Pat’s Polemics

Recently I had reason to bound up our 17 steps two at a time. I found the last few required some hustle. Since then I began a new exercise called a one-leg-get-up where you sit, planting one foot on the ground and stretching the other leg out in front of you to parallel your outstretched arms; then you stand up on the planted leg. I was unable to rise entirely from the seated position so I touched the heel of the outstretched leg to the floor and pressed down on it to launch me upward; from there I rose majectically upward and then resettled. I’ve done those a few times now.
Just a couple of days ago I needed to run upstairs quickly and tried the two-at-time thing and easily sailed up. A few minutes later I had to do it again, now with the same result. Easy. I can only credit that new exercise.
That is one example of many health benefits exercise bestows. Now to caffeine. A recent article recites research on it wherein they give stats on how much of a limit is recommended, well under what I drink daily. Everything I’ve ever read has not only found no problems with caffeine but positively extolled it.
So it was with great interest and with cup in hand that I perused the article. Fortunately I provided stats and symptoms of caffeine overdose. I began drinking coffee at age 2 and have drunk a pot or two everyday since, i.e. 80 years. Among the possible side effects of caffeine, mostly positive, is not included hypertension, which I do have on a genetic basis (as my dad yelled at me, “For Christ’s sake, you’re Italian, you’re supposed to have high blood pressure!). Alll the positive effects I do have and often attribute the robust condition of my nervous system, reaction time, etc. to it. In addition I can count the number of headaches or stomach aches I’ve had in my life. The only time I overdosed the symptoms were flu-like and passed in about 5 hours.
But over the years people have warned me about the dangers of too much coffee. It turned out the researchers cited were not so much concerned by coffee as by the many bizarre, teen- and child-oriented “energy” drinks being purveyed. Reading some of their names, I realized I was looking at junk food so anyone indulging in that should expect problems with caffeine overdose which may be less worrisome than advanced diabetes.
As the Brits say, “Hoist a cuppa!”