New Thoughts On Coffee
On second thought, I have decided that quitting coffee was a stupid idea. I am reading a book written by my future co-worker at Fancy University, Walter Willett. The book is called Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy, and has these things to say about coffee:
Con:
-"drinking too much coffee can give you the shakes, make you irritable, and keep you from sleeping." (duh. actually, this whole time I've tried to quit drinking coffee, I haven't gotten more than 5 hours of sleep a night. is insomia a symptom of caffeine withdrawal too?)
-"people who drink a lot of coffee may be at risk of osteoporosis or breaking a bone....increased risks with four or more cups per day have been seen in several studies, but the final answer is not in." (I have never really broken a bone, for the record, although I've sprained my ankles approx 11 times. honestly i've forgotten how many times. i own my own set of crutches.)
-"drinking espresso, French press, ot other coffee that doesn't drip through a paper filter can increase your cholesterol a few points." (he goes on to say later that cholesterol is not as important a health problem as previously thought.)
Pro:
-"coffee is a remarkably safe beverage. it's dubious health reputation, which stretches back hundreds of years, is more image than substance."
-people who drink coffee have a "lower chance of developing kidney stones", "lower chance of developing gallstones" and "fewer suicides." fewer suicides is kind of weird, but according to the Nurses' Health Study, "suicide rates are as much as 50% lower among coffee drinkers than non-coffee drinkers." coffee may be a mild anti-depressant.
-"given the body of research on coffee, it's safe to say that there aren't any major health hazards lurking in the murky depths of your cup. in short, when drunk in moderation, coffee is no threat to your health."
Welcome back, coffee!
Yesterday Morning:
-coffee
-sweet potato
-apple
Lunch:
-chicken breast with lemon-butter sauce and steamed broccoli. the chicken breast tasted like it had been cooked in a microwave, and was like eating a chicken-flavored rubber sole. otherwise, a pretty good meal. vinny t's. i had a $5 off coupon, so this was pretty cheap. not a place i would probably eat if i didn't have a $5 off lunch and $10 off dinner coupon. the place wasn't as obnoxious as i expected it would be, however. it's more trying to be a homey corporate family-style italian restaurant rather than a goofy corporate "pieces of flair" type gimmick-fest. my waiter sounded like he was from a foreign country i couldn't quite identify.
Dinner:
-3-bean chili with soy protein granules
-salmon fillet with olive oil and soy sauce
-spinach salad with delicious goddess dressing. is goddess dressing the actual name, like ranch or bleu cheese, of the dressing i love? it's like a canola oil and sesame tahini-based dressing. it's really good, but do they have to call it goddess dressing? why do salad dressings need to be gendered?
-oh, it was a little while ago (monday), but i had a chicken massaman curry (chicken, carrots, potato, broccoli, baby corn, onion, all floating in a soup of curry sauce) at the new place in inman called spice and rice, which despite its silly name and bizarre interior design, is a great restaurant. the girlfriend had sushi which was very good as well. i've had a lot of bad sushi in my life, and this was not it. reasonable prices, as well. the whole time we were there, family who i presume owned the place were taking pictures of each other in their halloween costumes. when i went to the bathroom, the guy who was dressed as batman had to take his entire costume off in order to use the urinal, and was standing there half-naked when i walked in.
On second thought, I have decided that quitting coffee was a stupid idea. I am reading a book written by my future co-worker at Fancy University, Walter Willett. The book is called Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy, and has these things to say about coffee:
Con:
-"drinking too much coffee can give you the shakes, make you irritable, and keep you from sleeping." (duh. actually, this whole time I've tried to quit drinking coffee, I haven't gotten more than 5 hours of sleep a night. is insomia a symptom of caffeine withdrawal too?)
-"people who drink a lot of coffee may be at risk of osteoporosis or breaking a bone....increased risks with four or more cups per day have been seen in several studies, but the final answer is not in." (I have never really broken a bone, for the record, although I've sprained my ankles approx 11 times. honestly i've forgotten how many times. i own my own set of crutches.)
-"drinking espresso, French press, ot other coffee that doesn't drip through a paper filter can increase your cholesterol a few points." (he goes on to say later that cholesterol is not as important a health problem as previously thought.)
Pro:
-"coffee is a remarkably safe beverage. it's dubious health reputation, which stretches back hundreds of years, is more image than substance."
-people who drink coffee have a "lower chance of developing kidney stones", "lower chance of developing gallstones" and "fewer suicides." fewer suicides is kind of weird, but according to the Nurses' Health Study, "suicide rates are as much as 50% lower among coffee drinkers than non-coffee drinkers." coffee may be a mild anti-depressant.
-"given the body of research on coffee, it's safe to say that there aren't any major health hazards lurking in the murky depths of your cup. in short, when drunk in moderation, coffee is no threat to your health."
Welcome back, coffee!
Yesterday Morning:
-coffee
-sweet potato
-apple
Lunch:
-chicken breast with lemon-butter sauce and steamed broccoli. the chicken breast tasted like it had been cooked in a microwave, and was like eating a chicken-flavored rubber sole. otherwise, a pretty good meal. vinny t's. i had a $5 off coupon, so this was pretty cheap. not a place i would probably eat if i didn't have a $5 off lunch and $10 off dinner coupon. the place wasn't as obnoxious as i expected it would be, however. it's more trying to be a homey corporate family-style italian restaurant rather than a goofy corporate "pieces of flair" type gimmick-fest. my waiter sounded like he was from a foreign country i couldn't quite identify.
Dinner:
-3-bean chili with soy protein granules
-salmon fillet with olive oil and soy sauce
-spinach salad with delicious goddess dressing. is goddess dressing the actual name, like ranch or bleu cheese, of the dressing i love? it's like a canola oil and sesame tahini-based dressing. it's really good, but do they have to call it goddess dressing? why do salad dressings need to be gendered?
-oh, it was a little while ago (monday), but i had a chicken massaman curry (chicken, carrots, potato, broccoli, baby corn, onion, all floating in a soup of curry sauce) at the new place in inman called spice and rice, which despite its silly name and bizarre interior design, is a great restaurant. the girlfriend had sushi which was very good as well. i've had a lot of bad sushi in my life, and this was not it. reasonable prices, as well. the whole time we were there, family who i presume owned the place were taking pictures of each other in their halloween costumes. when i went to the bathroom, the guy who was dressed as batman had to take his entire costume off in order to use the urinal, and was standing there half-naked when i walked in.
posted by Griff at 1:32 PM
4 Comments:
oh, i also ate a bunch of carrots, a handful of almonds, and drank a glass of red wine.
I have a bunch of those Vinnie T's coupons as well. Where the hell did they come from?
Also, the problem with Goddess dressing is how bad it tastes. Maybe you should try something that's delicious, like peppercorn ranch or creamy gorgonzola.
just have to say, that book is amazing! everyone should read it.
A) goddess dressing is probably the best food on the planet. I use it pretty much on everything
B) I'm glad you did the work of rationalizing coffee for me. I will no longer live with the internal guilt of feeling like i have a destructive coffee habit.
C) the word verification thing below is grffi... weird...
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