Hello everyone....I was wondering if I could still drink coffee with having MCS? I drink at least 2-3 cups a day and my doctor hasnt said anything...so I was just curious..I have heard both sides...just wondering if I cant is there something else that could replace the coffee?

And I have heard alot about Organice foods...kind of expensive around here...is just regular fresh foods bad?

Thanks Denis H.

Hi Denise,

Coffee is not a good idea as it is a potent stimulant so tends to stress already over-taxed adrenal glands in those with MCS.

If you need the short-term boost in energy provided by caffeine you could experiment with the amino acids l-tyrosine and l-phenylalanine which are a safer alternative. In the body these are used to produce catecholamine neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and noradrenaline, which are energizing to the brain. These are the same neurotransmitters stimulants such as caffeine increase. I would recommend n-acetyl-tyrosine over regular l-tyrosine as it seems to be more stimulating.

It really is a good idea to buy organic when you can. Plant foods usually have substantial amounts of pesticides and other chemicals left on them and animal foods often contain residues from drugs such as antibiotics. If you can't afford organic then remember to peel and wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly.

Have a look at these websites for information on pesticides on foods:

Environmental Health Perspectives

Environmental Working Group

My Naturopath has me drink organic green tea. I avoid coffee, it always makes me feel sick.

I drink it early in the day, since it can keep you up. It has less caffeine than coffee. My friend had to stop drinking coffee because it was making his heart race. Green tea has been a good substitute for him.

Everyone's body is different, but I'm sure you can find something that can help other than coffee.

Good luck,

Airy

PS - I also knew an ex-monk who would drink Postum instead of coffee. Unfortunately, Kraft discontinued it in 2007. Here's a recipe to make the substitute.

HOMEMADE \"POSTUM\"

1 qt. fine ground wheat
1 pt. coarse ground corn meal
1/2 c. molasses or dark syrup

Mix the wheat, corn-meal, and syrup. Rub them in the palms of the hand until it is well mixed. Put it into shallow baking pans and brown in a slow oven until it is a rich dark brown. It must be stirred often for even browning. Don't try to hurry the process or it will burn. When it is done, cool and store in a sealed jar or canister. Use like any cereal coffee. I use 2 tablespoons coffee for each cup and a half of water. It may be boiled or it can be made in an electric coffee-maker.

With hot milk this makes a nice evening drink.

If you can't buy ground wheat, you can sort whole grains of wheat and grind them in your blender. However, take them out before it grinds them into a flour.<br /><br />Post edited by: Airy, at: 2009/05/12 02:39

Hi Denise!

Depending upon what bits of you are broken, you may be able to get away with drinking coffee. However, caffeine has to be broken down by our livers, so not drinking coffee will reduce the work that your liver has to do, and that is generally a good thing with MCS. Coffee has lots of other compounds in it too, and these might also be causing you problems. I know that I couldn't even drink decaf the last time I tried it, though that was over 10 years ago. Have you tried stopping or cutting down on coffee and seeing if you feel better (after you get over the need for a caffeine fix)?

Our livers have two main detoxification processes that break down lots of the compounds that enter our bodies, Phase I and Phase II. There used to be a lab web site with a good \&quot;layman's\&quot; explanation of this, but they've changed their site and it's not there now. However, I have been able to find this explanation on the Diagnose-Me site and another very detailed explanation on the Thorne site [PDF].

Caffeine is broken down by the Phase I process so if this bit of you is working okay, you would probably be able to drink coffee without problems.

If you do need to give up coffee, decaf could be an alternative, though as I said, coffee has lots of compounds in it, and they all need to be broken down by our bodies, so if you can just stick to water, you'll be helping your body.


I don't get too fussed with organic foods. Especially in the US, the standards aren't always particularly tight, so unless you go to the trouble of finding out what standard has actually been used, it won't be clear exactly what you're getting. It may be worth it for meat, dairy and eggs, but I can't eat those so it's not something that I need to worry about.

It's far better in my view to buy the freshest, good quality produce that you can.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions...I just decided to stop drinking coffee for awhile...I havent had any in 4 days...Thanks again
Denise

Hi I am new here. I think I have MCS. After I had my child I became ery sensitive to fragrance. pefumes, candles, smoke. It makes my mouth and nose very irritated. But it seems like I am getting alot more sensitive. I wake up with my mouth and nose irritated. Does anyone get these symptoms? those are the only ones I get.

I am not sure what to do. I have insurance but I dont think I can afford to get all those tests done to see if I shoould rule out Candida, Parasites. Unless anyone knows a doctor in Indiana area that does.

I am not sure where to go nut I am pretty bad here.

How do I know if its my liver not working right to get these toxins out? What test would I do for that?

Thanks
Kris