Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Caffeine in my vitamin
Last minute, I was doing a 10 minute dash through the grocery store to pick up milk, bread and some fruit before picking up the kids from daycare and school. I picked up the last item I needed, rounded the corner all ready to race to the checkout line when the vitamin aisle caught my attention. I've been out of vitamins for months. My last vitamins were the adult gummies which I read somewhere, sacrifice vitamin content for palatibity. I've been thinking that it's time to suck it up and go for ugly, huge vitamin tablets that are great for me. But in all that time, I've been chewing some of the kids gummies (when I remember). What better time to choose a proper women's vitamin than when I'm already standing in front of the vitamin aisle?
A quick scan and the One A Day Women's brand stood out. Even better, they have one for Active Mind and Body. Just what I want to have. Time is ticking. I pick it. I check out.
At home, I notice it has caffeine. Caffeine! In my vitamin! I'm not a coffee drinker. I'm not sure if caffeine is good for me. I know energy drinks are laden with caffeine but in my search for energy, I've chosen not to go that route. I decide I will take it back to the store, exchange it for a non-caffeinated variety.
Overnight, I change my mind. Or opened my mind (depending on how you wish to see it). Perhaps some caffeine is good for me. How can I tell if I haven't tried it? There's a lot of stuff I'm working on (or should be working on) where mental alertness can do nothing but good. Perhaps the solution lies in this caffeine-laden vitamin. I take one after a bowl of cereal.
Three hours later, I'm feeling weird. Not mentally alert, I don't think so. Just weird.
I Google the product and read the amazon reviews. I quickly notice it has 9 one-star reviews versus 6 five-star reviews. While some claim mental alertness indeed occurs with this product, claims of nausea, jitters and anxiety also exist. Not good. I wish the reviewers all indicated if they were coffee drinkers or not. Perhaps its effect varies by typical caffeine intake. Perhaps the desired effect will not kick in until my body gets used to the caffeine, in other words, until I become a caffeine addict. It brings to mind some other vices such as smoking. I've never smoked so I'm not speaking from personal experience, but in high school, when several of my classmates were experimenting with cigarettes, they would suffer through a couple, coughing and gagging as they tried to adapt to the supposedly cool object. I used to feel sorry for them and the unnecessary torture. I feel the same way about beer. Lots of them are bitter. And I've been told, "you have to develop a taste for it". That's ridiculous. Why should I develop a taste for something I don't like?
I may be feeling jittery now, but I'm not sure. How exactly does jittery feel? This stuff is going back to the store.
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