Daily Caffeine ‘Protects Brain’
Thu 03 Apr 2008 – 11.18
Well, the internet said it, so it must be true.
The BBC is reporting on a new study that says how caffeine has magic brain powers to prevent Alzheimer’s and other diseases.
“Caffeine appears to block several of the disruptive effects of cholesterol that make the blood-brain barrier leaky,” said Dr Jonathan Geiger, who led the study.
It’s a bit more sciencey than that, so check out the article »
I didn’t need an article to tell me that caffeine is good for the brain, it makes us smarter! Have you ever played Tetris while your riding high on a caff wave? It’s awesome.
posted by Scott in coffee, health & fitness.
Caffeine Content, by the Numbers
Mon 11 Feb 2008 – 11.55
We’ve covered this before, but in case you haven’t bookmarked a similar page, here is a list of various drinks and their caffeine contents:
As you may guess, a Starbucks regular brew (grande) tips the caff-scale at 320mg. Ouch.
via LVHRD
posted by Scott in coffee, health & fitness.
How to Stay Awake at Work or School
Fri 25 Jan 2008 – 10.51
It goes by many names, the “lull”, the “itis”, the “valley of fatigue” to name a few, but by any name we all know the feeling of getting totally exhausted during the day. Whether a student or a worker, the need to sleep can conflict directly with your day’s to-do list. I have often remarked that falling asleep in class is the oldest college tradition; fuck road trips! Of course it can be a problem because most workplaces place sleep as the #1 cardinal sin, right behind porno. Drinking? I have at various points been offered beer, wine and hard liquor during the work day, but I have never been offered a nap. And while sunglasses may hide you in a crowded lecture hall, they rarely work when the boss comes around to your desk.
OK, so how do we stay awake during the day? Aside from the obvious points about getting enough rest the night before, eating breakfast, etc. a few good tips turned up on a post from Dumb Little Man, yet another rediculously named blog about general life. Here’s one that sounds reasonable:
8. Get Help from Colleagues. If you have some buddies at work, confide in them that you need their help with staying awake. See if there are any things you can work on together. Talking with co-workers will help keep your mind engaged and alert.
I’ve been there. I’ve been there. Jessica and I used to throw crumpled up post-its at one another when we’d see the head starting to bob.
The tactic I like to employ at work, school, and on the road (although don’t fuck with falling asleep behind the wheel!) is simply to drink loads of water. Get yourself a gallon, or at least a litre bottle, and start drinking! When was the last time you fell asleep having to pee like mad? Yes, you’ll have to take a trip to the toilet every ten minutes, but the walking will also help to wake you up. And if that fails, get yourself an apple. The effort required to eat an apple is sure to keep you going, to say nothing of the natural sugars, etc. And the odd thing about apples is that you have to eat them in a certain amount of time or else they turn brown, so no dozing off between bites!
Coffee also does the trick. That is, if you don’t use it every half hour.
Check out the article and add your comments about what keeps you awake during that afterlunch dip.
posted by Scott in careers, coffee, health & fitness.
Caffeine Doubles Miscarriage Risk
Tue 22 Jan 2008 – 10.28
Eeek, no more buying coffee for the ladies, turns out caffeine can double the likelihood of miscarrying. A new study out of Chicago has shown that drinking two cups of coffee while pregnant is a terrbile thing to attempt. In fact, caffeine of any type, including soda, tea, etc. can be problematic and should be avoided.
“Women who are pregnant or are actively seeking to become pregnant should stop drinking coffee for three months or hopefully throughout pregnancy,”
—Dr. De-Kun Li, Kaiser Permanente Division of Research
So ladies take note, if you’re trying to have a baby, you need to phase out that morning cuppa and take it slow for a year or so. And chances are you’ll need that caffeine once the baby is borne, so best not to have a high tolerance, you know.
It’s a short, but interesting article.
posted by Scott in coffee, health & fitness.
Tue 08 Jan 2008 – 9.00
Whoa, my life just changed. Well, sort of. It seems that a post on DietHack has just tackled 12 Myths about various beverages including coffee, soda, tea and alcohol. Of course, this is the internet so I’m not sure if the ’science’ behind this site can be trusted. I would feel more comfortable if these entries linked to independently-funded university research projects.
But check this out, did you know:
“café au lait” or coffee with milk is indigestible.
True: Because of the amount of tannins it contains (less than tea though), which precipitate casein and cause it to clot which render its digestion very difficult. Casein is a protein that is found in milk and used independently in many foods as a binding agent.
That explains why a latté goes through me like a hot knife through butter. Too much info, I know. Read the rest of the post if you’re interested.
posted by Scott in coffee, health & fitness.
America’s Growing Caffeine Addiction
Fri 27 Jul 2007 – 10.31
It’s no secret that Americans like a good cup of coffee. I would argue that it’s coffee, not oil, that get’s out country up and running every morning. But lately, the world is turning even faster, and to keep up, we need a double dose of “Vitamin C”.*
From MSNBC comes an article about the Army Ranger who invented a brand of super-strength coffee that has grown successful thanks to it’s soldier branding. It also highlights other bizarre-o caffeinated products like soaps, which will leak directly into the skin during your morning shower. Americans are drinking, eating, and using caffeine like never before.
* - note the false science in this post are striclty for ironical/humourous purposes. The Earth is not spinning any faster than usual and Vitamin C is something entirely different.
posted by Scott in coffee, health & fitness.
Coffee ‘could prevent eye tremor’
Tue 19 Jun 2007 – 14.15
I’ve never been one to doubt the BBC, or science, and so I’m glad to know that should I ever suffer from Blepharospasm, eyelid tremors to you and me, coffee is a possible cure.
One or two cups of coffee a day seemed to reduce the risk of the condition, the team reported in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
There you have it. Rock hard science. Might wanna read the full thing to find out what’s up.
posted by Scott in coffee, health & fitness.
Scientists Demonstrate Best Way To Use Caffeine
Thu 14 Jun 2007 – 10.16
First off, I love how they use the verb “use” as if caffeine is a narcotic. Then again it is a chemical drug, and McDonald’s and other fast food joints refer to their best customers as “heavy users”. Anyway…
Following the earlier post about small ’shots’ of caffeine throughout the day as a more effective method of caffenation comes new conclusions from actual scientists, of sorts.
Morning “big gulp” coffee drinkers are misusing the power of caffeine. Researchers … have shown that caffeine is best admnistered in a larger number of smaller doses with the doses coming later in the day.
The trouble with this method, at least in my view, is that you have to keep going back to the kitchen and doing the whole milk-and-sugar deal every hour or so.
posted by Scott in coffee, health & fitness.
Sun 13 May 2007 – 11.29
Not just for curing Diabetes, Coffee can now tackle other diseases, experts say. Of course half of all experts are full of, um, coffee.
There’s evidence, [he] noted, that the beverage may protect against certain types of colon cancer, as well as rectal and liver cancer, possibly by reducing the amount of cholesterol, bile acid and natural sterol secretion in the colon, speeding up the passage of stool through the colon (and thus cutting exposure of the lining of the intestine to potential carcinogens in food), and via other mechanisms as well.
posted by Scott in coffee, health & fitness.
Sat 12 May 2007 – 10.39
Well, not really, but it does have health benefits. Take that, skeptics.
An article from physorg.com reveals some geeky new sciency-med facts about coffee and how it might help stay off Type-2 Diabetes…
Coffee contains hundreds of components including substantial amounts of chlorogenic acid, caffeine, magnesium, potassium, vitamin B3, trigonelline, and lignans. Limited evidence suggests that coffee may improve glucose metabolism by reducing the rate of intestinal glucose absorption and by stimulating the secretion of the gut hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) that is beneficial for the secretion of insulin.
Want the full deal, read up. Then drink up.
posted by Scott in coffee, health & fitness.