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primrose-... primrose-...
 
December 29, 2008 05:32 AM

Is an apple stronger than coffee?

I've been told that an apple does better in keeping you up and alive than coffee. Meaning, it's stronger than caffeine. Is it really true? If it is, what component or substance found in apple that makes it like that??
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bardseyes bardseyes
 
 December 29, 2008 06:03 AM
Apples and other fruits contain natural sugars which will provide some immediate blood-sugar boost for your alertness. But if your blood-sugar is already at a level equated with being well-fed (having eaten a moderately sized bowl of pasta or cereal in the past few hours, for example) and apple, fruit, or any other food will do very little to increase your alertness.

Caffeine, as a stimulant, will artificially increase your alertness. No-Doze and other anti-sleep pills are usually nothing more than higher-dose caffeine tablets. Unlike food, which plateaus in how much alertness it provides (and eventually decreases alertness, that heavy, sedentary feeling after holiday meals for instance), caffeine will continue to boost alertness up until it either kills you from toxic poisoning, or causes a heart attack or stroke.

That is not a joke or something to experiment with, caffeine, as with anything in sufficient quantity, can be lethal. It is not especially good for your cardiopulmonary system in general (no artificial stimulants are). But in relation to an apple, if you've recently had a decent meal, a cup of coffee will provide more of an uplift temporarily. That's important to, because you crash when caffeine wears off, whereas with food your energy level will taper off slowly, doing you less harm in the process.
Source(s):
http://www.health.arizona.edu/health_topics/nutrition/general/caffeine.htm



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easyeboy easyeboy
 
December 29, 2008 05:41 AM
Consider where you heard this from. Did a doctor tell you this? If so, the doctor tells you this because an apple is a natural energy, and not like caffeine as a stimulant that the doctor may not believe is good for you. You may not get the jitters you would get from an apple that you would get from caffeine. An apple contains natural sugars which will provide your body with energy.

It also may be different for different people. Some people may get up and go with an apple, and others may like a cup of coffee, which makes this a matter of preference.
Source(s):
My Thoughts.


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ilaksh ilaksh
 
December 29, 2008 07:14 AM
No, an apple is not stronger than coffee. Apples don't have any stimulant effect.

But honestly I think you misunderstood what they meant when they said

"an apple does better in keeping you up and alive than coffee"

or whatever it is they actually said. Maybe they were just trying to say that apples are healthier, which they are. Or maybe they were just confused. Actually coffee can be pretty unhealthy if you drink it regularly.

Anyway the take away is that apples are healthy and coffee is not a good idea unless you really need to wake up and in that case you are better off if you don't drink it every day.

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glaspell glaspell
 
December 29, 2008 08:06 AM - Fact Refuted
No, I've definitely heard the "if you're tired, eat an apple instead of drinking coffee!" argument before; I really don't think the asker has misunderstood anything. As others have said, the natural sugars can boost energy if you aren't already full, so it's not a crazy idea.

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ilaksh ilaksh
 
December 29, 2008 08:12 AM
OK, if you've heard that too then they must have said something like that. But did they really say it is stronger than caffeine? Maybe they meant that it will have a slight stimulant effect and is _healthier_ than caffeine.

I mean who really thinks that apples are stronger than caffeine as far as increasing alertness?

Anyway I am hungry so I'm going to go get an apple.

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teff torbe... teff torbe...
 
December 29, 2008 10:12 AM
Caffeine doesn't give you any energy. It's a stimulant, it makes you more alert and awake, but it doesn't give you the "juice" you need to perform physical labor. It may help you extract what you have out of it, and a coffee loaded with cream will certainly have more caloric energy than an apple, but a straight up comparison of how much energy they have will show the apple winning every time, 60-80 calories to zero.

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ilaksh ilaksh
 
December 29, 2008 02:25 PM
OK, maybe I'm misunderstanding the context here, but since you replied to my comment, did you think that I said that caffeine gives you energy?

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writingawa... writingawa...
 
December 29, 2008 03:10 PM
I think the effectiveness of an apple in waking you up is a combination of chemical and mechanical factors. There's a small amount of simple sugars in apples, which should give you a short and immediate burst of energy (think sugar rush). At the same time, apples are hard. The hardness of apples gives them great tactile feedback, which should give your senses a jolt. I guess this would be comparable to walking around half-asleep and then stubbing your toe on something. Part of the nervous response to the stimulus is to wake you up.

Caffeine, on the other hand, is entirely chemical. Although it's known to work pretty well, the effectiveness of caffeine varies from person to person. I'd use myself as an example; it takes at least three shots of espresso to perk me up. I'm guessing that because apples use a combination of stimuli, they're able to produce similar wake-up effects on just about anybody.

For people who are easily affected by coffee, coffee is probably the stronger option. But when you take EVERYONE into consideration, then apples might have the advantage because of the reproducibility of their effects.

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bmlhailsto... bmlhailsto...
 
December 29, 2008 06:17 PM
I've got to put my answer out there on this one. Since everyone else just said the same thing here, about simple sugars. Sure, apples have simple sugars, but those certainly aren't more of a stimulant than caffeine. However, the natural energy it provides is better than coffee. But you could say the same thing for most fresh fruit and vegetables. The less processed something is, that is the fewer steps it has taken to get from it's original location to you, the more natural energy it has left. For example, if you eat beef you're not getting much because the cow goes through a lot of processing steps. If you eat an apple, you're getting nature's fresh bounty.

Sunlight, and vitamins and minerals from the earth provide all kinds of energy to natural foods and the more you eat, not only will you be healthier, but more energetic. Maybe instead of an apple try a peach or a pear or a nectarine. You'll be surprised how much energy you can get from fresh fruit. Or go to a health food store and eat some unprocessed nuts. That means not dry roasted or honey roasted, just fresh nuts or seeds. You'll love them and they will give you a huge kick.

None of this will get me off my coffee, but certainly good to know. If you're looking for a sweet little instant kick, coffee is your man.

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offthedome offthedome
 
December 30, 2008 07:56 PM
You'd do better with an orange because it has more simple sugars.

Apples and coffee work in totally different ways. Apples have sugars and carbs. Coffee is a stimulant that stimulates your brain and affects the same channels as amphetaines.

It also has a half life of six hours, which means half of that cup you drank is still in you six hours later, and one quarter of it is still there twelve hours later when you're about set and ready to go to bed.

Whoever told you apples and caffeine do the same is very wrong. It's totally dependent on the person. If you stop drinking caffeine, try the apple thing. It might actually work for you. And if you've never needed coffee to stay awake, just stay away from it.

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