I have often heard it said that coffee is an acquired taste, and I am quite sure that holds true for many. Not for me! When I was younger, I would beg my mom for a cup of coffee. She might let me have a small cup once in a while with the warning that too much caffeine stunts growth. Apparently there are no studies to support this statement which would not have mattered at all to my mother.
Many people say that coffee is great for you - research shows as much! Right? Caffeine is defined as a naturally occurring central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class and is the most widely taken psychoactive stimulant globally. I think there is little doubt that it is one of the most accepted and promoted drugs in our society. Stimulated people are more productive, right? If you are expecting this to be a pro-coffee post, you might be a little disappointed even if I have always been the gal that loves coffee. This isn't exactly an anti-coffee post either. It is, rather, a post about my recent experiment of one where I gave up my two daily cups of caffeinated coffee for two cups of decaf coffee. I did this for two reasons. One reason is essential tremor. I, thankfully, do not have essential tremor, but my mom does. Caffeine stimulates your nervous system (which seems like a very bad idea for someone whose nervous system is twitchy). My mom also switched to decaf and said she noticed very little difference. That is, until I gave her a cup of caffeinated coffee one day after months of drinking decaf. She could not figure out why she felt shaky that day until she remembered she had had caffeine. Essential tremor can be genetic, so I would prefer to try to keep my nervous system from staying in overdrive day in and day out. Will it keep me from having the same issue as mom? There are no guarantees in this life, but I will do what I can within my control. Caffeine has always had a large impact on my system. For example, if I drink a cup of coffee in the morning without eating breakfast, my blood sugar will drop. I will then turn into the incredible Hulk.
I never drink coffee on an empty stomach in the morning. Never. I mentioned the second reason in a previous post. I decided to try to use caffeine strategically for running. While training for my last marathon, I would only drink a cup of caffeinated coffee the morning before a very long training run (aka marathon practice run) or the morning of the race. The last gel I took during the practice run / race contained caffeine. I can tell you I believe it made a difference during those last brutal miles. I ran my second fastest marathon (10 years after my fastest when I was 36 years old) at only 10 seconds per mile slower, and that's after a cold two weeks before, having much lower base mileage, and carrying 5 extra pounds. Did the caffeine do all that? No, there was more to it, but I say with confidence that it did play a role. There are many studies that talk about caffeine, and its greatness with regard to performance (both cognitive and physical). I thought about reviewing a few of them in this post. The truth is studies are a great place to start for information, but they will rarely tell you exactly how something might impact you, the individual. Another benefit I found to not regularly ingesting caffeine is that my insides feel calmer. That is the best way I have found to explain it. When I do have an occasional caffeinated cup when no running is involved, I feel a bit like jumping out of my skin. I also become hyper chatty (for me, anyway).
Let's be a honest, I have a bit of a hard head. When I hear a lot marketing folks telling me I should use a drug daily when I am not trying to remedy any particular sickness, I eventually begin to ask why. My hope is that you might ponder the same. Maybe do a little experiment for yourself?
Oh, and just in case you think decaf coffee just does not taste good, I would recommend checking out a local Dayton company that specializes in decaf - Savorista (no financial interest). I am still the gal who loves the taste of coffee, I just drink it with a lot less caffeine most days.
No comments:
Post a Comment