Coffee good or bad ?

[Bali05]

Is coffee in general good or bad for Hep C ? There are reports that people
who drink 4cups of coffee have less fibrosis. Than there are those
that say because of the roasting it has carcinogens. Than again
it is a stimulant and might make liver work harder.
I like my organic peruvian light roast in the morning
and an espresso or 2 in the afternoon as a pick me up.

Anything wrong with that

[copyman]

nope, nothing wrong with the coffee. i got the ok from my doctor who said 2 cups a day is fine. I have seen studies saying it is not good but many more that show benefits. just like anything else, use in moderation.

[Susan_1a_CC]

Here's some updated info that those of us trying to reach 12 week UND may find particularly interesting.  Here's the link and a brief sentence out of the sight.

http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/2010_conference/aasld/docs/1203_2010_a.html

"People who drank 3 or more cups of coffee per day experienced a significantly larger median decrease in HCV viral load from baseline to week 12, compared with those who drank none (3.7 vs 1.7 log, respectively)."

[James10500]

For some reason my taste buds have changed since being on tx.  I used to have to have coffee every morning now It tastes bad and I have no desire for it......strange.

[Susan_1a_CC]

I think a persons body is their best guide and yours doesn't seem to want coffee.  Since I'm still able to drink coffee, I am trying to get 3 cups a day in and gain any stacking of the deck in my favor.

[James10500]

I agree 100%. I wish hadn't changed.  I miss my morning routine.  Give yourself every advantage you can.  Perhaps I should crank up the latte machine.

[willbb]

Interesting you mentioned about the taste buds changing,mine have also changed particularly for coffee,just doesn"t seem to taste as good since starting tx. however like Susan I am still trying to get at least a couple a day in.

WILL

[pcds]

My doctor told me the liver loves coffee.

[bostoncream]

if i drank 5 cups of caffeinated coffee a day i would never sleep   i am constantly urinating 24/7 as it is  so ill drink a cup or 2 very early in the am  i also have cirrhosis so i dont think theres much of a benefit for me

[Bali05]

It seems like ages ago when I posted this question.
Everyone is different , now being on tx with anemia ect.....
I need the coffee in the morning even more to get out of bed
Switched to low acid , more stomach friendly.

It is definately dehydrating so a glass of water with your coffee
is a good idea. Like it is served in the old coffee houses in Europe.

[Susan_1a_CC]

Yeah, your question has some age on it but the coffee research is very recent.  I have to laugh though as it seems one week coffee is being touted as great for something or other, and then the next it's detrimental.  Living is just so dangerous! ;)).

[pcds]

Some additional thoughts on coffee.  Nothing is as good for your liver as killing the hec C virus with some serious medications.  When on tx coffee tasted awful so I had very little of it.  For those of us waiting to start treatment again, coffee may be helpful.  But while on tx I don't think it means much regarding the final outcome.  So, if you can tolerate it on tx fine.  If not, no big deal.  I haven't heard of a study that links coffee with SVR, RVR.  

[evangelin]

"Living is just so dangerous! ;)). "

Isn't that the truth!
-----------------------------------
Well, I am assuming that coffee is good because even the  liver Dr.'s are saying to drink it.
What I want to know is, does anyone know if a certain kind of roasting method makes it better or worse for what we are  trying to treat with it.  I remember that an unfiltered French coffee was said to not be good ( It was in one of the earlier studies.  I hope I am remembering it right but I know for sure it said unfiltered and I think I recall "French"  I don't have a clue how the French drink their coffee but Bali would know)
I know I have read that,
using milk and cream, bind with the ingredients that are likely helpful and so the coffee needs to be straight black and not decaf to be optimal. I just wish a coffee expert could tell us if mild, medium or dark roast would be best.  I've been picking the middle road with medium.  Sometimes my best logic is incorrect but I was just thinking that not enough roasting might keep it from being strong enough and too much might damage the helpful ingredients but all this is purely guessing.  
Anybody else have a different idea?
Ev

[Bali05]

From what I understand Coffee is roasted basically two ways with oil (darker roast)
and without. It is the darker oily roast that can have carcinogenic poperties according
to an article I read a while back.

[evangelin]

I thought you'd know something about this!  You are quite the wealth of information for a guy that has taken radical amts. of Riba.
Thanks,
Ev :>)

[Bali05]

i might have remembered this wrong.... sorry
just found this:

"Roasting coffee creates at least one known carcinogen: acrilamyde. While it might seem counterintuitive, the highest levels are in medium roast, and the lowest are in dark roast. And carcinogens from non-organic coffee farming and preparation might also be present in the products we consume—a strong argument in favor of organic coffee."

I am sure if you do some online searches you find more....

Cheers
b

[evangelin]

Oh great!  Look what my logic did for me.  I've been giving Joe the worst one.  
You are still doing well considering all that Riba.  Poor Joe was a zombie by the time he'd been on TX as long as you have.  I didn't ask him anything.
I will try looking at this a little further.  Drinking coffee is one of the easiest things we can do so we might as well get all we can out of it.
Speaking of acrylamides, I think that is the stuff that forms on the charred pieces of grilled meat, which supposedly is carcinogenic.  I read something a while back that said to use rosemary on your meat because it neutralizes the carcinogens.  Rosemary is good on meat but I don't think it would do much for a cup of coffee">)
Blessings,
Ev

[scratchinghead]

" I just wish a coffee expert could tell us if mild, medium or dark roast would be best.  I've been picking the middle road with medium.  Sometimes my best logic is incorrect but I was just thinking that not enough roasting might keep it from being strong enough and too much might damage the helpful ingredients but all this is purely guessing.  
Anybody else have a different idea? "

I'm kinda learning about coffee (bored to death with Folgers).
The light roast has more caffeine, and portrays more the flavor and stuff from the bean itself.
The dark roast has less caffeine, and portrays more the roasting process, the "caramelization".

loose association: I believe there is choline in coffee, maybe not the same stuff in PPC (or was it PCC?), which is expensive stuff but said to help.

French press, loved by some, lets a lot of oils through versus the paper filter method. Some say the oils are not good for you in the long run. Some say.

If you want decaf, this link tells you about the processes used to do this:
http://www.kobos.com/About_Us/Cafe-News/?launch_pg=NewsItem&launch_sel=1004672

If you can't stand the taste on treatment (I'm no expert), just throw some flavoring in maybe?

*************************
I have a current  fixation with Matcha Green Tea. Supposedy has 6 times all the good stuff regular green tea and latest stuff says you need 5-6 cups of green tea a day for the anti-cancer, antoxidant effects. (again no expert).

[scratchinghead]

oh yeah. use water around 200 degrees to brew coffee. any higher supposedly will burn the bean. also, the biggest change in process you can make is buying a grinder, prefereably burr grinder. I bought a refurbished Cuisnart from Amazon for $38 (free shipping).

Funny, but the coffee testers that buy all the coffee wherever they go to buy it, put the ground coffee in a glass cup, add hot water, and wait for the grounds to settle before using a spoon to slurp and taste. Hey!!! That's "cowboy coffee"!!!! Shows what we all know kinda.

[evangelin]

Thanks for the interesting coffee information.  I'm still not sure what to buy.  I am definitely restrained buy cost.  I would think that most of the Halt C people drank something regular like Folgers but I've already established that my guesses aren't that good. :>)
I've never heard of the Matcha green tea.  Joe's supplements have green tea in them so I let it go at that.  Joe went through a stage of liking green tea but he is over it now and prefers the coffee.
Joe always thought it was the coffee acid he couldn't tolerate while on TX,  He didn't really want anything acidic.  Milk, on the other hand, was his comfort food.  It had a soothing effect on him.  If we find out it inhibits TX response, I quit! :>)
Glad you stopped by,
Ev

[scratchinghead]

Trader Joes has low acid French roast. And most of their coffee is around 6-8 dollars.
Green tea suppliments probably are like Matcha tea, I'm thinking. Matcha tea is ground up green tea into dust. Of course, I'm gonna sweaten it with a teaspoon of Stevita or Splenda (hey, I ain't perfect). Tell Joe to do coffee and green tea stuff. no?

[scratchinghead]

Going by the Japanese food store to see if they have cheaper Matcha. Tao tea here wants $5 an ounce. I bought their $17.95 metal jar full which says 75 serviings (must be pretty small servings if I use 1 teaspoon a shot).

oh well. we gotta feel around and put stuff on our diet list and take stuff off depending on how we can afford it and what the current science is. It's not black and white. It's kinda like your doctors. You gotta be your own expert, weighing what they say with what an experienced community says about the same subject.

[Bali05]

TJ`s low acid French is what I am having on tx these days (low acid , price)
wish they made an organic version.
Low acid coffee is not easy to find. There are only two other companies that
I know and they are more expensive.

[evangelin]

Joe still has the crazy idea that life should still be enjoyed so he dodges some of my great ideas for his recovery. :>)
I wish I had a Trader Joe's.  The only time we ever get there is when Joe has a liver Dr.'s appt in St. Louis approx every 6 months.  
Your last paragraph is something I can sure relate to.  It is also why it is hard telling someone else what you do because things change around a bit according to time, money or little self-experiments. I give Joe Sam-E as much as possible but sometimes we go through a spell where we can't afford it.  Joe took LDN since ending his last TX and it really seemed to help his recovery but now Mike H. is thinking it is raising his (Mike's , not Joe's) enzymes a bit so we have stopped it for now to see how things go.  Hard to explain all these little deviations.  The Hep Tech products are our only constant and we had a few days where we ran out this time before payday.  I want life to be perfect but it refuses!
Rolling with the punches,
Ev

[Bali05]

I suffer from tx induced severe insomnia.
Without coffee during the day I sometimes would not be able to function.
Propably the wrong time to either start or stop coffee drinking habits.