Coffee....

Working the hours I work (4pm-1am), I see a lot of my colleagues downing cups and cups of coffee. The common excuse is that they need to stay awake throughout the day. But what it does to your body, not many people know. Well, at least they rather not know. I was going through some of my mails and one of them took me to a link. In that site, I was presented with the article below ‘Are You A Coffee Addict’? I’ve decided to take some pointers and write this article to warn all ‘coffeeholics’ as they call them, the dangers of that irresistible cuppa.

With long hours at the workplace being the in thing, coffee machines in the offices are no longer an exception. The cuppa apart from being a break-time favourite has, over the past few years, become a necessary accompaniment to official meetings and chat sessions. Many a times a quick sip not only helps you to crack the knottiest of audit jumbles but also gain confidence before facing the boss after an awful goof-up. True, but it is good only as long as it lasts. What happens later is cause enough for worry. While a cup of coffee apparently stimulates your senses, a regular intake of caffeine can leave you a complete wreck.

This is because coffee simply stimulates the central nervous system, increases the stress hormones in the blood streams, thus making a person feel unnaturally alert. Consequently induced alert state tends to subdue your body's natural instincts and prevent it from relaxing. This causes undue stress and leads to various kinds of disorders.

Daily caffeine intake induces a 24 hour cyclic disturbance in your body. While the morning cup of coffee or tea perks up your mood most people can't stop at that. Almost every office goer develops a craving for the next cup and subsequently, a heavy fatigue sets in by late afternoon. Even if endless cups revives you, at this time of the day, a total collapse is inevitable by evening. Irritability, fatigue and gloom along with an uncomfortable sensation are the usual symptom. What is worse is that finally when you try to sleep away your blues at night, you just can't. That's no the end. The next morning you get up tired, thirsting for a steaming cuppa to settle your mood.

Thus begins a coffeeholic's journey. At the end of which, apart from developing dark circles under the eyes, you also acquire acidity problems, irregular palpitations and more. So next time you take a sip remember you are sipping a host of health problems too.

A good read. To all my dear coffee addicts…… slow down you’all.

Are You A Coffee Addict?
Addiction to caffeine can begin as early as in school, or as the syllabus pressure gets the better of you in college or perhaps, when you land a job and have to course up the anxiety ridden path to office. The first sip happens when you battling stress and depression. If you're caffeine dependent answer the following questions and evaluate the addiction status:

· Do you consume more than two cups of coffee, tea or cola or chocolate in a day?
· Do you feel fatigued on and off during the day?
· Do you go through massive emotional mood swings during the day?
· Do you suffer from frequent headaches?
· Do you suffer from acidity or heartburn?
· Do you feel a generalized pain in the neck, shoulders and back region
· Do you suffer from a burning sensation, fatigue and heaviness in the eyes?
· If you are a woman do you suffer from premenstrual syndromes?
· Do you have difficulty in going to sleep?
· Do you wake up in the morning feeling dead tired?
· Are you easily irritable?
· Do you suffer from irregular or rapid heartbeats?
· Do you often feel dizzy?
· Do you have high blood pressure problems apart from anxiety problems?
· Do you have ulcers?
· Do you have problems concentrating without your regular cup of coffee?
· Do your hands tremor?
· Do you feel dehydrated?

If you have answered 5 to 6 of the questions with a 'yes' caffeine is part of your daily system, reduction or removal of products laced with caffeine from your diet will improve your health considerably.

If you have answered 7 to 8 of the questions in the affirmative, you are a caffeine addict, and need to reduce or eliminate caffeine from your diet. Before caffeine causes any nutritional imbalance or disorder try and be conscious about what you eat and drink.

If 10 to 12 of the questions have a positive answer, its time to sit up and listen to your body signals. Caffeine can cause serious damage to your health. Wean yourself of the habit slowly and steadily, preferably with the help of the dietician.