I am 68 and diagnosed with COPD/Emphysema 12 years ago at which point I immediately stopped smoking. I have struggled to keep on top of the illness and I have weathered many exacerbations and viruses along the way. I have read conflicting reports about the effects of caffeine on this disease.
I love my coffee with caffeine but wonder if anyone can advise either to drink it or have only decaffeinated coffee or tea.
Caffeine is a bronchodilator: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/394...
Discussed the use of caffine on my P.R. course. Told it is ok to drink. Enjoy your coffee. x
Be careful with it if you have acid reflux, common with COPD.
My GP & consultant advise coffee & tea with caffeine in moderation. A few cups a day does no harm. Just drink plenty of water too during the day to keep hydrated.
I enjoy both tea & coffee & it doesn't have any adverse affects on me at all.
Enjoy! 😋
I had two thoughts when i saw your post and ST and soulsaver have said both of them. Its great that caffeine can dilate your airways but it also dilates everything else, so if you have reflux which is very common for people with copd, caffeine will make your LES (lower oesophageal sphincter connecting to stomach) dilate so making it easy for the acid to get into your oesophagus.
Even if you don't get heartburn, silent reflux is frequent for people with copd, that's when the refluxate goes much higher and can get into your windpipe and can even reach your lungs causing mayhem.
On the bright side, coffee is said to help ward off diabetes.
You takes your pick!
At my PR I was told caffeine does have an adverse effect (I can't remember why).
Personally I only have one or two caffeinated teas in the mornings, from then on its decaf. My tea is Yorkshire decaf (I'm an expert having tried every decaf tea going).
My coffee is Lavazza decaf for the espresso machine. It's delicious and absolutely no one realises it's decaf because I put it in a different tin.
Caffeine can interfere with meds too plus as you get older the body tolerates less stimulant. People don't believe me when I say a normal tea at 2pm will keep me awake until 2am. Grrr
One more thing, if you have fresh coffee it's worth knowing that different normal coffees have naturally different levels of caffeine. The only one I remember is that Columbian coff is much lower than the rest. P
I like my coffee too. Thank you. Much luck!
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