Coffee & Sweeteners

My understanding was that coffee helped to curb appetite mainly due to the caffeine. I always thought decaf coffee was equivalent to drinking water in terms of an appetite suppressant. How you found otherwise?

Other than staining your teeth, the only side effect that I could possibly find was in the study below. But the study wasn't in humans and paper filters (obviously, commonly used in the US) help.

Why not try to skip the sweeteners altogether? I got used to it after a few weeks. That'll definitely be healthier.

Mol Endocrinol. 2007 Jul;21(7):1603-16. Epub 2007 Apr 24.Click here to read Links
The cholesterol-raising factor from coffee beans, cafestol, as an agonist ligand for the farnesoid and pregnane X receptors.
Ricketts ML, Boekschoten MV, Kreeft AJ, Hooiveld GJ, Moen CJ, Müller M, Frants RR, Kasanmoentalib S, Post SM, Princen HM, Porter JG, Katan MB, Hofker MH, Moore DD.

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, BCM 130, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. [email protected]

Cafestol, a diterpene present in unfiltered coffee brews such as Scandinavian boiled, Turkish, and cafetière coffee, is the most potent cholesterol-elevating compound known in the human diet. Several genes involved in cholesterol homeostasis have previously been shown to be targets of cafestol, including cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase (CYP7A1), the rate-limiting enzyme in bile acid biosynthesis. We have examined the mechanism by which cafestol elevates serum lipid levels. Changes in several lipid parameters were observed in cafestol-treated APOE3Leiden mice, including a significant increase in serum triglyceride levels. Microarray analysis of these mice identified alterations in hepatic expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism and detoxification, many of which are regulated by the nuclear hormone receptors farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and pregnane X receptor (PXR). Further studies demonstrate that cafestol is an agonist ligand for FXR and PXR, and that cafestol down-regulates expression of the bile acid homeostatic genes CYP7A1, sterol 12alpha-hydroxylase, and Na(+)-taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide in the liver of wild-type but not FXR null mice. Cafestol did not affect genes known to be up-regulated by FXR in the liver of wild-type mice, but did increase expression of the positive FXR-target genes intestinal bile acid-binding protein and fibroblast growth factor 15 (FGF15) in the intestine. Because FGF15 has recently been shown to function in an enterohepatic regulatory pathway to repress liver expression of bile acid homeostatic genes, its direct induction in the gut may account for indirect effects of cafestol on liver gene expression. PXR-dependent gene regulation of cytochrome P450 3A11 and other targets by cafestol was also only seen in the intestine. Using a double FXR/PXR knockout mouse model, we found that both receptors contribute to the cafestol-dependent induction of intestinal FGF15 gene expression. In conclusion, cafestol acts as an agonist ligand for both FXR and PXR, and this may contribute to its impact on cholesterol homeostasis.

Any thoughts on this: http://www.teeccino.com/

Seems like a possible alternative.

From my expreince, Decaf cof. is pretty unhealty, never recommend it, healtiest coffe is filter coffe, stay away from decaf coff.
And yes stevia so far only healty sweetneer that I know.

coffee decaffeination need tiocloroetilene, a knowed factor risk of Pancreatic Cancer.
caffeine is dangerous only if your heart beat is too elevated.
some studys say that caffein (long term consumption) decrease the risk of diabetic, same type of cancer and is a good antiox

stevia is the way to go for sweetners
kal is my favorite brand

In my coffee I use a sweetener called NectaSweet.I like it because it is a tablet--no fillers and with the strength I bought it sweetens like 4 tsp sugar so 1 tablet is good in my coffee. It is saccharin and I was able to find it in my local supermarket Kroger. 1 bottle has lasted me a very long time! I hope he finds something that he likes! I think it will just be trial and error since there are so many choices out there. Good luck!!

Stay away from ALL artificial sweeteners! Splenda is a chlorinated artificial sweetener and it will come out at some point that aspartame, Acesulfame-K splenda etc. cause a host of health issues and will be taken off the market. It's already been linked to MS. A friend of my mothers used to drink Crystal Lite religiously and started to suffer seizures. When she stopped the CL they went away. Many people suffer immediate gastric distress from aspartame and can't use it. Call me old fashioned but I like to use substances the body recognizes like honey, and raw sugar but in very small amounts. I even use gasp real butter! The body stores substances in the fatty tissues that it doesn't know what to do with. If you look at some of the European countries they eat very fatty and sugary foods yet don't gain weight. Yes they are more active but they also eat PURE foods. Foods devoid of chemicals. They body readily metabolizes pure foods.

I don't even like stevia as I personally suffered the exact same side effects from it as the chemical brands which says to me something is wrong there.

Stevia sides: Energy Metabolism: Large amounts of stevioside can potentially interfere with absorption of carbohydrates in animals. It can further disrupt the metabolising/conversion of food into energy.

Cancer: Steviol has successfully been converted into a mutagenic compound, which may promote cancer by causing genetic mutation of a cell�s DNA. The catch? Scientists don�t yet know if this will happen in human cells.

Reproductive problems: European scientists cite potential adverse side effects to the male reproductive system. When fed high doses of stevioside for nearly two years, sperm production in male rats was noticeably reduced and the weight of seminal vesciles declined. Likewise, when female hamsters were fed large amounts of a stevioside derivative called steviol, their offspring were found to be fewer and smaller. Again, it should be noted that this has been neither tested nor proven in humans.

All that being said...Yes decaf coffee as well as tea DO contain small amounts of caffeine. Have you considered trying herbal teas?

Green tea can help curb sugar cravings, boost your metabolism, and burn fat; peppermint tea suppresses food cravings while decreasing your appetite, while dandelion acts as a natural diuretic. Ginger-root tea is a natural diuretic and lemon balm tea before meals can suppress your appetite. You will eat less but feel full.

I use Yogi teas that contain liccorice and peppermint and find that I need NO sweetener at all.