That's my New Year's resolution: to kick my caffeine addiction.
How addicted am I? I drink two cups of coffee every morning, seven days a week. By most people's standards, I'm only mildly addicted, if at all. But I figure I ought to call a spade a spade...
I'm reading The pH Miracle right now, and it reports:
"Caffeine is addicting. You could take the word of researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine for it—or simply observe your own headaches when you've been deprived of your morning jolt. Eighy-two percent of volunteers for that Johns Hopkins study showed withdrawal symptoms when they were given a placebo instead of their usual dose of caffeine. Official estimates are that more than 80 percent of adults in the United States regularly consume enough caffeine to produce addiction." (pp. 88)
By the way, I've experienced those headaches when I've skipped my morning fix. I was surprised by National Geographic's explanation for these headaches:
"Going without caffeine for a day and a half increases blood flow in the brain, which may explain why people get headaches when they first give it up."
Hmm... More blood flow to the brain. Sounds like a good thing to me!
Fortunately, it's been two days since I've had any coffee and I've experienced no headaches. On January 1st, I had just one cup of coffee instead of my usual two, and then no coffee yesterday or today.
No matter how much coffee/soda you drink, it's probably best to cut back your normal consumption first to limit whatever withdrawal symptoms you may experience from kicking your own caffeine addiction.
Three cups/cans a day? Cut back to two a day, then one a day, then zero. And so on. You get the idea.
Yeah, but what's the point? Sure, everything in moderation. But two cups in the morning? I don't see that as excessive. And drink what instead--decaf? How unhealthy is that? Water? Sure, it's my only beverage other than two cups of coffee in the morning but we're not monks here . . .
Posted by: Patrick | 11 January 2005 at 07:12 PM