say that it flattened me.

However, after reading a bit, I've kind of figured out something that I hadn't previously thought of. My particular virus threw off my stomach to the point where even thinking about food was the equivelant of thinking about finding my dinner in the cat box. Here's the thing, that meant that my usual two cups of coffee a day was out of the question.

The first couple days I tried to keep to my routine, but each day could only swallow a couple mouthfuls each time. So with my caffeine intake almost eliminated, the withdrawal started and it became an ordeal of nightmare proportions. Looking into caffeine withdrawal, I found numerous places where the symptoms list included 'flu-like symptoms' so on top of really having the flu, well it was ugly.

I'm finally well again, but having been 'forced' to go cold turkey with the coffee and feeling as bad as I did overall, I've decided to give it up. The next time I catch the flu, I will bounce back, it will be much easier and the coffee issue won't be something additional to deal with.

I just thought that I would mention this for those of you who are thinking at all of cutting back on your coffee's. Apparently, the more you drink, the worse it is, so food for thought.

Happy New Years folks!

Thanks Debby! That totally makes sense!

We haven't given up coffee yet, and probably won't in the near future... all depends on how we do with the acid/alkaline thing... coffee is incredibly
acidic (Coffee -25.1)! :^(

[psychoslice]

I keep myself pretty healthy, I have about 3 cups of coffee a day, I have never had the flue for about 20 years now, never had a cold for many years also.

[psychoslice]

Coffee Health Benefits : Coffee may protect against disease

FEBRUARY 2006

It’s surprising when something that was once considered questionable for your health turns out to have health benefits, usually with the proviso to use it “in moderation.” That happened with chocolate and alcohol, and now it is coffee’s turn, reports the February issue of the Harvard Health Letter. Here’s some of the mostly good news about coffee:

Blood pressure. Results from long-term studies are showing that coffee may not increase the risk for high blood pressure over time, as previously thought. Study findings for other cardiovascular effects are a mixed bag.

Cancer. Coffee might have anti-cancer properties. Last year, researchers found that coffee drinkers were 50% less likely to get liver cancer than nondrinkers. A few studies have found ties to lower rates of colon, breast, and rectal cancers.

Cholesterol. Two substances in coffee — kahweol and cafestol — raise cholesterol levels. Paper filters capture these substances, but that doesn’t help the many people who now drink non-filtered coffee drinks, such as lattes. Researchers have also found a link between cholesterol increases and decaffeinated coffee, possibly because of the type of bean used to make certain decaffeinated coffees.

Diabetes. Heavy coffee drinkers may be half as likely to get diabetes as light drinkers or nondrinkers. Coffee may contain chemicals that lower blood sugar. A coffee habit may also increase your resting metabolism rate, which could help keep diabetes at bay.

Parkinson’s disease. Coffee seems to protect men, but not women, against Parkinson’s disease. One possible explanation for the sex difference may be that estrogen and caffeine need the same enzymes to be metabolized, and estrogen captures those enzymes.


Enjoy your coffee in moderation, guilt free.

Originally Posted by psychoslice

Enjoy your coffee in moderation, guilt free.

Just what a dedicated coffee drinker wants to hear!

But what has to also be looked into is with the way in which the coffee's prepared.
The stuff that we put in our coffee can make quite a difference...

Concentrated sweeteners, artificial sweeteners, questionable chocolate (check out the back label on Hershey's syrup... you almost can't find the
chocolate!), dairy is acidic as well and leaches calcium from our teeth and bones, while most dry creamers out there are bound to be messy!



There's the coffee and then there's the things we put in it... each would require a separate study in itself. :^)

Slowly over time I have altered my approach to coffee to try and make it as pure and as painless as possible... We now only use Stevia for a
sweetener, we just switched to organic Almond milk, and have been using organic powdered chocolate (bought from the bins at the health food
store, and Dutch chocolate at that..yummy..! :^) For coffee we're using free-trade organics, and any flavorings beyond that are clean and organic as well.

About the only way they could have done a clean testing of coffee is if everyone drank it black, unaltered from the pot... yuck! I wouldn't have
lasted that test for more than a day or two! :^)

[psychoslice]

Hi Stephen, yea i suppose i am different than most who drink coffee, I look after myself in many ways, so a couple of coffee's a day doesn't make any different, but someone who is not healthy, that may smoke, never eat fruit, or any of the other things that make our bodies healthy, they would probably be the ones that coffee would affect, its the whole picture that we need to put into perspective.

Tea is lovely when you're sick. Psst...black and green tea have caffeine!

[psychoslice]

Originally Posted by iolite

Tea is lovely when you're sick. Psst...black and green tea have caffeine!

He He, I always notice that those who reach 100, that you see on television celebrating their birthday, always seem to drink their cups of tea everyday, and most also have their little drinksy poo's, they know how to live lol.

Originally Posted by psychoslice

He He, I always notice that those who reach 100, that you see on television celebrating their birthday, always seem to drink their cups of tea everyday, and most also have their little drinksy poo's, they know how to live lol.

I was going to suggest adding a shot of Southern Comfort or Jack Daniels for medicinal purposes is nice too.

[psychoslice]

Originally Posted by iolite

I was going to suggest adding a shot of Southern Comfort or Jack Daniels for medicinal purposes is nice too.

I like apple cider beer, yum yum.