bmcjmp@burdvax.UUCP (Barb Puder) (08/10/83)
Not everybody has as severe a reaction to caffeine as those I have seen posted in the net. I find that my own reactions are usually mild, and vary depending on the form in which I ingest it. Chocolate has no apparent effect on me, and tea and soft drinks bother me only in great quantities. Coffee, which I do not indulge in regularly, seems to show the most effects, and even then the worst symptoms I exhibit are edginess and occasonal difficulty sleeping. If I only have a cup every few days, I don't register any difference in he way I feel. Excedrin doesn't bother me in the least, while Midol sometimes makes my hands quiver a bit. Perhaps the worst reaction I ever had was numbness in my upper arms, but that was after I had three 16-ounce bottles of Dr Pepper after having five mugs of VERY strong tea, over a period of about five hours. I guess the key is personal sensitivity. Caffeine is a chemical that tends to have harmful effects on the human body when too much is ingested, and for some people, any at all is too much. We should be aware of what our tolerance level is, and keep within it. (I agree, by the way, that food vendors should have caffeine-free drinks available, just as many restaurants have non-smoking sections.)
rcj@burl.UUCP (08/18/83)
A Reader's Digest article of some months ago concluded from the results of numerous studies that caffeine (in moderation, of course) was not in the least bit harmful. HOWEVER (although I agree with the rest of the article), caffeine can have a SERIOUS effect on persons who are both fairly sensitive to it and who have high blood pressure. There is a tendency, after too much caffeine (especially near bedtime) for these peoples' heart to STOP. It is only a momentary stoppage, but can last for several seconds. I have talked to many people (my father is one, my best friend from college is another) who have actually woken up and realized that their heart was not beating at the moment. My father put a beauty of a bruise on his own chest one night when he awoke in this state from a sound sleep and hit himself in the chest in the moment of confusion. Persons with high blood pressure: If you are sensitive to caffeine, watch this! Along the same lines, my father was also having some chest pains, etc. and when he went to his doctor he had a thermograph of some kind done. Seems that one side of his body was about 3 degrees cooler than the other side. Anyone heard of this before or know what causes it? (By the way, that was right/left sides, not front/back). -- The MAD Programmer -- 919-228-3814 (Cornet 291) alias: Curtis Jackson ...![ floyd sb1 mhuxv ]!burl!rcj
larry@grkermit.UUCP (Larry Kolodney) (08/19/83)
"A Reader's Digest article of some months ago concluded from the results
of numerous studies that caffeine (in moderation, of course) was not
in the least bit harmful."
And Readers Digest is about as reliable as the National ENquirer.
--
Larry Kolodney (The Devil's Advocate)
{linus decvax}!genrad!grkermit!larry
(ARPA) rms.g.lkk@mit-ai