Habitual coffee intake shapes the microbiome, modifies physiology and cognition

Re:Habitual coffee intake shapes the microbiome, modifies ph... by apples_oranges on Friday April 24, 2026 @04:07AM (#47887181)

Agree, I drink it a lot and then stop drinking it at least once a year for a few weeks, and for sure it's a different mode of mind, but can't really qualify it besides that I remember my thinking being softer, calmer and perhaps even "more correct" without coffee.

(But I never had any mental-health incidents, and I drink a lot of it, more than all people that I personally know.)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Habitual coffee intake shapes the microbiome, modifies ph... by yetihehe on Friday April 24, 2026 @06:26AM (#47888219)

For many years I go to the same vacation spot (kayaking in the most beautiful nature place I have seen) and go cold-turkey. I didn't notice any side effects of lack of coffee besides slower muddier thinking. After I go back and start drinking coffee, feel back to normal.

I also had a very big life altering mental health incident very recently, drank A LOT of coffee during and I feel it helped, now I am much more calm, "more correct" despite drinking coffee like before.

Based on this I posit that coffee is used by humans to offset unwanted mentality changes, not a cause of unwanted mentality changes.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Habitual coffee intake shapes the microbiome, modifies ph... by nervousvarun on Friday April 24, 2026 @07:21AM (#47888648)

Consider yourself lucky...You are one of these mythical creatures who don't get migraines from caffeine withdrawal. My wife is the same.

When I quit I get splitting headaches that are way more severe than a typical tension headache. Completely debilitating without medication. Get them for a week or so (also get the muddier thinking but I could live with that).

[ Parent | on HN ]