Richard Kaszeta wrote:

> I recommend shaking the addiction. Due to a very bad run-in with acid
> reflux, I pretty much had to give coffee up cold turkey for almost a
> year.
>
> After a month of not drinking it (which was a bit rough), I found that
> my energy level was much better (and my stomach and esophagus were
> much happier), and that I actually functioned better without morning
> stimulants.
>
> I'm back into drinking it, but only on an occasional basis, and find
> that I am now enjoying it a lot more than I used to (and, on the rare
> occasions that I do need a pick-me-up, it's a *lot* more effective
> than it used to be).


Have you found any social repercussions to not drinking coffee as
opposed to health ones? I'm the odd person who never started drinking
coffee in the first place. My parents drank coffee, and I assumed I'd
start drinking it in my teens as everyone else does except that I never
grew to like it. I'd taste it, say bleah, and go several more years
before tasting it again. At 46, the closest I ever come to coffee is
coffee ice cream, and even there, I prefer other flavors.


From time to time, I run into a situation where I'm the duck out of
water for not wanting coffee. Maybe someone will think I'm being picky
or high maintenance for asking for tea, or they'll think I'm a health
nut and looking down my nose at them for drinking it. Most recently, my
boss at work is nice as he can be when he goes to Starbuck's for coffee
and asks the part timers if we'd like anything. I always say no and
wonder if I'm being unsociable.


--Lia