RunHarwell wrote:
I was noticing a lack of adrenaline lately, so I just cut out caffeine cold turkey for a few days to try and reset my system a bit. Incredible what a hold it can have on you - I've felt like **** these past few days, and I only drink about 250 mg of caffeine per day.
What are your thoughts on caffeine?
Caffeine, and especially caffeine-containing natural beverages such as (unsweetened, milk or other accompaniment-free) coffee or tea is one of the most, if not THE most human-compatible drugs in existence. In general, coffee and tea consumption--in the doses people the vast majority of people tend to ingest--seems to benefit people significantly.
Unfortunately, almost all of the research on caffeine consumption from a health (rather than athletic performance) perspective focuses on coffee or tea rather than pure caffeine. We do know that caffeine-free versions of coffee and tea do not seem to carry the same health benefits as "virgin" versions; whether this is do to the lack of caffeine or some effect the caffeine-removal process has on the remaining coffee or tea, I dunno; not sure if this has been determined or investigated...