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Will Caffeine Cause Health Problems?
numbski asks: "We're all geeks here, and I think there is no question how much we love our caffeine. What concerns me is that my fiancee has noticed how much I take in during the morning, and that I even use Diet Pepsi in addition to pain killers as a medication for headaches. So I did my googling about caffeine and addiction. In the minority, you have one report making a scientific claim that there is no such thing as an addiction to caffeine, however many other articles (not to mention marketing propaganda) suggest otherwise. Perhaps not just the sake of having an addiction is what concerns me, but whatever other side effects. I generally take good care of myself, go to the gym, exercise, play hockey, eat right. I hate to have a stroke or heart attack later on in life because of the stuff. I'd be curious to know the thoughts of others who take in large amounts of caffeine, and perhaps what their doctors have said about it. I plan on talking to my own soon, but it seems like this warrants discussion amongst those who consume the most. Would/does this prevent you from grabbing your Bawls and running like hell?"
Balzac is said to have died from a heart problem induced by his love for coffee. The man was an addict. See his "The Pleasures and Pains of Coffee". Of course, one also note that the guy wrote well over a hundred novels during his career so it might have been a good trade -- depends on where your priorities are. I always thought Balzac should be the patron saint of geeks and programmers.
Soft drinks in the USA use corn syrup because it is cheaper than sugar. If you go to canada or mexico to buy sugar, it's 2-3 times chea[er than in the US.
Why is that? Because US sugar producers got congress to institute quotas on sugar imports, so cheap foreign sugar (from the carribean, etc) don't make it into the US.
For a while, some candy companies imported iced-tea mix (and other sugar-laden goodies) from foreign countries to separate the sugar out of it, because it was less expensive than to buy US sugar. Of course, that's now illegal. The Life Savers plant in Michigan closed down earlier this year, and moved to canada so they could get better sugar prices.
Who benefits? The sugar companies, and the corn syrup companies.... Most people agree that sugar-based soda tastes better than corn syrup-based soda... corn syrup would not be used if it wasn't artificially cheaper than sugar.
Unfortunately, most people don't realize the true cost of sugar quotas, and it isnt' worth writing to your congressman over an extra expense you don't realize even exists.
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.