March is Caffeine Awareness Month (ironically)!

The caffeine controversy - The wake-me-up stimulant is a fact of life for most people, but caffeine abuse is something Gov. Johanns wants Nebraskans to think about

...caffeine overdoses can lead to headaches, jitteriness, irritability, difficulties in concentration, mood swings and other maladies...
..."We've actually had people end up in intensive care because of issues surrounding caffeine," ...
...giving Boy Scouts caffeine after dark is like feeding a gremlin after midnight -- it only leads to bad things....
...If you're accustomed to drinking caffeine, you could experience withdrawal 12 to 24 hours after the last dose. Symptoms include headaches and small occurrences of anxiety, fatigue, drowsiness and depression....
...A normal amount per day is 200 to 250 milligrams.

In light of this article, I felt a reproduction of the comments to date from this post in order.

You must go 21 days to break a habit or routine ... keep it up! I haven't had a soft drink with caffeine in over a year and a half and it feels great.
Dean | 03.06.04 - 12:31 am | #

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the sweetener in coke and pepsi is actually a neuro enhancer - makes portions of the brain race uncontrollably and frenetically. Dont switch to diet coke - its worse. it contains aspartame which breaks down to formaldyhide (formic acid) which is ant poison when store in warm places - eg warehousesm trucks etc. Do a google search if you dont belive me.
stop drinking the stuff - go away panic attacks!
tim | Email | Homepage | 03.06.04 - 11:56 am | #

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I thought to break a habit it was 36000 repetitions (I've heard 21 days also)

The neuro enhancing effect that Tim describes (brain race uncontrollably and frenetically) is exactly what I've been experiencing dramatically for quite some time now often to the point of being dysfunctal.

As for aspartame, I avoid it with a passion. Someone in the grocery store influenced me greatly to stay away from processed and artifical foods. Granted, our lifestyle hasn't permitted the exclusion of highly processed foods but we use natural foods whenever possible.

I have not completely eliminated caffeine. I went without for 5 days and then allowed myself 1 glass of X (be it coke or tea or whatever) per day. A fog has lifted from my mind and my soul has achieved a calm not felt in a looong time!
djuggler | Homepage | 03.06.04 - 9:01 pm | #