This scared me

[Typer]

Husband showed me this article in the telegraph. Just to say I never drink Coffee or have any caffeine nor have I since 1987. Now this bit scared the hell outa me:

Heart disturbances are suffered by up to two million people in Britain and can lead to loss of consciousness and seizures.


Surly the outcome cannot be right anyway. I need someone to tell me I am not going to have seizures or go unconscious. Husband should not have shown me this...did he not read that part?

[tinycritter]

Hi Typer, I'm not too good on the advice front and this might not help at all, but try to remember that you can't always know the agenda behind any article printed/reported in the media. Stories that frighten/panic people sell far more copy than stories that are more positive, and a lot of people have caffeine in their diets so of course an article like that sells more newspapers!

Also I found this on the telegraph website from Nov. 2009:
"Caffeinated drinks including tea, coffee and cocoa have a positive effect on mental function, increasing alertness, wellbeing and short-term memory, according to the study. Dr Carrie Ruxton, a dietician who conducted a review of 47 published studies, found that an intake of 400mg of caffeine a day – or eight cups of tea – delivered "key benefits in terms of mental function and heart health" without any adverse consequences."


... So take the article your husband showed you with a healthy dose of cynicism if you can, and please try not to worry. I know it's not much but I hope it helps a bit.

[Typer]

Thanks. How bizarre is that though?

[SmartyPants]

So the full article was pointing towards how bad caffeine was?

Just a little confused why you said you hadn't had caffeine since 87 to then quote a sentence of the article?

[Typer]

Well I was shown the article as though to say....look caffeine helps with heart rhythm problems. I read the whole article and of course the only bit that stood out of course was the scary part.

I mentioned I had not had caffeine since 87, simply because the article mentions caffeine not as part of my fear etc

[skippy66]

Youve got to look at this kind of thing statistically. It's hard I know.

Read any medication leaflet. Most of them state they can cause seizures or unconciousness.

[Typer]

Thanks Skippy - I never used to be such a baby...in fact most would have said I wa the opposite. I am just a mess of a person right now