p. 13 | Tea, Coffee, and Cocoa by A. B. Olsen

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Mar 27, 1913

Tea, Coffee, and Cocoa

By A. B. Olsen

A. B. OLSEN, M. D., D. P. H.

It is a mere truism to state with Dr. Robert Hutchison that “tea and coffee are in no sense foods.” Although the same statement would not be strictly accurate of cocoa, still we may say, in the words of the same authority, that “the place of cocoa in the diet is not really very different from that of tea and coffee.” It is true that, theoretically, cocoa appears to be a nutritive food, but in practise the amount of nourishment that it affords is so small that it is quite negligible.

Habit Drugs

If not food drinks, then what are they? The answer is, drugs, habit drugs, poisonous drugs, which are more or less closely related to alcohol, tobacco, opium, and cocain. The “coffee poison” is an alkaloid called caffein, just as morphin is the poisonous alkaloid of opium. The “tea poison” is thein, which is identical with caffein. Theobromin is the poisonous alkaloid of cocoa, and although not quite identical with caffein in chemical composition, still its influence upon the body and the nerves is the same. Dr. Gautier calls them all “nervines,” that is, nerve excitants; and Dr. Alexander Bryce writes, “Tea, coffee, and cocoa are nerve poisons, cardiac poisons, and cerebral excitants.”

As regards the food value of tea and coffee, and, with the qualification above mentioned, cocoa, we may say emphatically that they are valuable just in proportion to the amount of cream, milk, and sugar they contain. We might add, in passing, that the addition of sugar does not neutralize the poisons of these drugs, but rather intensifies their disastrous influence, especially in the case of tea.

Composition

Tea contains from two to four per cent of the alkaloidal poison, thein, and from seven to seventeen per cent of tannic acid, according to the variety and length of infusion. An ordinary cup of tea which has been briefly infused will, then, contain from one to two grains of thein, and approximately three grains of tannic acid.

Raw coffee contains from one to two per cent of caffein, and eight to ten per cent of tannic acid, so that a tea-cupful of coffee will contain approximately the same amount of caffein (one to two grains, and tannic acid, about three grains) as a similar quantity of tea. One pound of ordinary coffee contains one hundred five grains of caffein, or probably sufficient to kill four men, the medicinal dose according to the British pharmacopoeia being from one to five grains.

It is thus obvious that an average cup of tea or coffee contains a full medicinal dose of caffein.

The composition of cocoa is much the same as that of coffee, the theobromin amounting to from one to two per cent, and the tannic acid about five or six per cent.

Physical Effects

It would be strange if the daily use of such drugs did not produce untoward physical effects, and we are not surprised to find that the digestive organs, as well as other organs, suffer. Dr. Hutchison tells us that “the influence of these beverages [tea, coffee, and cocoa] on salivary and gastric digestion is, on the whole, unfavorable.” Dr. Roberts experimented with tea and found that it has a marked effect in slowing salivary digestion, while the presence of five per cent of tea infusion stops it entirely. Another investigator, Dr. Fraser, tells us that both tea and coffee retard stomach digestion. Speaking of experiments with cocoa, Dr. Hutchison adds, “If more than ten teaspoonfuls were taken at a time, digestion was always upset.”

Tea, coffee, and cocoa not only irritate the digestive organs, slow digestion, encourage fermentation and flatulence, and ultimately bring on atonic dyspepsia, but they also raise the arterial blood pressure, thus throwing increased work upon the heart and disturbing the cir culation. Furthermore, they have been shown by Dr. Haig and others to have a distinct and marked effect in encouraging various forms of neuralgia, rheumatic and gouty disorders. Persons suffering from arthritis or chronic Bright’s disease should be very strict about avoiding these drinks.

Nerve Excitants

No organs in the body suffer more from the poisonous effects of these habit drugs than the brain and nerves. The alkaloids, caffein and theobromin, are emphatically nerve excitants, for they increase the irritability of the nerves and excite both the brain and the nervous system. Their continued use soon puts the nerves on tension, makes them sensitive and “jumpy,” and, in the course of time, especially in the case of neurotic persons, may give rise to hallucinations. The unsteady condition of the nerves is manifested by trembling of the hands, and by what is aptly called “fidgets,” a “condition of nervous restlessness manifested by constant changes of position.” The patient gets languid, often has a sinking feeling, and giddiness and dizziness develop. The usual result is to produce wakefulness, cause palpitation of the heart, and bring on a serious condition of sleeplessness, which later on is followed by mental depression, hypochondria, or melancholia. Anxiety, worries, forebodings, and morbid fears are aggravated by the use of these narcotic stimulants.

Many make the sad mistake of thinking that these drinks furnish nerve energy, but this is far from the truth. The fact is that instead of introducing any form of nerve energy to the body, they very quickly deplete and waste nerve energy by calling out the natural reserves of nerve force which are so essential to good health. Their effect is that of the blow of a whip upon an overworked and overtired horse.

The free use of narcotic drinks is not unlikely to bring on a condition resembling drunkenness, a sort of tea or coffee drunkenness. Dr. Gautier tells us that “one may become caffeic, just as one can become alcoholic or a morphin maniac.” Why not? The difference between the alkaloidal poisons, caffein and morphin, is simply one of degree and not of kind.

Temperance Tea

To the question which is sure to arise, “What then are we to drink?” we answer, Water. There is no drink which is so satisfactory in quenching thirst as plain, pure water. But in any case it is not a good custom to drink much with meals, for free drinking washes down the food before it is properly masticated, and also dilutes and attenuates the digestive juices.

For those who are not prepared to break off the habit of drinking at meals entirely we offer an alternative. We must first state that there is no proper or real substitute for tea, coffee, and cocoa. The drink that we offer as an alternative is wholesome and refreshingly

and possesses natural stimulating properties which leave no adverse effects behind. This drink, which has been aptly called “temperance tea,” also possesses a considerable amount of nutrition, and at the same time is easily digested.

Another great advantage is the ease with which it is obtained almost anywhere, and under any circumstances.

“Temperance tea” consists of equal parts of milk and water, hot, with or without the addition of sugar. It is most wholesome and refreshing when sipped slowly and without sugar.