Customer Reviews

The Caffeine Advantage: How to Sharpen Your Mind, Improve Your Physical Performance, and Achieve Your Goals--the Healthy Way

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Like a previous reviewer, I have read this book and the opposing one, Caffeine Blues. Both offer a multitude of scientific studies to support their respective viewpoints. I plan to reread them soon, and do a more detailed comparison.

Like another previous reviewer, I especially found the chapter on using caffeine to combat depression fascinating. It gave me the courage (or bravado?) to substitute a small daily dose of caffeine for my Paxil, with encouraging results so far (two months).

It's hard to remain objective about something like caffeine, as is obvious from the tone of some of the other reviews. I remember a friend who I highly respected, once sneering that coffee lovers would explain away studies linking coffee and heart disease by objecting that it was the cream in the coffee rather than the coffee itself causing the problem. Since that was before we had been told about the danger of the transfats used to make those fake "creamers", those coffee apologists were probably right. Moreover, it came to light soon after his sneering remark that some of those early studies had failed to correct for the fact that a disproportionate number of heavy coffee drinkers were also smokers... thus giving an even more compelling reason for the innocence of the coffee.

I admit that I'm hoping caffeine proves to be beneficial rather than harmful. But I plan to be as fair as I can be.

Let me also point out that the caffeine pills recommended by the author are inexpensive and the formula is not susceptible to copyright. You can buy generic versions in any drugstore, or just drink coffee. There is not a whole lot of benefit to any particular pharmaceutical company, so I don't find the claim that he is writing this for his corporate masters very compelling. The author of Caffeine Blues touts a lot of products in his book as well, so the "follow the money" argument doesn't seem to tip the balance in favor of either position.

A little difficult to read.
A very interesting read.
Only book in it's class
that I know of.
It gives the pros and
cons and effects of
caffeine.

The topic of caffeine generates so much emotion with negative reviewers but they shed little light. Notice how they complain about an alleged lack of evidence, but never state what evidence they would count as sufficient support for the caffeine advantage. If they think the authors don't provide enough evidence, then it's incumbent on them to state what evidence would do so. It stunned me that the authors adduced as much evidence as they did including military research. BTW, who'd ever think anyone would put up megabucks to study the effects of coffee or caffeine. It would be like these negative reviewers like putting up their hard earned money to study the effects of air or water on everyday health? Only Big Pharma at the prodding of Big Gov't puts up big bucks to back up their drugs with research. And that's another thing - if the authors are secretly backed by Starbucks or whatever, how come they only recommend about 100 mg of caffeine to enhance one's mood? Why not recommend several big gulps? But even if they were backed by caffeine based food producers, that would only mean their findings were suspect and worthy of closer examination, not false, and a few abusive cheap shots at their scholarship does nothing to refute their claims.

Thanks to this book I no longer feel guilty! Before reading it, I always noticed nothing but positve effects from caffeine. At the same time, there were all the talking heads, babbling about how bad caffeine is. Now I know that in moderation, caffeine can help, "Sharpen Your Mind, Improve Your Physical Performance and Achieve Your Goals--the Healthy Way", just as the author states. One of the best books I've purchased from Amazon without question. Five stars for this one!

Bennett Alan Weinberg is indeed a writer. An advertising copy writer. He heads his own advertising and public relations firm whose clients include several of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies. His website at http://www.bawinc.com/MAIN.htm makes this very clear. How convenient that he has also managed to write not one, but two books on the almost miraculous benefits of a chemical that just happens to be produced by some of his largest clients. Read "Caffeine Blues" instead. It has no vested interest in validating your addiction.

after reading this, and it's opposing book, Cafffine Blues, I have found that Mr. Alan Weinberg does not backup his claims with any scientific proof. He is only trying to justify addiction to caffeine to increase profits for the PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES he works for. To those that have read this and think that caffeine is awesome, please read the other side of the story, Caffeine Blues. It provides enough medical documentation and REAL studies (like, by people that are doctors), to help change your opinion.

For the "weekend-warrior" who plays sport,or the more serious minded athlete,this book will give you a definite "boost" to your training - legally AND without side-effects!Foget about the negative press caffeine has recieved...get the FACTS,not the fiction from this manual.A "must-read" tome for ANY sportsman.

I've spent enough time in 68 years in and out of hospitals to know that what one can rely on and what works for them is best learned from experience rather than another person's words of advice. Weinberg speaks from his experiential base, with wisdom, and I've also experienced first hand the benefits of caffeine. I don't drink coffee, but I do use caffeine pills and have, as the authors advise, moderate my use of them by accessing my wisdom base for appropriate amounts and when to take them. I drive for a living and could not do this job without them. They've been keeping me alive for 13 years of driving, in all kinds of weather and at all hours of any 24 hour period. I don't care whom he works for or whatever, I've found his words to be honest. With the pill, you can take it 15 minutes before a job or workout and it will "kick in" when you need it. It never fails to make me alert and elevate my mood. I can also know that the effects will wear off after 2 1/2 hours and I can sleep if I need to when I get home. Coffee is not so predictable, for me.

Apart from the contents, which may or may not be true (I like coffee, drink it a lot, but that's hardly scientific evidence) this book is only interesting if you're a complete moron, say with a sub-zero IQ.

Time after time, the same points are made. The book pretends to be scientific and has quite a list of references at the back (I still have to study it, but that's probably the only worthwhile bit about the book), but it turns out to be one big piece of sales blahblah, reminding me more of a TV shopping channel than anything close to a sound popular-science book.

Again, I'm not judging the content here, just the writing style. It sucks. Probably it was written to give away with a package of Vivarin, but the company thought the better of it and thus the author went searching for a publisher....

I read the book. there is no medical proof, it is merely a collection of stories of how using speed .. I mean caffeine .. helped the authors life. (helped him most by allowing him to sell a book to all you rubes looking to justify your addictions.) doing coke 'in moderation' might also be beneficial by the EXACT same logic this book professes...

The human body is net sum of many finely balanced chemical reactions, of which, especially in neurology, we know very little. what supreme arrogance & cynicism it takes to claim to understand your body better than it does. we at best have a few hundred years of medical study to explain its hundreds of thousands of years of evolution. changing the chemical composition of your brain for the short term effects, while using denial to ignore the proven long term effects .. is just stupid & is literally `playing god'. this book is nothing more than a guide to being a junkie & using artificial means to achieve an `edge' in this `competitive environment' (that you create in your brain because you're all hopped up on the smack). i would recommend you find mental and physical heath from the inside out, instead of adding yet another unfulfilling addiction.

if you enjoyed this book i would recommend:
Consumerism as Religion: how shineyness beats morality
White Streak: a story of one mans success with cocaine in the Boston marathon
But they are my Friends: how to repress your need for human contact by using network tv
Finally a Use!: combusting homeless humans for biomass to fuel your hybrid car