Re: Coffee - what's the scoop?

For me, coffee is one of those things that I just plain dont want to give up. Like some of you have mentioned our bodies tell us when something isn't good for us and I have also found that my body doesn't want any more cofrfee after about 2 cups, but those first two sure are good!

Unfortnatly though I do suspect there may be some ill effects of regular coffee consumption. Paul Pitchford, a scholar of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and author of 'Helaing with Whole Foods' (a HUGE resource of information re food and health, which I have found very valuable, although it does have it's flaws)describes some of the good (ie. good for asthma, purgent/stimulant to help cope with rich diet, external uses) and the bad. The bad includes chemicals used in production, urinary/bladder and pancreatic problems, and one thing I found very interesting is that the acid in coffee eats away at intestinal villi of the small intestine, hindering nutrient assimilation. He suggests using nettle tea to help regenerate the villi, maybe Charlie can attest to that?

I am not sure if Mr. Pitchford has got it all figured out but I do beleive he's got some valid points, particularily the issue of the villi.