Caffeine Cancels out Vitamin C

[Morrigan]

My brother told me something. He told me that if you have any caffeine, at any time in the day, cancels out any vitamin C that you have in your system, or that you take. Any truth to that?

Morrigan

[TrekkerScout]

If that were true, I'd be suffering from scurvy.

[Canuckistan]

Did your brother happen to say why?

ETA: This site seems to think caffeine is evil. Perhaps your brother got it from here.

Caffeine’s diuretic effect causes loss of potassium, magnesium, zinc and other minerals, and B vitamins, especially thiamine B1. Caffeine also washes out vitamin C. Therefore, all of these nutrients can be deficient unless they are obtained from foods in increased amounts or taken as supplements.

So it's not quite cancelling. But I'm still not sure I buy it. I'll have to look into it more.

[Morrigan]

No, he never said why. He just said that it does. To me, that sounded like a good ol' UL, but I figured I'd ring it past the professionals first!

ETA: He also said that even if I took a supplement, that it would even cancel that out.

Morrigan

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Coffee is the only thing that has a positive effect on my IBS. Screw fiber, 10 glasses of water, antidepressants, all the other things my doctor told me to try. If I give up my 2 cups a day, I won't have a BM for a month! I'll take scurvy, THANK YOU! *hugs esspresso machine*

[Canuckistan]

Originally Posted by Morrigan

No, he never said why. He just said that it does. To me, that sounded like a good ol' UL, but I figured I'd ring it past the professionals first!

I was just wondering. Often, these warnings come with incredibly far-fetched explanations.

Found this, and it seems appropriate here:

[Artemis]

I have heard that it weakens your immune system. I googled it and there are a few links for it...not sure how true it is. I do try never to drink a lot of soda when I'm coming down with a cold, but I don't know if there's any real point in it. I usually don't feel in the mood for caffeine when I'm sick anyway, though.

[Esprise Me]

I've never heard of caffeine canceling out Vitamin C, but I have heard that it can leach calcium from your bones. (Incidentally, that's not true either--caffeine consumption has a slight depressant effect on the absorption of calcium, but hardly "cancels out" all calcium consumption.) Still, that particular UL is widespread, and has a grain of truth to it; is it possible your brother mixed up calcium with Vitamin C? I know I've done that before.

[Bryan With a 'Y']

I don't see the problem. Just pour a big slug of orange juice in your morning coffee, and let them fight it out in the cup.

[Ms. Congeniality]

And on that note, it's time for my afternoon pick me up. I like flavored coffee, but Orange coffee? Not even I would try that.

[Bryan With a 'Y']

Originally Posted by Ms. Congeniality

And on that note, it's time for my afternoon pick me up. I like flavored coffee, but Orange coffee? Not even I would try that.

See, now that's why I prefer to think he really meant calcium. The method works much better with half-and-half.

Of course, that raises new problems for me, because I was walking through the dairy aisle the other day and noticed the "fat-free half-and-half."

I was nearly forced to assume the lotus position and meditate on that for a while.

I think I've got one half figured out, but the other half worries me...

[ParaDiddle]

I've given it some consideration and decided that I'm wiling to give up vitamin C.

- P

Originally Posted by Artemis

I do try never to drink a lot of soda when I'm coming down with a cold, but I don't know if there's any real point in it.

On the soda topic, I heard it was the rediculous amount of sugar in soda that weakens your immune system, not the caffeine. Which is why I never touch the stuff, that and it tasting rancid.

Originally Posted by Bryan With a 'Y'

(snip) I was walking through the dairy aisle the other day and noticed the "fat-free half-and-half."

I was nearly forced to assume the lotus position and meditate on that for a while.

I think I've got one half figured out, but the other half worries me...

OW! My . . . . . Head . . . . . Hurts!