Customer Reviews

Caffeine Blues: Wake Up to the Hidden Dangers of America's #1 Drug

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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.

Caffeine Blues has a wealth of information about the side affects, most of which I was experiencing. At the beginning is a checklist to see how addicted you are. In the next chapter, Cherniske explains the origins of caffeine, which was interesting. The majority of the book explains what caffeine does to the major organs of your body, including your brain and your cognitive thinking skills.

It took Cherniske 301 pages to say that caffeine is legalized speed. Yeah, no kidding. I tried to go turkey and fell flat on my face. Caffeine is a highly addictive drug, one which can produce severe withdrawals. He lists several alternatives to wean yourself off, such as weakening your coffee with milk. For the soda addicts, he suggests alternating every other can with caffeine-free soda, herbal drinks, or water. Plus he suggests Ginseng, Vitamin B-6, and St. John's Wort, among others to keep you alert. Exercise was another suggestion. With that, he warns the reader not to get out of breath because that will lower your blood sugar, thus making you more tired.

I have to say that this book was helpful, although I have to agreee with some of the other reviewers in that he seemed overzealous in his campaign against caffeine and its products. One cup of coffee or one can of soda per day isn't going to hurt you. But if you drink eight cups a day for 10+ years, yes, you will feel the effects.

I give this book three stars because it is well written and informative; however, I feel that the author spent way too much time brow-beating us to the point where I wondered if this wasn't some sort of political, Thought Police kind of ploy to incite a mass panic within the general public. While I would recommend this book, I would also read others in order to make an intelligent, educated choice about caffeine and its long-term effects.

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 quit 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 get 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 caffeine is bad for you. So don't kid yourself, get off of it, and be the person you were created to be.

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!

You can argue all you want about qualifications of Mr. Cherniske. But I will say that my daily caffiene intake was from 600-1100mg a day for years, I quit cold turkey about a month before I started reading the book...and the withdrawal was incredible....headaches, shakes, irritable beyond belief. You can't say this isn't an additive drug while you're slugging down four or more startbucks coffees a day.

For months and months I've had hard a time sleeping, waking up in the morning feeling like I have no energy at all. Within two weeks of quitting caffien, I feel great. I still go to bed at 11:30-midnight and get up the same time at 5:45am, yet in the morning I can now get up without any problems and I'm awake the whole day without fatigue, feeling more energized. I CHANGED NOTHING ELSE IN MY DIET OR ROUTINE. I still eat the same stuff as before and have not started exorcizing, or most of all...have taken NONE of the suggested suppliments in the book. The only thing I did was stop drinking coffee/coke and started drinking more water.

So save yourself a few bucks if you don't want to buy the book, but do yourself a favor and cut out caffiene. The withdrawal sucks, but it doesn't last for ever. If anything once you get through it, it will give you reason to stay away from caffeine.

Dan

It is truly sad to see how many reviewers of this book call Stephen Cherniske "overzealous" and insist that "one cup a day won't hurt you." Sad, but not surprising, as it is indicative of the depth of our society's addiction to this drug. One cup a day won't hurt you? One cup a day is all I usually drank, and the results were withdrawal headaches, a great plunge in my energy at 3 pm (never connected that to your morning cup of coffee, did you? Surprise!), problems with stress and tension, and even tooth-grinding in the night. All this went away when I quit, and Caffeine Blues was the book that inspired me to do it.

In addition to it being an easy and fascinating, if at times disturbing read, there are three things I like about this book:
1) It details--thoroughly--the ways in which caffeine may damage your health.
2) It reveals the damage that coffee does to the environment. Specifically, coffee was once grown in the shade, so that trees were left in place. Then sun coffee was introduced, allowing greater yields but contributing to the destruction of rain forests. I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere else.
3) It explains how best to go off coffee. This is important. If you try cold turkey, as most people probably do, the withdrawal symptoms will likely drive you right back to coffee.

All in all, this is a great book. It should be required reading for everyone who has ever had a withdrawal headache.

Cherniske here makes a bold, spirited case for abstinence from caffeine. While some people may feel his tone is zealous to a fault, the truth of his words cannot be denied. Caffeine IS an addictive drug. Caffeine IS harmful for the body. Granted, there are many other things we consume that are harmful as well, but that does not negate the author's argument.

I have been a coffee lover for many years, but have been a believer in physical fitness and sensible nutrition for an even longer period of time. In the back of my mind I always have been aware of the perils of caffeine. This author has brought all those thoughts to the forefront. As a result, I am weaning myself off this harmful, yet widely accepted, substance.

Yes, pretty much everyone in our society drinks caffeine, blind to the dangers. Fifty years ago pretty much everyone in our society smoked tobacco, blind to the dangers. We've realized the dangers now of tobacco -- will the dangers of caffeine be the next great realization?

I highly recommend this book. I especially recommend it to people who have lives with high-stress and are mindlessly guzzling caffeine. Buy this title -- it will make you think, and will probably put you on the path to a much more serene existence.

I like this book so much, I've been sending copies to my friends -- something I've never done before. For years, I've read about the harmless effects of caffeine, but deep down, I knew it was causing some very negative feelings.

This book explains everything and points out dozens of things you've never suspected. The writing is both engaging, scientific, and thoroughly convincing.

I highly recommend it to anyone who suspects caffeine plays a part in their mood and overall health. You will be amazed at the numbers of ways it may be interfering with your well-being.

I thought I would add my two bits to the discussion. I am a senior level medical student and weeks away from graduation.

First off, I am not suprised to see some of the asinine, half-witted comments in the "1 star" section as I commonly encounter these same rebuttals both by hospital staff and patients. In fact, during a recent debate with a resident doctor of Internal Medicine in the past week, he made the statements: "you can't trust a dietician" and "caffeine/coffee has NEVER been shown to have any long-term health effects". Wrong, and such a strong statement. While multiple studies do indeed show ambiguity in their results, there are many others which DO unequivocally link caffeine to adverse health outcomes. I have personally done a literature review on caffeine and have discovered many well-built and RECENT studies in the literature to support the author's claims. It is particularly amusing to see people tenaciously defend caffeine and neglect to entertain any discussion with respect to its negative health effects. It's as though you've insulted their mothers!

I embarassingly admit that I have learned more about caffeine from a single chapter in this intriguing text than during my medical training in its entirety. Furthermore, only negative effects were related to me in med-school, never positives. Despite it's ubiquitous presence in society, the physiologic effects of caffeine on the body are not taught in medical school. This may serve to explain why many physicians neglect to broach the discussion on caffeine with their patients.

This brings me to my next thought: The fact that the author is not a doctor/PHD does not preclude the book's credibility. The author is more informed about caffeine than the majority of practicing physicians. He does cite valid studies which I assert, are appropriately interpreted. With access to Pubmed (a search tool that allows access to virtually any journal in print) I have personally and randomly clarified several of the references he lists, for verification. What difference does it make if a well-informed nutritionist or physician accesses the forum by which researchers exchange information?

For those who argue that the recent studies are not cited, let the reader bear in mind that this book was published in 1996. Since, there have been multiple studies to show adverse health effects of caffeine.

Lastly, while it may be touted that coffee has been shown to contain anti-oxidants which can reduce the likelihood of developing cancer, it also contains diterpenes, molecular compounds that increases your risk for heart attack. Why take the bad with the good? There are a vast array of food products that contain anti-oxidants, without the diterpenes present.

This is great book for lay-people and health professionals alike. It's definitely worth a read, especially if you have your suspicions about coffee or if you're a practicing physician who prefers to exhaust conservative measures before resigning to medical therapy.

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?