I'm sorry Jen, I tried!
I was sippin' on some DECAF coffee, blissfully thinking I'd taken an important step towards proper body maintainence, when mi compadre de nueva york, jen, informed me of the following:
advice: it's better to reduce the caffeine than to drink de-caf. coffee is made de-caf using formeldihyde (spelling?), a very nasty chemical.
Ok... so, I heart Jen, I really do... but way to knock a bitch down before she's started! And now I'll never be able to opt for DECAF because, isn't formeldihyde used to, I don't know, preserve dead people? I'll ask Allison-- she knows about dead people and chemicals. I hate science.
Crickie recently told me that hating science was very Republican of me. I tried to unleash the terror on him, but found an unwilling audience. Can't win 'em all.
Anyway, I threw the DECAF away, and plugged away at my regular, and used REAL half and half, and not fat-free half and half, to show that I can make my own decisions (what?).
Diet Coke count: 2 cans
Coffee count: I'm not mentioning it, in protest to recently learned news regarding formeldihyde (spelling?)
Music: Ambulance Ltd
Ebbitt's self imposed hunger strike: day 2
posted by mollytics @ 12:28 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Twisted science information alert!
I did some research and discovered:
Formaldehyde is the simplest aldehyde with the chemical formula HCHO. Since its accidental production by Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov in 1859 and subsequent discovery by A. W. Hofmann in 1868, formaldehyde has become a major industrial product. (Anyone with the name Mikhailovich rules in my book.)
Formaldehyde is a colorless, unstable gas with a suffocating odor. It is used as a fumigant, disinfectant, herbicide, germicide, fungicide, and insecticide; in resins; synthetic fabrics, dyes, and explosives; rubber preservatives and coatings; in chemical analysis and synthesis; preservation of biological specimens and embalming; in drilling mud, photographic developers, and fertilizers. Formaldehyde can be an ingredient in many household products, including shampoo, hair creams and lotions, skin cleansers, nail polish and hardeners, dishwashing liquids, make-up, and as an additive for wrinkle-free fabrics. Exposure to formaldehyde occurs by vapors released by commonly used pressed woods and urea-formaldehyde insulation, polluted urban air, petroleum combustion, wood burning stoves, and smoking. Occupational exposures to formaldehyde have been associated with menstrual irregularities, birth defects and chromosomal changes.
There is a long list of symptoms associated with exposure to formaldehyde that is incredible scary. You can search the EPA's website for these if you don't want to sleep tonight.
Additional scientific information readily available to those with google.
While consuming moderate amounts of caffeine does not seem to have long-term detrimental effects, consuming larger amounts of caffeine on a regular basis (1000 mg or about ten 6-oz cups of coffee a day) may be linked to conception problems, increased episodes of heartburn and changes in bowel habits.
Too much caffeine may lead to sleep deprivation and a tendency to disregard the normal warning signals that the body is tired and needs rest. Caffeine does not replenish energy or prevent emotional fatigue; food and sleep are the only remedies for these. When normal sleeping patterns are continually disrupted, mood depression may occur. Too much caffeine may also lead to anxiety-related feelings such as excessive nervousness, sweating and tremors.
People who are taking medications for depression, anxiety or insomnia, high blood pressure, other heart problems, chronic stomach upset or kidney disease should avoid caffeine until discussing the matter with a clinician.
If you want to avoid some of the annoying side effects of caffeinated beverages (e.g., jitters or sleeplessness), switching to decaffeinated drinks may help.
Lessons to learn:
MJ, the sweating and tremors won't go away unless you stop inhaling such vast quantities of the caff!
And finally, in case there was more than you wanted to know about caffeine:
It seems that your friend Jen is not entirely correct in stating that the decaffeination process involves formaldehyde. I didn't find any evidence that such was the case although the soda makers may have some mass conspiracy against Joe Q. Public. But I doubt it.
Caffeine Fact: The Caffeine removed from coffee beans is sold to soda manufacturers.
Soft drinks have become the favorite caffeine containing beverage in the United States: 12 oz. can of soft drink may contain 30-72 mg of caffeine. Less than 5% of this caffeine is from the kola nut; manufacturers add the other 95%, using the extract obtained from the decaffeination process. The level of caffeine found in a particular brand is consistent from can to can because of strict manufacturing controls.
I'm assuming this means that sodas are pretty much decaffeinated to begin with and only become caffeinated once the by-product from coffee decaffeination has been added. So, ladies and gents, caffeine is usually an additive.
I also learned a bunch more about the decaffeination process. There are two basic decaffeination processes used in the U.S.: water extraction and direct solvent extraction. In the direct solvent extraction process, decaffeination is accomplished by direct application of methylene chloride, ethyl acetate or carbon dioxide.
To summarize, MJ, you are completely safe drinking any decaff beverage of your choice!
And that concludes my science lecture for the afternoon. I apologize for the many lengthy comments, but actually found the topic quite interesting. If you made it this far, hooray! If not, boooo you science hater.
Cheers!
i should have cited the pages i went to. let's just say i googled some stuff and went to askjeeves and should have given credit where credit was due. my bad.
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