h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've always enjoyed coffee and cola drinks, mostly to get that "wakeup" effect. At one point I put on a lot of weight, so I switched to diet cola, but never caffeine free. Combined with some other adjustments, the weight came back down, but I still like the wakeup. A big study at Harvard (I think) concluded that there is no long term health problem, at least the way coffee is prepared in the USA (filtered - apparently in Europe no filter is used, may be a problem?). There have been some reports of elderly folks having calcium deficiencies, so supplements may be a good idea.

And now I read that the chess world - having been granted Olympic status - must enforce drug testing, and caffeine intake must be moderate. I'll never be World Champ now ...

The three steps of coffee addiction:
1. You drink coffee to keep you awake
2. You drink coffee to keep you alert
3. You drink coffee to keep you alive

Okay, caffeine is a stimulant, and stimulants do a number on the ego, yada, yada, yada...

Consider this though:

Without caffeine, whether from coffee or tea, there would be no Industrial Revolution. Workers need stimulants to keep them at their tedius jobs, and perhaps the appearance of coffee in a white collar work place is a sign of actual conditions.

I quit drinking coffee cold turkey on September 16th and staid away from caffeine for thirty-four days, at the end of which I realized it wasn't worth it. As a student, coffee is required, and a state program should supply it at no charge.

A couple things if you are going to embrace your coffee addiction:

1) Breath mints and a tooth brush--do you have to ask.

2) Avoid Starbucks--it isn't even coffee.

3) Eat food now and then--coffee will kill the lining of an empty stomach.

4) Stay active--coffee will not do it all. It just feels like it will.