I was in a taxi driven by an Indian gentleman the other day and for some reason we got on to the topic of diarrhea! I know this sounds bizarre. I think we were talking about deli-belly or something and how your digestive system is never the same after your return from India. Anyway, he said the traditional Indian remedy for deli-belly - which i equate to being raging diahorria with firey hot chilli-powder but-burn ,is.....Two Bananas.

Let's all get curry tonight and try it out!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: _Dan_,

That makes sense, because bananas are good binder/thickeners of stool. I have started eating a banana with my morning coffee and toast. It really helps keep my output from being just liquid - actually it looks and smells like coffee coming back out if I don't add the banana and toast or dry cereal.

-Mikaela
UC, 10 major surgeries in 6 years - blah blah blah - perm ileo 6-18-08

(I will keep my response light-hearted seeing as this is the 'just for laughs' corner!)

COFFEE!!! Are you BANANA's!

If anything will make your output crazy and give you a dehydrated start to the day caffiene is the WORST thing for you - especially with your shortened bowel. Do yourself a favour and kick this psycho-active drug habit sooner rather than later it will take a couple of weeks but if your can do it you will be rewarded with a boost in energy and improved digestion.

So many drug takers...tut tut. :P

Dan I feel like your response was somewhat funny but also serious at the same time. I will say that coffee is a great beverage and makes my day a lot better. I enjoy the caffeine high without any adverse effects. Coffee for me is a must in the morning, I definately don't think it is the "WORST" thing for me, I have been known to put a lot worse drugs in my system as a teenager. We all have different tolerances to foods and even caffeine but to call out caffeine as negaive I definately disagree with. Scott Mc

There we go. Now this thread is complete - we have our very own two bananas!!!

I miss coffee, god I miss it. It's not about tolerances, I can tolerate the stuff no problem (although I understand some people use it as a laxative here) the problem is that Coffee is bad for your health, the following is taken from wikipedia:


Many notable effects of coffee are related to its caffeine content. Amongst other known negative health associations it is not clear whether these are due to the caffeine or other unidentified compounds (suggesting that these may be modified by switching to decaffeinated coffee).

[edit] Anxiety and sleep changes

Many coffee drinkers are familiar with "coffee jitters", a nervous condition that occurs when one has had too much caffeine. It can also cause anxiety and irritability, in some with excessive coffee consumption, and some as a withdrawal symptom. Coffee can also cause insomnia in some, while paradoxically it helps some sleep more soundly.

[edit] Constipation

[edit] Cosmetic

Like tea, coffee causes staining of the teeth.[23]

[edit] Cholesterol

Coffee brewed using a French press method contains oils (cafestol and kahweol) otherwise trapped by more commonly used paper filters. In two short-term studies, these oils are thought to have raised LDL cholesterol levels by 10 percent.[24] The risk is not present in paper filtered coffee.

[edit] Blood pressure

Caffeine has previously been implicated in increasing the risk of high blood pressure; however, recent studies have not confirmed any association. In a 12-year study of 155,000 female nurses, large amounts of coffee did not induce a "risky rise in blood pressure".[25]. Previous studies had already shown statistically insignificant associations between coffee drinking and clinical hypertension. Effect of coffee on morbidity and mortality due to its effect on blood pressure is too weak, and has not been studied. Other positive and negative effects of coffee on health would be difficult confounding factors.[1]

[edit] Effects on pregnancy and menopause

A February 2003 Danish study of 18,478 women linked heavy coffee consumption during pregnancy to significantly increased risk of stillbirths (but no significantly increased risk of infant death in the first year). "The results seem to indicate a threshold effect around four to seven cups per day," the study reported. Those who drank eight or more cups a day (64 U.S. fl oz or 1.89 L) were at 220% increased risk compared with nondrinkers. This study has not yet been repeated, but has caused some doctors to caution against excessive coffee consumption during pregnancy.[26]

There are also gender-specific effects: in some PMS sufferers it increases the symptoms; it can reduce fertility in women; it may increase the risk of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.

Decaffeinated coffee is also regarded as a potential health risk to pregnant women due to the high incidence of chemical solvents used to extract the caffeine. The impact of these chemicals is debated, however, as the solvents in question evaporate at 80–90 °C, and coffee beans are decaffeinated before roasting, which occurs at approximately 200 °C. As such, these chemicals, namely trichloroethane and methylene chloride, are present in trace amounts at most, and may not pose a significant threat to unborn children.

[edit] Coronary artery disease

A 2004 study tried to discover why the beneficial and detrimental effects of coffee conflict. The study concluded that consumption of coffee is associated with significant elevations in biochemical markers of inflammation. This is a detrimental effect of coffee on the cardiovascular system, which may explain why coffee has so far only been shown to help the heart at levels of four cups (24 fl oz or 600 mL) or fewer per day.[27]

The health risks of decaffeinated coffee have been studied, with varying results. One variable is the type of decaffeination process used; while some involve the use of organic solvents which may leave residual traces, others rely on steam.[citation needed]

A study has shown that cafestol, a substance which is present in boiled coffee drinks, dramatically increases cholesterol levels, especially in women. Filtered coffee contains only trace amounts of cafestol.

Polymorphisms in the CYP1A2 gene may lead to a slower metabolism of caffeine. In patients with a slow version of the enzyme the risk for myocardial infarction (heart attack) is increased by a third (2-3 cups) to two thirds (>4 cups). The risk was more marked in people under the age of 59.[28]

A Harvard study over 20 years of 128,000 people published in 2006 concluded that there was no evidence to support the claim that coffee consumption itself increases the risk of coronary heart disease. The study did, however, show a correlation between heavy consumption of coffee and higher degrees of exposure to other coronary heart disease risk factors such as smoking, greater alcohol consumption, and lack of physical exercise.[29] The results apply only to coffee filtered through paper filters, which excludes boiled coffee and espresso, for example. Additionally, the lead researcher on this study acknowledged that subsets of the larger group may be at risk for heart attack when drinking multiple cups of coffee a day due to genetic differences in metabolizing caffeine.[citation needed]

The Iowa Women's Health Study showed that women who consumed coffee actually had fewer cardiovascular disease incidents and lower cancer rates than the general population. For women who drank 6 or more cups, the benefit was even greater. However, this study excluded 35% of its original participants who already had cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases when the study began. Since participants were all over the age of 55, no good conclusion can be drawn about the long term effect of coffee drinking on heart disease from this study.[30]

Dan, I could go over the top like you and google "coffee is bad for you' spend 3 hours copying and pasting but there isn't enough time in the day for that. So I will not google "benefits of coffee" and copy and paste for 3 hrs. There are arguments on both sides that hold weight , thanks for the information I will process it over my cup of coffee in the morning. Lets hope I dont get Anxiety and sleep changes, staining of the teeth, high cholesterol, high BP, heart disease, get all banged up on cafestol and kahweol, have a stillborn child, Coronary artery disease, Polymorphism in the CYP1A2 gene, and anything else you can find on google. I'll be sure to keep you informed. Scott Mc

Okay for the sake of balance here are the results from all the hours of research i've just done for you (um....wikipedia again actually )



Benefits

[edit] Reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease

Several studies comparing moderate coffee drinkers (about 2 cups a day) with light coffee drinkers (less than one cup a day) found that those who drank more coffee were significantly less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease later in life. [2][3]

[edit] Reduced risk of gallstone disease

Drinking caffeinated coffee has been correlated with a lower incidence of gallstones and gallbladder disease in both men[4] and women[5] in two studies performed by the Harvard School of Public Health. A lessened risk was not seen in those who drank decaffeinated coffee.

[edit] Reduced risk of Parkinson's disease

A study comparing heavy coffee drinkers (3.5 cups a day) with non-drinkers found that the coffee drinkers were significantly less likely to contract Parkinson's Disease later in life. [6]. Likewise, a second study found an inverse relationship between the amount of coffee regularly drunk and the likelihood of developing Parkinson's Disease. [7]

[edit] Cognitive performance

Many people drink coffee for its ability to increase short term recall and increase IQ[8].

Likewise, in tests of simple reaction time, choice reaction time, incidental verbal memory, and visuospatial reasoning, participants who regularly drank coffee were found to perform better on all tests, with a positive relationship between test scores and the amount of coffee regularly drunk. Elderly participants were found to have the largest effect associated with regular coffee drinking. [9] Another study found that women over the age of 80 performed significantly better on cognitive tests if they had regularly drunk coffee over their lifetimes. [10]

[edit] Analgesic enhancement

Coffee contains caffeine, which increases the effectiveness of pain killers, especially migraine and headache medications.[11] For this reason, many over-the-counter headache drugs include caffeine in their formula.

[edit] Antidiabetic

Coffee intake may reduce one's risk of diabetes mellitus type 2 by up to half. While this was originally noticed in patients who consumed high amounts (7 cups a day), the relationship was later shown to be linear.[12]

[edit] Liver disease

Coffee can also reduce the incidence of cirrhosis of the liver[13] and has been linked to a reduced risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, a primary liver cancer that usually arises in patients with preexisting cirrhosis.[14] The exact mechanism and the amount of coffee needed to achieve a beneficial effect are as yet unclear.[15]

[edit] Cancer

Coffee consumption is also correlated to a reduced risk of oral, esophageal, and pharyngeal cancer.[16][17] In ovarian cancer, no benefit was found.[18] In the Nurses Health Study, a modest reduction in breast cancer was observed in postmenopausal women only, which was not confirmed in decaffeinated coffee.[19]

[edit] Cardioprotective

Coffee reduces the incidence of heart disease, though whether this is simply because it rids the blood of excess lipids or because of its stimulant effect is unknown.[citation needed]

[edit] Laxative/diuretic

Coffee is also a powerful stimulant for peristalsis and is sometimes considered to prevent constipation; it is also a diuretic. However, coffee can also cause loose bowel movements.

Practitioners in alternative medicine often recommend coffee enemas for "cleansing of the colon" due to its stimulus of peristalsis, although mainstream medicine has not proved any benefits of the practice.

[edit] Antioxidant

Coffee contains the anticancer compound methylpyridinium. This compound is not present in significant amounts in other food materials. Methylpyridinium is not present in raw coffee beans but is formed during the roasting process from trigonelline, which is common in raw coffee beans. It is present in both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, and even in instant coffee.[20]

[edit] Prevention of dental caries

The tannins in coffee may reduce the cariogenic potential of foods. In vitro experiments have shown that these polyphenolic compounds may interfere with glucosyltransferase activity of mutans streptococci, which may reduce plaque formation. In rat experiments, tea polyphenols reduced caries. [21]

[edit] Gout

Coffee consumption decreased risk of gout in men over age 40. In a large study of over 45,000 men over a 12-year period, the risk for developing gout in men over 40 was inversely proportional with the amount of coffee consumed.[22]


Phew ---- I'm worn out now. Think I might go and eat a few bananas'.

Seriously though, i'm a reformed coffee addict and ex-barrista. I kicked the habit and after a couple of weeks detox I felt so much better. Considering the shortened bowel and medical history I just decided it was better for me in the long run.

I don't drink, but I do inhale

Dan

ps. rest of article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_and_health

Dan-

After 10 years of torture and being starved more than being able to eat - 10 major surgeries, 3 failed j-pouches, 3 temporary ileostomies and now a permanent ileostomy as of 6-18-08 - I reserve the right to enjoy one of my very favorite things - COFFEE - I only have one cup (sometimes 2) a day and I LOVE IT - bad breath or not.

I'm not saying I can't give it up - I did for the two times I was pregnant with my daughters and the year EACH that I nursed them - and all the times I was too sick to have anything at all. And I always returned to the coffee as soon as I could because I truly enjoy the taste, I mean I really like good, strong rich coffee.

All I'm saying is don't take a woman's coffee away!!! And by the way, I am off all medication for the first time in 10 years - that is one thing a permanent ileostomy has given me!

Mikaela

PS - you could quote me all the bad stuff there is about coffee - it can't be worse than all the drugs I have had to put in my body through all this.

I think you are brilliant and exceptional to give up coffee for your kids.

By using your logic I could justify taking up the crack pipe and not feel guilty.

Seriously though, if its just the taste that you like then you may want to try out Teeccino a herbal coffee without the psychotropic addictive cholesterol diuretic capillary dilating heart racing crap thats in the black stuff .

Dan

Well- I really don't think coffee is comparable to crack - that is just plan ridiculous!

But, how about we agree to disagree - you can drink herbal tea and I can drink my coffee (which I am doing right now).

I do appreciate all the info - you really enjoy your computer research - you know that might not be good for your eyes - ha ha!

-Mikaela

I LOVE the psychotropic addictive cholesterol diuretic capillary dilating heart racing crap thats in the black stuff. I do one cappuccino per day. I don't notice a difference between drinking herbal tea and coffee. Well, almost no difference.

And don't you just love how something is really, really good for us one week and then absolutely the worst thing we can be putting into our body the next week? TMI TMI!

kathy

p.s. I think Dan was joshing about the crack.... That's a big problem when we let our fingers do the talking - we can't see fingers rolling their eyes.

Dan,
We don't have any Teeccino over here in America - We dumped it all into Boston Harbor a couple hundred years ago to protest British taxation .
Have a butt burn free day !
David

I thought that tea was all dumped in protest to not being allowed to have your own currency and that the founding fathers didn't believe in the concept of a central bank!!! The federal reserve (a private bank) prints money based on nothing and has you all paying income tax to cover the interest on the spiraling debt your leaders have no control over. The last time I checked the constitution says you don't need to pay income tax. Now THAT is funny!!!

Ho hum.

Cup of tea anyone?

Dan,

That's interesting to me - we were always taught - "No taxation without representation!" That was the "battle" cry. Although, the things you mentioned were true too -ie the central bank. That said, I love the British - you guys rock!. I couldn't have gotten through the last 2 months without Shell. I think our national differences are far outweighed by our similarities.

Dan - I have enjoyed the banter - stay true to your opinions - it is a part of who we are.

Warmly,
-Mikaela

PS - I was told Queen Elizabeth has an ostomy, do you know if that is true?

quote:

I think our national differences are far outweighed by our similarities.

I totally agree with you there. On a very deep and sincere level.

I have had a lot of fun joshing with everyone in this 'Just for Laughs' thread. Lots of fun tickling everyone the wrong way Is it true that some Americans don't get sarcasm????

And I think Shell is awesome too.

And i had a cup of 'herbal' coffee today just so I could say I'd tried the stuff and I actually think its surprisingly rather good and virtually the same taste as the real thing .

As this is my very own comedy thread spiced with a little social commentry I think perhaps its time to hear from Bill Hicks:

"The world is like a ride in an amusement park. And when you choose to go on it, you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills and it's very brightly coloured and it's very loud and it's fun, for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time and they begin to question, is this real, or is this just a ride? And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, they say, "Hey - don't worry, don't be afraid, ever, because, this is just a ride..." And we... kill those people.

"We have a lot invested in this ride. Shut him up. Look at my furrows of worry. Look at my big bank account and my family. This just has to be real." Just a ride. But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok. But it doesn't matter because: It's just a ride. And we can change it anytime we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings and money. A choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one. Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money that we spend on weapons and defences each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace. Thank you very much, you've been great."