For the last two weeks, I haven't drank a single sip of coffee. More or less. I might've stolen a teeny, tiny swallow from my mom, but other than that I've been caffeine free. That is, until today. Now, this might not sound revolutionary to you, but for someone who's been a pretty regular coffee drinker of at least 2 cups a day, giving it up was hard. I gave it up for my hypothetical Lent. Why? Mainly due to health reasons, but also because of New York.
During spring break, my family and I traveled to the Big Apple for the first time. The entire city was stimulating. I could walk around all day and never get bored, unlike where I currently live. At least, in New York City, you can tell it's a city. In Houston, there's so many suburbs that it feels more like a bunch of connected miniature cities with lonely paths of highway in between. Regardless, Houston or New York, coffee remains an integral part of life.
However, there's one key difference. The coffee culture in New York is much more unique. Of course, they have the standard Starbucks chain swarming through the city, but it's not the only coffee shop. In Houston, if you're in your car, a drive-thru Starbucks is a safe bet and your only option. Unique coffee shops in Houston are far and in between. I'm lucky enough to live close to one of these rare gems. I enjoy getting out of my car and walking into a shop uniquely decorated while carrying the scent of the subtle bitterness in coffee. In New York, there are no drive thru's, but plenty of coffee shops. In fact, there was one right outside of our hotel next to the subway station. Talk about convenient placement.
I was ecstatic at the variety of coffee shops and drank coffee through out the day. As a coffee-lover, I drank coffee in New York more than I drank water. That's not much of an overstatement and probably not healthy. I drank so much that when I got back to Houston, I felt it was necessary to make some changes because I realized coffee had turned into an addiction. It had become a necessity to me every morning and every evening. If I didn't drink it for a weekend, my head would hurt. The first couple of days after I had withdrawn from it entirely, my head did hurt. After two weeks though, I started craving coffee more and more. In the end, I decided I need to drink less of it, but I shouldn't have to cut myself off from it entirely either because drinking coffee is a pastime I enjoy. Today, I only drank one cup of coffee and I will be trying to keep it at one cup.
Also, because I cleaned my system of caffeine I decided to do some research about coffee to be more aware of what I was actually drinking. I don't think I'll ever be able to completely give up coffee and I bet some of you are nodding your heads in agreement (while drinking a cup of coffee?). That's okay. All of us, just need to make an effort to be more knowledgeable about coffee(really, any food) and apply restraint.
Here are some of the interesting facts of coffee I found:
PROS :)
1. Webmd.com's article, The Buzz on Coffee
1. http://www.geeksonfood.com/about_4569435_pros-cons-coffee.html
The coffee shop in Houston: Proud Pie
A song that I've been jamming out to: (replace Ma City with Coff-ee ;)
BTS-Ma City
During spring break, my family and I traveled to the Big Apple for the first time. The entire city was stimulating. I could walk around all day and never get bored, unlike where I currently live. At least, in New York City, you can tell it's a city. In Houston, there's so many suburbs that it feels more like a bunch of connected miniature cities with lonely paths of highway in between. Regardless, Houston or New York, coffee remains an integral part of life.
However, there's one key difference. The coffee culture in New York is much more unique. Of course, they have the standard Starbucks chain swarming through the city, but it's not the only coffee shop. In Houston, if you're in your car, a drive-thru Starbucks is a safe bet and your only option. Unique coffee shops in Houston are far and in between. I'm lucky enough to live close to one of these rare gems. I enjoy getting out of my car and walking into a shop uniquely decorated while carrying the scent of the subtle bitterness in coffee. In New York, there are no drive thru's, but plenty of coffee shops. In fact, there was one right outside of our hotel next to the subway station. Talk about convenient placement.
I was ecstatic at the variety of coffee shops and drank coffee through out the day. As a coffee-lover, I drank coffee in New York more than I drank water. That's not much of an overstatement and probably not healthy. I drank so much that when I got back to Houston, I felt it was necessary to make some changes because I realized coffee had turned into an addiction. It had become a necessity to me every morning and every evening. If I didn't drink it for a weekend, my head would hurt. The first couple of days after I had withdrawn from it entirely, my head did hurt. After two weeks though, I started craving coffee more and more. In the end, I decided I need to drink less of it, but I shouldn't have to cut myself off from it entirely either because drinking coffee is a pastime I enjoy. Today, I only drank one cup of coffee and I will be trying to keep it at one cup.
Also, because I cleaned my system of caffeine I decided to do some research about coffee to be more aware of what I was actually drinking. I don't think I'll ever be able to completely give up coffee and I bet some of you are nodding your heads in agreement (while drinking a cup of coffee?). That's okay. All of us, just need to make an effort to be more knowledgeable about coffee(really, any food) and apply restraint.
Here are some of the interesting facts of coffee I found:
PROS :)
1. Webmd.com's article, The Buzz on Coffee
- "studies have shown that regular coffee drinkers can reduce their risk of Parkinson's disease by 80%, the risk of colon cancer by 25%, the risk of cirrhosis of the liver by 80%, and cut the risk of gallstones in half"
- coffee has "antioxidants that fight disease"
- coffee helps cognitively ex: having better memory
- stimulates you, hence, making you less drowsy
1. http://www.geeksonfood.com/about_4569435_pros-cons-coffee.html
- causes sleep disturbances (don't drink before bed!)
- "Large consumption's of coffee can cause nervousness, jitters and a racing heartbeat"
- Also, for women, coffee has been linked to osteoporosis since it causes a "loss of bone density" if you drink more than 2 cups of coffee a day
- Lastly, coffee is a diuretic which means that "the urine removes calcium from the body that must be replaced" (drink milk or eat yogurt, not just coffee!!!)
The coffee shop in Houston: Proud Pie
Provided by: Yelp
A song that I've been jamming out to: (replace Ma City with Coff-ee ;)
BTS-Ma City
