Yup I love coffee and feel like it helps my POIS. I do notice it can sometimes cause body aches upon drinking it like other foods though. But mentally I definitely feel really good on coffee. Maybe those reacting to it might have something to do with mould? Idk
I don't think this is due to mould as the quality of the ones we buy are good or at least normal. This effect was also rather consistent over the years, which would mean that practically all packages had mould in them, which is rather unlikely due to the strict quality control. It is true though that I often had similar symptoms when I ate food (e.g. spices) that I suspected to have some mould in them, which was most likely caused by aflatoxin or similar mycotoxins as even putting them in hot water would not resolve this issue. However in case of coffee I am rather sure that it is the roasting process that causes this as consuming coffee cherry or green coffee teas would not result in anything such. I have already mentioned some possible culprits earlier.
https://poiscenter.com/forums/index.php?topic=3066.msg46588#msg46588Lately though I have realized that the answer might be even simpler and it could be due to acrylamide, which is produced during the roasting process. I had similar problems with chicory coffee, which would similarly cause bloodshot eyes, even though drinking unroasted common chicory tea actually helps a little.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChicoryI believe my problem generally stems from the fact that POIS in itself causes an elevated systemic inflammatory state, which makes me very-very susceptible to external inflammatory factors like mycotoxins, roast derived toxins and even oxidized oils. Thus avoiding these is even more important for us than it is for the general population.
Lately I considered drinking coffee again. Even though it was not working when I was consuming it in a daily manner, I am quite sure that drug resistance had dwindled in the past half a year and it would probably work again temporarily. Even if coffee turned out to be useful for depression once again, I will only use it as an occasional remedy in the future, thus it may remain more effective.