Friday, June 02, 2006

My Ongoing Search For Wild Kicks



My latest addiction has been the Vicks Red Energy drops, consisting of similar ingredients as there are in energy drinks: caffeine, taurine (familiar from Red Bull which was in fact banned in Finland until recent years) and guarana extract. They gave out free samples of those last winter and I was immediately hooked (talk about the gateway theory).

Since I tend to get tired so easily during daytime (I might have inherited it from my mother who had narcolepsy in her youth) and therefore may find myself totally unable to concentrate, I'm a sucker for all sorts of central nervous system stimulants (though so far I've used only those ones that are still legal). I've been a caffeine addict but my stomach can't bear any more those gargantuan amounts of coffee I consumed in the past, and I've also purchased from health stores guarana and ginkgo biloba extracts (those get quite expensive, though). Not to mention those oceans of cola drinks I've consumed during my lifetime.

I was also heavily into Red Bull for a while but as said, my large intestine problems two years ago forced me to reduce considerably those amounts of coffee, cola and energy drinks I had been taking in so far (these days I have those only occasionally), and turned me into a green tea drinker.

So this spring I've been a Red Energy addict, eating those drops like they were candy, but it seems I have to cut down even those now, since they are obviously not good for my heart, giving me a tingling sensation in my limbs, like a mild electric current running through them (never a good sign). Though I'm well aware of being in the risk group (because of my genes and my liking of all sorts of goods greasy, salty & sugary), I'm not quite ready for my first heart attack yet. Also causing similar uptightness, nervousness (and even mild paranoia) as I occasionally experienced during my heavy coffee-drinking days. It seems I need another new kick again (preferably a legal and over-the-counter one)!

1 comment:

Juri said...

Just stick to green tea. You might also want to try some mate, the Brazilian herb beverage. It has more caffein than coffee, but it's also more gentle to your stomach.

Or then stop consuming caffeine altogether. The first week might be the worst of your life, but then you won't need them anymore.