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With 64% of US adults indulging in at least one cup of coffee per day, and 11% gulping
down four cups or more a day, there are over 4 billion cups of coffee thought to be consumed
every year.
That’s a lot of coffee.
While drinking coffee has been proven to have many health benefits, what is the effect on
the body of drinking only coffee, and nothing else?
For this experiment, we will be drinking cup after cup after cup of the beautiful bean.
Just how long could you keep going on coffee and nothing else to drink?
That’s what we’ll find out, in this episode of The Infographics Show – What Would Happen
to Your Body If You Drank Only Coffee, and Nothing Else?
If I seem to be talking faster than usual in this episode, you’ll know why.
First the good news.
A cup of coffee in the morning may provide more than just an energy boost.
Coffee is thought to protect against type 2 diabetes.
Researchers at UCLA found that drinking coffee increase the plasma levels of the SHBG hormone
resulting in a lower risk of diabetes.
A link between Parkinson’s disease and coffee consumption has also been found, indicating
that those who drink regular cups of Java have a lower risk of Parkinson’s.
Researchers in Italy discovered that coffee drinkers have a 40% lower risk of liver cancer,
and researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard School of Public Health
found that people who drink four cups of coffee a day have a lower risk of heart failure.
Coffee is also high in antioxidants, which fight the oxidative damage that causes cancer.
In years past, doctors warned patients that drinking coffee would increase risk of heart
disease and stunt growth.
They were also worried about the addictive nature of the energy high that follows a cup
of coffee.
However, it turned out the old studies used subjects who had other health risk habits
such as drinking and smoking.
Drinking coffee at a rate of up to six cups a day doesn’t appear to be that harmful,
and in fact, may make you live longer.
One study looked at 208,000 subjects, finding that those who drank coffee regularly, lived
longer than those who refrained from the bean.
On the down side, coffee addiction is a real phenomenon, with heavy coffee drinkers suffering
withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, irritability, and fatigue.
Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant producing feel-good chemicals to spread in
the brain, and when our supply is cut short, we feel down for a couple of days.
But onto the experiment.
We are only allowed to drink coffee and nothing else.
So here we go.
You wake up in the morning, shower, brush your teeth, and prepare for the day ahead.
The night before, you had hydrated fully in anticipation of your coffee experiment.
So boil the water, and pour that first cup.
Sip, savor, and enjoy, as those feel good chemicals whizz around in your brain.
The acidity level in your stomach increases, possibly leading to a visit to the bathroom.
Not to worry.
Take a moment on the throne to catch up with world events.
After washing your hands, you can knuckle down to do some serious work.
Coffee boosts those dopamine, serotonin and adrenaline levels, and increases the heart
rate.
You feel like you are on fire with enthusiasm and determination to get the job done.
Well done, you are riding the java wave.
As you work you, you hit another two cups.
You pour that fourth cup and notice your left eye begins twitching.
Not to worry, pour yourself another cup.
Now, after cup number 5, the muscle spasms increase.
You notice a caffeine tension headache and your mouth feels dry.
The calories contained in coffee might cause you to feel a little raw.
You are allowed to eat in this experiment, but you don’t feel terribly hungry.
That’ll be the coffee reducing your appetite.
Drifting off to sleep will be tricky, too, with all that caffeine swishing around in
your system stimulating your brain, nervous system, and heart.
Now how dangerous this coffee drinking becomes, depends on the strength of your coffee.
A coffee is a stimulant and can dehydrate the body, but if your coffee is weak enough,
the water content will probably be enough to sustain you.
But keep drinking the hard stuff, and be prepared to come to a sticky end.
As the days clock by, you will notice that you feel weakened by the lack of hydration,
and you will become wired, paranoid, and nervous.
You would probably begin to increase the water volume in the coffee to counteract the dehydrating
effect of the coffee.
What would happen if you kept chasing cup after cup of strong black coffee?
If you just kept drinking the hard stuff day after day?
Well, famous 19th Century French writer Honoré de Balzac did just that when he finally cashed
in his chips.
The chronicler of post-Napoleonic French drama was said to have drank 50 cups of java a day
and died eventually of caffeine poisoning.
He wrote: “Coffee is a great power in my life; I have observed its effects on an epic
scale.
Coffee roasts your insides.”
So what would happen if you keep drinking coffee on an epic scale?
Well it would eventually kill you.
But then again, so would water if you drank enough of it.
So the secret here is that everything should be taken in moderation including your favorite
cup of Joe.
And an amazing cup of coffee is extremely hard to make by yourself, but not impossible.
Go behind-the-scenes with celebrated California roaster Blue Bottle and learn what it takes
to brew an amazing cup of coffee by hand!
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So, what do you think?
Is it possible to stay alive drinking only coffee?
What’s the most coffee you’ve ever drank in one day?
Let us know in the comments!
Also, be sure to watch our other video called: Free Online Certifications That Will look
good on your Resume.
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