The beautiful chemical of life. We drink it in our morning coffee to get us through the day. Sometimes we drink it in our mid-morning, afternoon, or late-afternoon coffee as well. It's in our sodas, our teas, and it's slowly killing us all.
Oh, wonderful Caffeine!
I know a lot of people who drink a lot of caffeine. Several of them say they need it. Several of them use the lack of it as an excuse for being in a bad mood. Few of them think it's bad for you. It is.
Caffeine can cause a wide variety of symptoms ranging from insomnia to various heart issues[citation]. I haven't personally seen any of the really bad stuff, but I have personally suffered some of the lesser stuff. The worst part is that you don't even have to drink very much of it. Prolonged use is enough. How many sodas do you drink in a week? If the answer was 5 or more, you're probably in danger. Less than 5? How about coffee? Energy drinks? Sweet tea? Are we at 5 yet?
Several people use caffeine as their primary energy source. It certainly effective. It's quick, but it doesn't last long. You also build up a tolerance to it over time and you'll likely need it more or more frequently to get the same effects. This will help you get to the negative side effects even faster.
The best way to get energy is with a balanced diet and lifestyle. Sleep is a good place to start. If you're not getting enough of it, you're probably low on energy pretty frequently. Exercise is also good. I have found that if you teach your body that you are going to use energy, your body will tell you how to get the energy you need, assuming you can listen to what your body is telling you.
Diet is as obvious one. Everybody knows they need a good diet, but few people have one. Otherwise caffeine might not be as popular as it is. Being that caffeine is most prevalent in drinks, that's probably the lowest hanging fruit for most people. Juice is a good drink, especially if you don't have much fruit in your diet. If you drink a lot of caffeinated tea, give green tea a shot and see how you like it. Sodas do exist without caffeine. So, you could replace them instead of dropping them completely. Although, there are several good reasons to get away from soda entirely.
At first, it could be pretty difficult. Since caffeine has addictive qualities, there are withdrawal symptoms you will have to deal with. After a while, however, you'll have less headaches and agitated moods. Hopefully, life will be generally better for you. You'll be free of the shackles of drugs (at least this one).
Drink to your health.
I like the "Sodas do exist without caffeine" line. It is as though people were under the assumption that caffeine was as necessary a component to soda as carbonation. Mug Root beer is a good non-caffeinated alternative, if you are not bothered by the excess of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. I think that sometimes people just don't think about what they imbibe. I have heard many people say something to the extent of: “well, it has been approved by the FDA. SURELY they would not let me eat or drink something that was not good for me.”
ReplyDeleteThis all coming from a guy that drinks a pot of coffee a day… Maybe it is time to cut back.
I found a similar article that shows similar comparisons to negative side effects, but also lists some positives, like increasing metabolism, enhancing physical performance and endurance, and at small amounts can raises mood levels. It falls into that category of use in moderation.
ReplyDeletehttp://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/caffeine.htm