Q: Since I started college, I’ve been completely addicted to coffee. Somebody told me that caffeine was actually bad for you and I was wondering if this was true.
-Can’t Get Enough CoffeeA: The good news: your morning (and afternoon and evening) coffee isn’t going to kill you.
Caffeine is a mild stimulant, and usually it will just make you feel better. It is, however, also mildly addictive, and can actually make you feel worse when you don’t get it than you would have normally.
You can also theoretically “overdose” on caffeine. I believe you have to drink somewhere around 50-plus cups to get a lethal dose, and I doubt that anyone in their right mind would be crazy enough (or tired enough) to drink that much coffee.
A minor overdose is a lot easier to come by. Depending on how much caffeine your body is used to processing, you can start feeling symptoms like nervousness, the inability to sit still, and the urge to urinate frequently after just a few cups.
I would bet that almost everyone is familiar with the good ole “caffeine headache.” You know what I mean … that dull, throbbing pain in your head that magically disappears after you’ve had your morning cup of joe (or soft drink – whichever is your poison).
I know for a fact that I walk around campus like the living dead until I have had my Diet Coke. Should I be worried about this? Probably, but the reason goes a bit farther than caffeine addiction, and I will discuss that in a minute.
Right now, I would like to point out an often-overlooked negative side effect of all those coffee beverages and soft drinks college students are so fond of.
You guessed it … empty calories. Most soft drinks and coffee drinks have absolutely no nutritional value and are absolutely teeming with refined sugar and unnecessary sodium.
To put this into perspective, the average coffee drink from Starbucks has around 200 calories and more than 20 grams of sugar.
If you opt for the “blended” coffee drinks (which include ice cream), you more than double the calories and quadruple the sugar, not to mention adding 20-plus grams of fat.
A Cherry Coke (a popular flavor, I gather) has 150 calories and 42 grams of sugar. Unless you are trying to give yourself diabetes, you just don’t need all that.
You could try drinking your coffee black or get the “light” versions (the nutritional value of some of these are still questionable) or opt for diet soft drinks to avoid the extra calories.
Your best bet, however, is to focus on giving yourself an energy boost without the aid of artificial stimulants.
Get a little more sleep when you can, and replace your cold-slice-of-leftover-pizza breakfast with one of fresh fruit or a fresh fruit smoothie (although slightly high in calories, when eaten as a meal, a smoothie can fit easily into a healthy diet).
Fresh fruit contains “natural,” unrefined sugar that won’t leave you feeling groggy after your 8:15 biology class.
Also, try taking a daily vitamin. If you are tired all the time, chances are it’s because your body isn’t getting something it really needs.
So there you have it – if you must satisfy your caffeine fix, try to do it in a “healthy” way, but most importantly, try to find out what you need (sleep, less beer, more vegetables) to help you feel better without it.
Send your questions about absolutely anything to et_enchilada@yahoo.com and maybe you’ll get a response in a future issue of the East Tennessean.

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