"All words are symbols that represent unspeakable realities. Which is also why words are magical." (Donald Miller tweet)

Monday, February 27, 2012

coffee

So here is something I learned this morning.

A couple of weeks ago, in a routine appointment, my doc asked me how much coffee I drink. I didn't lie - honest, I didn't - but she probably thinks I did. She suggested I should just watch the caffeine intake, maybe throw in some decaf ("good decaf") now and then, or water.

Water. Bleah.

So, since the brand of coffee I am most likely to buy is this one, I thought I'd throw a little scoop of this one into the morning mix. That way I have reduced the caffeine, doc is happy, and I carry on as before. And it tasted just as good, really.

Let's acknowledge that a whole bunch of other life took place, as it always does, thus preventing me from tying that previous part to this next part.

For example, there's the weather - my spring allergies keep kicking into overdrive with this ridiculously warm weather. And then when an almost-storm rolls by, my head activates its tightening-vice-grip protocol.

And as another example - people float randomly through my life with illnesses of varying degrees, often contagious.

Plus a few weeks ago I had a lot on my plate, so I was legitimately tired.

See? Life.

So I just kept feeling unwell, but on and off, couldn't put my finger on it. Except for the stomach aches. What is that about? Must have been something I ate ... maybe I'm hungry ... oh my gosh, please not Norwalk ... maybe this is Norwalk when one takes ColdFX regularly, I could live with that ...

And then I thought, hmmmm.

Can decaf coffee upset your stomach if regular coffee doesn't? And what I mean when I say regular coffee doesn't upset my stomach is ... my stomach gets upset if I DON'T have my regular coffee in the morning. I saw your eyebrows go up just now. Just shush. Your lectures are not welcome here.

So I went online this morning. Because the internet ALWAYS has reliable medical information. (I jest.) But according to SOME parts of the knowledgeable interweb, decaf coffee has higher acid levels and may cause indigestion when regular coffee does not.

Today - full caf - no stomach ache. I told Spike, "I'm currently conducting further lab tests. Report to follow."

To which he responded, "wow...too much caffeine".

(but no stomach ache)