... if you said a cute redhead, you win. Ding, ding, ding! Ahh, just kidding. It's that lovely cup of coffee that seems permanently attached to my right hand.Hot, delicious coffee - it's my vice. I have at least one cup in the morning at home, sometimes two. On a good morning (or a bad one, depending on how you look at it), I stop at a local coffee shop for a large brew to go and sip on it throughout the day. If I don't pick up coffee, I usually scam some off the Metro department at work. It's just one cup ... or two ... when I do that.
But it adds up, and I'm starting to think that I should be concerned with the amount of caffeine in my 4-cup-a-day habit. (Disclosure notice: This amount does not include the daily diet soda that I have at lunch.)
According to the Mayo Clinic, "Though moderate caffeine intake isn't likely to cause harm, too much can noticeably affect your health. Heavy daily caffeine use - more than 500 to 600 mg a day, about four to seven cups of coffee - can cause: insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, irritability, nausea or other gastrointestinal problems, fast or irregular heartbeat, muscle tremors, headaches and anxiety."
Whoa.
It seems I'm right on the border of too much, and I think Mark might vouch for me when I say that I can on occasion be irritable. The other stuff? I'm not sure I've seen much of that. Regardless, I need to ... I want to ... change.
And so today, I went to the coffee shop, ordered a large coffee to go and had them make it "light" - half regular, half decaf. Just 10 ounces of caffeine in that cup, and I love the taste still the same.
Next step: Buying regular and decaf grounds to make my own "light" brew.
What vices do you want to work on?
yay!! baby steps! I neeed get back into a regular excercise routine...
ReplyDeleteI had no clue about the devastating effect of caffeine and coffee. When I started law school last year I began drinking coffee.4 cups a day. Well, when I got my annual checkup 6 months later they found lumps in my breast. Yeah, 22 yrs old with lumps in thy breast. The doctor tells me they are caffeine deposits in my breast! I immediately called my dad who's a doctor and he confirmed it. But, was pissed b/c he said women in their 40s get that, not 20-something year olds. So, I got a second opinion and went on a no caffeine diet. Two weeks later I went back and the lumps were gone. That was the scariest experience of my life. Breast cancer, but breast cancer at 22 years old? I was so scared. In a nutshell, I have given up the coffee and only get it on special occasions!
ReplyDeleteI found lumps last year and went through all of the biopsies to find out they are benign. I wonder if cutting the caffeine will help?!?
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