You Want a Healthy Baby!

Caffeine consumption is no good for the developing baby in your tummy. As a matter of fact, it can have serious effects on your little angel.There are studies that point at caffeine as a cause of premature delivery, reduced infant birth weight, poor reflexes and neuromuscular development.

Remember how they talk about withdrawal symptoms showing when you suddenly go cold turkey? The same thing may happen to your baby when he gets out of your womb (and your supply of caffeine). You see, the caffeine you take in makes its way to your baby. So by essence, your baby would be drinking coffee too. And this can cause complications, since your baby has a teeny weeny body (which means much less body mass and more caffeine sensitivity).

Picture this, caffeine passes very easily across the placenta. If you keep ingesting huge amounts of coffee, the fetus will end up getting as much caffeine as you are receiving. If you suddenly stop drinking within 24 hours, your baby will start experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

Now imagine what will happen when you finally deliver the baby. You would then be cutting him/her out of the caffeine supply. Don’t be surprised to notice withdrawal symptoms on your newborn baby. These symptoms are not all that different than those noticed in heroin babies (or those born to heroin users). Your baby will be crying a lot, will have difficulty sleeping, and will be agitated and restless. You will also notice your baby sweat a lot. He/she will also be wriggling, abrading the skin on his/her knees and hands.

To top it all, caffeine can lead to serious complications. Think Neonatal Apnoea (the baby seems to forget to breathe properly) and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Several studies continue to examine the effects of caffeine on human development. Many results are yet to be conclusive. Still, every pregnant woman should subscribe to one simple rule—“Err on the side of caution.” There’s just no good reason for you to compromise your little angel’s health.

And oh, you must take note of the fact that coffee is not the only source of caffeine. Thus, you should also cut down on tea and cola beverages. All for the love of your baby!

It’s a myth you’ll have to get over with. Sure, coffee perks you up. But it’s not any good at lowering blood alcohol levels. Maybe you should reach for a glass of water instead.

One thing though, coffee is good for your hang-over. Alcohol is great at giving you thumping headaches, mainly because it enlarges cranial blood vessels. Caffeine, on the other hand, is great at doing the opposite. It actually constricts the cranial blood vessels, making it an effective way to combat hangover blues.

So run for your morning cup of coffee after a night of binge drinking!

Certain Antibiotics

There are antibacterial medications that interfere with the proper breakdown of caffeine. The effect is that caffeine’s stay in your system is lengthened. This then amplifies any possible undesirable effect on your body. The antibiotics to avoid are Norfloxacin (Noroxin) and Ciprofloxacin (Cipro).

Ephedra (Ma-huang)

Ephedra is one proof that not because it’s herbal, it’s safe. As a matter of fact, this herbal dietary supplement is already banned by the Food and Drug Administration. Problem is, the ban does not include herbal teas that contain this component.

Ephedra has been proven to increase risks to stroke, heart attack, seizures and death. Now you can imagine what is going to happen if you have it mixed with your favorite cup of joe.

Theophylline (Theo-24, Uniphyl and others)

This medication is a bronchodilator. That is, it relaxes surrounding muscles, opening up bronchial airways in the process. These are caffeine-like effects. Drinking your usual java with this drug increases Theophylline into unhealthy levels. The effect is that you might experience vomiting, nausea and heart palpitations.

News about the health benefits of coffee are sprouting from everywhere. And many of them are well-founded. But you do have to make exceptions every now and then. Those mentioned above are definitely good reasons for you to go cold turkey.

“Provided it’s taken in moderation we don’t need to see coffee as a threat to health, but the recommendation is enjoy in moderation,” says a spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association.

They say too much coffee is harmful and that you must keep your intake in moderation. But what constitutes moderate coffee consumption? How much coffee is too much?

Sensitivity to Caffeine

There is no simple answer to this question, mainly because people differ in their sensitivity to caffeine.

Accordingly, 200 to 300 milligrams caffeine should be safe for most people, which means that it’s okay to drown in 2-3 cups of brewed coffee per day. And the British Department of Health (DoH) says that five single espressos, or seven instant coffees, per day would count for moderate caffeine intake.

But a word of warning is given to those who might be sensitive to caffeine. So how do you identify sensitivity to caffeine? This is yet another complex question with no easy answer. You are sensitive to caffeine when you are a slow caffeine metabolizer. Problem is, there is no easy way to identify slow-metabolizers. There is a genetic test available for this purpose, but it’s still not accessible to the common Joe.

But there are ways by which you can check whether you should cut down your caffeine intake or not. And you can also make your own rough assessment on your caffeine sensitivity. Take a look at the following factors:

Body Mass

The smaller body mass you have, the sooner the effects of caffeine will kick in.

History of Caffeine Consumption

The less regular your caffeine intake is, the more sensitive you get.

Stress

Stress increases your sensitivity to caffeine.

17-year-old Jasmine Willis was rushed to the hospital after an overdose on coffee. It took her only seven cups of expresso (pretty tame considering that the likes of Robbie Williams take on a 36-a-day habit) to start burning up, hyperventilating, laughing and crying all at the same time. Not a pretty sight, is it?

So how much is too much coffee for you?

“A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems.”

- Paul Erdos, number theorist.

It’s a proven fact—coffee improves mental performance. Don’t get the wrong idea though. Coffee does not make you any smarter. That is, it does not do anything to alter the structure of your brain. What it does is that it helps you make better use of the intelligence that you already have, mainly because it affects the chemical activities in your brain.

So how does it work? Caffeine, a known component of coffee, binds to receptors that would otherwise receive adenosine. Adenosine is the neurotransmitter responsible for sending signals that tell the brain cells to tune down their activity. In a nutshell, caffeine staves off sleepiness by blocking adenosine.

And because adenosine level is down and the nervous system is generally alert, the brain reacts and releases adrenaline. This then increases the mind’s ability to focus.

To top it all, caffeine increases dopamine levels in the brain areas (the anterior cingular cortex and most areas in the frontal lobe) responsible for important executive functions—task management, attention and concentration.

So there you have it. Coffee does not make you smarter, but it does improve the key functions associated with intelligence—vigilance, attention and reaction time.

Still another great reason to wake up to your morning cup of coffee!

You should meditate. That is, if you want to get smarter and more productive in whatever it is you’re doing. So how does meditation help you?

Meditation Makes You Smarter

Unlike coffee which does not really make you smarter, only more alert, meditation holds the power to make you ‘literally more intelligent’. As a matter of fact, it directly affects the structure of your brain, making some parts of the cerebral cortex thicker. What’s great is that it improves the vital parts, the ones responsible for attention and memory. The result—you get improved attention span, focus and memory.

Meditation Helps Regulate Emotions

And you’ll love how meditation improves your emotional intelligence. As meditation helps you regulate your emotions, you become better at dealing with other people. You then get closer to that coveted life success.

More so, meditation increases energy level while maintaining general calmness and relaxation.

All You Need to do is Breathe

And it’s great how you can get all these benefits by doing something really simple—breathing!

One study conducted by Sara Lazar, a research scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital, revealed that meditating for 40 minutes per day could make a person’s gray matter thicker. It could also slow the thinning of the cortex that naturally occurs as a person ages. The study involved 20 Boston-area workers (men and women) who practiced Western-style meditation or what they call mindfulness/insight meditation (focusing on a sound, an image, or on your own breathing).

Let’s all meditate!

There’s this news that came out over NPR Morning Edition (March 28, 2008). A woman’s car jumped over the road and landed on water. This happened after the woman lost control of the car while trying to reach for her cell phone. Fortunately, the woman came out of the car unhurt. And she did manage to save what may have been the most important thing in the car—her morning cup of coffee!

The witnesses could not help but notice how the 22-year old woman held on to her cup of joe, even as she waded ashore. Looks like I’m not the only one who can’t get by without coffee!

by Djulia Montana ‘tahna’ de Veyra

“Stop to smell the flowers.”

You’ve probably already had tons of self-help gurus tell you that you must have a to-do list ready if you wish to get things done. And they probably gave you the same old drill—‘Put everything that needs to get done on pen and paper..’ Or they might have tried to sell a sophisticated downloadable schedule program. What I am going to share is the same old pen and paper to-do list, only better. 

I stumbled upon this article written by Wild Bill (of Passionate America, a blogsite centered on the pursuit of happiness). It’s called ‘Adding Happiness to Your To-Do List’. Wild Bill talks about adding an important missing link in your to-do list, and that is the pursuit of happiness.

So instead of just jotting down..

Cook breakfast ? bacon, eggs, hash browns, and coffee.

Wild Bill writes..

• Cook breakfast ? more bacon because bacon make me happy, eggs, hash browns, and coffee. Get my 3 year old son to help because he loves to help.

He also makes other interesting changes to his to do-list..

Clean house ? yes I’m really going to clean the house.

• Clean house ? yes I’m really going to clean the house. Put on some music, Michael Buble

Cook lunch and start dinner ? lunch : Wild Bill’s home made vegetable soup, dinner : 15 bean soup

• Cook lunch and start dinner ? lunch : Wild Bill’s home made vegetable soup, dinner : 15 bean soup. Get my wife and son’s to help and have fun cooking.

Bedtime

• Bedtime ? Kiss my wife goodnight!

Wild Bill added in a few simple leisurely activities and he went back on track with his pursuit of happiness.

All of us should follow suit. We don’t necessarily have to make a to-do list. The tool, though effective, may not serve its purpose to some people. What we should emulate is the way Wild Bill goes searching for happiness in little things.

There is valuable wisdom in it. After all, it is in small and simple things that we easily find joy and serenity (no cash needed, or credit cards at that). Of course it’s always great to go chasing after big dreams. But we should never forget to stop and smell the flowers while we’re at it. It’s still the best and most effective way we can keep ourselves sane, even while living an insanely harried life.

So go ahead and put your multi-tasking skill into good use. Start including happiness in your schedule from now on!

photo credits:  http://www.marinasmasters.com/2006/2008/04/29.html

by Djulia Montana ‘tahna’ de Veyra

“I opened a charming neighborhood coffee shop. Then it destroyed my life,” Michael Idov writes.

What was supposed to be a realization of Idov’s and his wife’s fantasies turned out to be a bitter brew. After just six months of running their charming little café, the couple closed down. They had to. Not only was the business going berserk in terms of finances, it was also threatening to ruin their marriage.  

“Within weeks, Lily and I—previously ensconced in an enviably stress-free marriage—were at each other’s throats… After four more months, we grew suspicious of each other’s motives, obsessively kept track of each other’s contributions to the cause (”You worked three days last week!”), and generally waltzed on the edge of divorce. The marriage appears to have been saved by a well-timed bankruptcy.”

Opening a small café in New York’s Lower East Side seems to be a rough business option, even at this age and day when the likes of Starbucks have managed to make unbelievable mark-ups on a cup of joe acceptable. I mean, who would have thought people would willingly spend $4 on a single cup of coffee? But even the enormous profit you make on each cup won’t cut it, not when you have to pay for rent and cover for the payroll (or leave your nice-paying job and take charge of the operations yourself).

Come to think of it, you can only actually make up for the expenses if you get heavy and fast-moving foot traffic. And because your coffee shop is just way too cozy, you can’t expect your customers to leave anytime soon, especially not when they are too ensconced in whatever it is they are doing with their laptops. Now even your greatest asset has become a liability.

Of course, small coffee shops are not always doomed to fail. Maybe you totally own the place and don’t have to pay for rent. Or you may be a full-time entrepreneur. Or you live in a country where labor comes in really cheap.

The point of the story is that you can’t just dive into a business because you have a liking for whatever it is you are into. Even having strong passion for it might not do you any good. You have to have everything figured out because whether you like it or not, businesses are not all about love. You will have to deal with finances and a host of technicalities.

“The most dangerous species of owner … is the one who gets into the business for love,” Anthony Bourdain puts it.

We always hear people say that you have to love the type of business you are getting into if you wish to succeed. Actually, they’re right. But you can never hope to operate on love alone. You should have the figures sorted out, lest you’d be in for a bankruptcy.

Business ventures are about taking risks. Still, you should only go for calculated risks.

Photo credits:  http://www.espressobusiness.com/business_plan.htm

Starbucks has recently been on a struggle to save its flagging U.S. business. Among its efforts to boost sales, the coffee shop giant’s Seattle-based chain introduced a variant called the Pike Place Roast. It’s supposed to be a cheaper regular coffee that’s brewed in advance, unlike the other variants that are brewed individually for each customer’s order.

Starbucks also recently responded to accusations of fallen standards, closing its U.S. branches for a staff training that lasted for three and a half hours. The company also tried to cut down costs by laying off 600 administrative jobs.

Now the coffee shop giant turns to YOU for ideas.

Starbucks recently launched MyStarbucksIdea.com, a website that offers customers a channel to pitch in their own ideas on how the company should improve its operations. The move received negative feedbacks from skeptics who viewed the site as nothing more than an outdated suggestion box.

As Pete Blackshaw, executive vice president of strategic services for the market research firm Nielsen Online, would have it, “Most brands do not put out a welcome mat for feedback. Generally feedback is viewed as a cost of doing business rather than an opportunity. Starbucks is saying this is an opportunity.”

But the move turned out to be a promising business tactic, with 300 suggestions flooding in only an hour after the shareholders meeting. As the week ended, a total of 100, 000 votes had already been cast.

But even the numbers won’t stop the influx of criticisms; with Jim Romanesko, a media critic responsible for the popular Starbucks gossip blog, stressing that he has yet to see significantly original ideas on the site.

“I think that’s going to be one of their problems … and something my readers have noticed: It’s become redundant after three weeks. There are only so many good ideas,” Romanesko elaborates.

True enough. As a matter of fact, the first few promises the company pushed forward were ones that it already used to offer, like Internet access, loyalty cards and rewards.

But the site does more than just pitching ideas. The Starbuck’s move is making a statement. It’s doing what every business should be doing—listening to its customers.

As Blackshaw aptly puts it, “The ultimate form of dignity to the consumer is to ask for their opinion.”

MyStarbucksIdea.com seems to be doing a great job to this end.

“They really are actually responsive on the blog,” commented Debbie Weil, a corporate blogging consultant and author of The Corporate Blogging Book. He further describes the site as “corporate blogging 2.0..a very interactive, fun, interesting community.”

Moreover, the coffee shop giant has definitely created a buzz. Something every business wants.

Looks like Starbuck’s done it again.