Question:
Why only decaf for tea?? Same for coffee?

   — Cindy K. (posted on January 10, 2001)

January 10, 2001
I was told that caffeine acts as a diuretic and also increases appetite.
   — Jenny N.

January 11, 2001
I don't know -- but my surgeon allows caffeinated tea and coffee. I drink coffee every day. Perhaps it does stimulate my appetite a bit, I don't know. They brought real coffee to me in the hospital! Is caffein good for us? Probably not. Will it keep you from losing? Obviously not. You decide!
   — Cindy H.

January 11, 2001
I heard that since it is a diuretic, that every amount of caffienated drink you consume- say 8 oz., you must drink the same amount of water (8 oz.) to counteract the effect, basically starting you back at zero consumption. Reaching your 64 oz. a day is hard when you do this continuous back tracking. I have included something below I just recieved via e-mail- I am sure it is somewhat true (you never can tell these days!) but it sure MAKES me want to drink that WATER! 1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. (Likely applies to half of the world's population.) 2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger. 3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%. 4. One glass of water shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a U-Washington study. 5. Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue. 6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers. 7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page. 8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.
   — Karen R.

January 21, 2001
I am soda junkie. I admit it. I am still pre-op so I am reveling in my love of diet soda. In answer to your question. I recently read an article on the consumption of water and caffienated beverages. Basically the article said that the 8 oz of water guideline is a myth. Most dieticians can't even tell you where this idea came from or what the benefits are. Apparently if you drink 8 oz of a caffienated beverage you will 2oz of that will be lost due to the caffeine. Now since most of us carry around those silly sippy bottles filled with water it is likely that you will replace the lost 2 ozs relatively quickly. But then end result is that you still are getting 6 oz of fluid. This article even went onto say that most of us get most of the fluid that we need from the foods that we eat daily. Most of the time the water that you drink runs through your body so quickly that your body does not have a chance to make use of it. However, the food that you eat is digested slowly which gives the body the use the fluids from the food.
   — tinarochester