I started raw about 2 weeks ago - doing great love it (I am about 98%raw) - I have still been drinking coffee - then it hit me today - could I blend raw coffee beans into shakes - would you rawers count that as healthy and raw???

You can try it and tell us what happens. Most raw foodist would tell you that it's not healthy. That caffeene isn't good for the body... but who cares, try it and see. I eat MAYA bars right now that have coffee beans in them, and for now I'm fine. Most likely in the long run you'll begin to feel that you no longer need the energy boost, you'll have plenty just from the raw food (or from the fact that your body doesn't have to steal all of your energy just to digest your food).

that would not be healthy

in fact, if im not mistaken you would be hard
pressed to find raw coffee beans for sale in U.S.
raw coffee beans are poison.

correction: i am mistaken you can get raw coffee beans.



Coffee: The Great Energy Sapper
By Frédéric Patenaude
[www.alivefoods.com]

After a quick search on green coffee I found this about
green coffee bean extract (I would not use it myself)

What Is Green Coffee Bean Extract Used for Today?

Animal studies have found evidence that chlorogenic acids from green coffee bean extract can reduce blood pressure.1 Based on this, researchers have conducted human trials.

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 117 males with mild hypertension, GCBE was given for one month at 46 mg, 93 mg, or 185 mg daily.2 After 28 days, the results showed a significant improvement in blood pressure as compared to placebo in the 93 mg and 185 mg groups. The results seen were dose-related, meaning that the greater the dose, the greater the improvement. The finding of dose-relatedness tends to increase the likelihood that a studied treatment is actually effective. Antihypertensive benefits were also seen in a much smaller study using purified chlorogenic acids.3

GCBE has also shown a bit of promise for aiding weight loss4, perhaps in part due to its chlorogenic acid content. 5 The caffeine in GCBE might also provide a slight weight loss benefit.

GCBE products are sometimes said to help prevent diabetes; however, this claim derives only from weak evidence involving consumption of ordinary coffee,6 and cannot be relied upon at all.

Roasted (as opposed to green) coffee beans contain the substances kahweol and cafestol, which appear to increase levels of LDL ("bad" cholesterol). 7 The fact that GCBE does not contain these substances is used as an argument in its favor. However, these substances remain in the coffee grounds and so they are also not present in standard beverage coffee, so this is probably not a significant point. (Unfiltered or boiled coffee, with the grounds left in, however, may present a risk.)

Dosage

In the large human trial of GCBE for hypertension noted above, the extract was most effective when taken at a dose of 185 mg daily.

Since green coffee bean extract typically contains about 30% chlorogenic acids, this works out to a dose of about 60 mg of chlorogenic acids daily. Another study used 140 mg of purified chlorogenic acids daily.

Safety Issues

GCBE is thought to be a safe substance. In human trials, no significant adverse effects have been seen.

In theory, the caffeine content of GCBE could potentially cause problems for some people. However, since GCBE contains only about 10% caffeine by weight, a high daily dose contains no more than about 20% of the caffeine content of a strong cup of coffee.

Maximum safe doses in pregnant or nursing women, young children, or people with liver or kidney disease have not been established.


References

1. Kozuma K, Tsuchiya S, Kohori J et al. Antihypertensive effect of green coffee bean extract on mildly hypertensive subjects. Hypertens Res. 2006;28:711-8.

2. Watanabe T, Arai Y, Mitsui Y et al. The blood pressure-lowering effect and safety of chlorogenic Acid from green coffee bean extract in essential hypertension. Clin Exp Hypertens. 2006;28:439-49.

3. Suzuki A, Yamamoto N, Jokura H et al. Chlorogenic acid attenuates hypertension and improves endothelial function in spontaneously hypertensive rats. J Hypertens. 2006;24:1065-73.

4. Shimoda H, Seki E and Aitani M. Inhibitory effect of green coffee bean extract on fat accumulation and body weight gain in mice. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2006;6:9

5. Arion WJ, Canfield WK, Ramos FC, et al. Chlorogenic acid and hydroxynitrobenzaldehyde: new inhibitors of hepatic glucose 6-phosphatase. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1997;339:315–322.

6. Van Dam RM, Feskens EJ. Coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Lancet. 2002;360:1477–1478.

7. Ranheim T, Halvorsen B. Coffee consumption and human health--beneficial or detrimental?--Mechanisms for effects of coffee consumption on different risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2005;49:274-84

Eat some greens, that will wake you up!

If you want more energy when you wake up, go to sleep earlier so you can get enough sleep. If when you get out of bed you are still tired, that means you didn't get enough sleep.

well of course I know that proper amount of sleep is optimum on a regular basis - but that is not what I am asking about - - I am asking about when you need a specific pick me up at a specific time

green coffee beans - are they considered raw - to blend into shakes? - will you get cofffee effect?

like I said, I really don't like the idea of eating green coffee beans!

-Beans are toxic
-Coffee is toxic (coffee can relieve some symptoms etc... but is toxic and highly acidic, not good for you at all!!!)
-the coffee plant is similar to the coca the plant cocaine is made from

There is no healthy solution for stimulation when you are tired except to take a nap. It is possible to stimulate your body with your mind and breathing, but this is still less healthier than taking a nap. The problem with stimulation is that it takes away more than it gives. That is, while you get some short term energy from the stimulant, it requires your body to rest even longer to recover from the stimulation as compared to if you just rested in the first place.

Lets say that you were tired, and an hour nap would have refreshed you. Then you take a stimulant. At this point, it may take a two or three hour nap to recover from the original fatigue plus the stimulant. Now if you did this once in a blue moon, this is not a big deal. But some people will do this every day of the year, for year after year. After a few years, the sleep debt becomes thousands of hours.

If you want to take a stimulant, I don't see how a natural & raw solution will be any better than a chemical solution like a caffeine pill. The damage to your system has to do with the concentration of the chosen poison, and with a caffiene pill you can accurately measure how much damage you are willing to do (in terms of the dosage of the caffiene). The pure caffiene pill will only have caffiene in it, whereas the coffee with have other harmful things like acids in it. A tea will have tannins in it, which are also toxic. If you blend whole coffee beans into a smoothie, there is probably no literature on how much caffiene is in a whole bean,since everyone gets their dosage from the beverage form of the drug.

August, I know what you mean about the coffee. It took me prob like 3 or 4 months of being raw to not have anymore days of brain fog where I needed a stimulant (they became less & less frequent until they finally went away). You might find some of these tips helpful to you:

1) Coffee creates an acid state in your body as well as leaches minerals from your body, which then leads to cravings (I don't know about you, but I always seemed to crave something greasy & salty a few hours after drinking coffee).

2) I found the combination of raw cocoa beans (cacao) & green tea to be a fantastic substitute for the coffee hotness & buzz. Cacao will eventually rear its ugly head as well & you'll notice it's not ideal, but for transitioning off coffee it's awesome - it was a major, major help to me.

3) As much as possible try to sleep when your body says sleep - getting lots of rest will be an important part of detox, since that's when your body heals.

4) In an emergency I even ate chocolate covered espresso beans sometimes - somehow it seemed less harsh than a hot cup of coffee.

Good luck!