Are you caffeinated?
Americans are as addicted to caffeine as ever, reports CNN today. Does this have anything to do with recent industry efforts to label coffee a “health food”? After all, it’s the number one source of antioxidants for most Americans—a sad statement, akin to the fact that potatoes are still by far the number one “vegetable” we consume! Or maybe because recent studies have given the thumbs up to caffeine’s brain benefits? I suspect this surge in stimulant drinking has very little to do with our health and much more to do with our 24-7 nonstop lifestyles, the ubiquitousness of Starbucks, and the prevalence of energy drinks like hypercaffeinated Red Bull.
Actually, caffeine comes up on a near-daily basis around the Delicious Living office. “Is a latte really that bad?” our editor in chief, Nancy Coulter-Parker asks me at least once a week when she’s feeling guilty. According to the CNN article, Nancy and I are among the 65% of moms who use caffeine to get through their day (and who can blame us, given how much is expected of us!).
But, exactly HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH? Caffeine wreaks havoc on your sleep (duh!) (and stays in your system for many hours than you might think, so be careful about that midafternoon cuppa), makes you jittery, can increase chances of miscarriage, and potentially disrupts heart rhythm, etc., etc. But that won’t stop us from drinking it. Just paying attention to the effects it has on you should be enough (more than one high-test espresso is enough to make my face flush and my inner ears swell, but my husband can drink a cup of coffee before bed and sleep just fine). Experts recommend about 200 mg per day. Personally, I love green or white teas because they contain L-theanine, a calming compound, and milder amounts of caffeine. And, of course, we should all focus on incorporating more energizing activities—such as yoga, walking, reading for inspiration, BREATHING—into our daily lives.
Related Topics: Food, Kids and Family, Health, Nutrition, From the Editors
June 25th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Cool site guys, first time checking it out. I was doing some keyword research for my Web site/Blog and came across this one.
You guys should check out some our info on caffeine, we have a lot of articles posted.
http://thecaffeinatedyou.com/
Cya,
L
June 26th, 2008 at 8:13 am
I’m reading about the health benefits of coffee right now, I get worried sometimes b/c I drink so darn much of it. Found this article, might as well share it, it’s about diseases that are protected by Coffee. http://www.arabicacoffeesource.com/article.cfm/id/168821
June 26th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
This is an interesting post. Do you have a side by side comparison of different drinks? If not, I think it would be useful to your readers.
June 27th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Thanks for the suggestion. In fact, we have a drink comparison chart (mg of caffeine per coffee, decaf, tea, cola, etc.) in the works right now. It’ll be posted/printed in August (in the Triple Take story). In it, three experts answer the question “Is caffeine really unhealthy?” Stay tuned!