by Patrick Corcoran

Created on: May 16, 2008   Last Updated: July 11, 2008

I have a difficult situation. I love coffee. That's the bottom line, but I decided to use here at the top. My dilemma is that the doctor says I shouldn't drink the stuff due to my prostate problem. I'm actually sorry I shared that part but it's important in this discussion. For the last 15 years I have been under doctor's orders to not drink coffee because of the caffeine. It's a diuretic and is therefore not good for my prostate, neither is alcohol but I draw the line there. Hey I'm Irish, and when I'm feeling really reckless I drink IRISH COFFEE.

When the Doc first told me this, many years ago I stopped drinking coffee for a period of two months and my prostate problem disappeared. Contrary to my earlier belief the doctor knew what he was talking about. But I couldn't bear waking to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and not having any. Yes, there is fresh brewed coffee in my house every morning, you didn't think my wife was going to make the same sacrifice did you?

The caffeine is also one of the possible triggers of migraines which I also get occasionally. So the man with the medical degree says, "Don't drink caffeine products."
But I'm one of those people who need coffee in the morning. I mean I don't do anything until I stumble to the kitchen and pour a cup. I love the way it smells and it gets my taste buds ready for everything else they will encounter later in the day. And who can eat a satisfying meal without having a heavenly cup of coffee with desert? It's American! Cops, truck drivers and cowboys love the black liquid drink!

Therefore after only two months I went back to regular coffee like a fat frog to a juicy fly. After a few days of being "off the wagon", my prostate acted up. I had never considered drinking Decaf. (yuk, what a word!)but I figured it was better than giving up coffee totally, so I made the switch to the "unleaded" type. It's not good. I tried every brand out there and all claimed to be just as good as regular coffee but none were. Not only that, but my prostate didn't feel any better after drinking Decaf. so I did some research. Turns out that decaffeinated coffee has caffeine in it. Who would have known that? Most brands claim to be, "99% caffeine free" on the can but that is misleading according to what I discovered. If anyone knows better please fill me in. The way I understood the process is that when the coffee is decaffeinated in the large vats it is 99% caffeine free. However as it is meted out into 1 Lb. cans the ratio

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