Is coffee (caffeine) good or bad if you have the flu?
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mark (
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February 26th, 2007
Wondering if I'm aggravating my flu symptoms by drinking coffee.
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7 Answers
caffeine is a diuretic - it dehydrates you. if you have the flu, i suggest mostly water, less of everything else.
Oh yeah, totally. I think I even knew this. A little loopy right now on the flu meds. Thanks so much! :)
Drink tea.
Gallons of water...warm. w a little lemon juice and honey is palatable..better than caffeneinated teas, too. Herbal may make the medicine go down easier.
Mom always said to stick with clear liquids. This does not include vodka. I learned that the hard way.
Strange that “Beechams Active Cold Relief Caplets” contain caffeine. Listed in their own words “Caffeine is present as a mild stimulant”.
Caffeine is a MILD diuretic and coffee is 99.9% water.
The diuretic affect of a cup of coffee is more than offset by the water in the coffee.
The physiological affect of caffeine is that it primarily expands the blood veins/arteries/capillaries and promote the flow of blood, which is why it is used in head-ache related products, and is a mild stiumulant (nikobe) which is why soft drinks are now pumped full of caffeine.
From the perspective of the flu, caffeine (taken in the form of coffee would be neutral in it’s affect on the flu UNLESS it upset your stomach and just added to your misery.
Tea also has caffeine.
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