Coffee: My New Addiction By SOUL Joel
Last week March 23rd’s show was a lot of fun. We didn’t have an in studio guest for the first time, although we had a tremendous amount of callers, both planned guests and random fans. For those of you who listened to the show, the show had a good energy, but both Rich and myself were not as up beat as normal. Why? <!–more–>Personally, I did not follow my normal pre-show routine of Diet Mountain or coffee before the show. I’ve been really trying to cut back on the caffeine in general, but I really did not intentionally make the decision to not drink it before the show.
To listen to our show for FREE and subscribe on iTunes go to http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-comedy-point-soul-joel/id345531973. The most noticeable aspect of my performance without caffeine was my ability to speak without mixing up words. My mind naturally races between my multi-tasking and possible attention deficit, but on caffeine it becomes even more amplified.
Radio is a lot of fun, but it is much different than performing in front of a live audience. Unless a person calls in or shoots us an email, there is no way of telling exactly who is listening to the show until after it is over. In stand up comedy, the crowd has the ability to feed off the energy of the performer’s facial expressions and body language. Plus, there is instant feedback and gratification from the audience during a stand up show vs. radio. Thus, on radio the energy should remain high and fast past to hold the audience’s attention.
I would like to continue the experiment of shows with and without caffeine, but I love doing the shows much more after drinking coffee or Mountain Dew. However, this isn’t a new discovery but I noticed the jittery effect coffee has on my body after drinking coffee, much like everyone other human being. I’ve noticed being more short fused and on the defense after drinking coffee. But like any other drug, the side effects have to be taken into consideration and should not outweigh the benefit.
Any comments and thoughts on caffeine are welcomed, along with advice on caffeine for me on the show. Tuesday Night March 30th, I will be drinking some coffee before the show. I think the next 4 weeks I will experiment with various beverages with caffeine including: Tea, Coffee, Mountain Due, and 5 hour energy. Then the 5th show, I might go without caffeine and compare them against one another. My sisters would always hate on nights hanging out, that I chose to drink Red Bull. Instantly without even asking what I was drinking, Deanna and Laura both knew I had caffeine. I suppose my entire life I’ve been sensitive to caffeine and the effects it has on my body. This will be a fun experiment that I’m really looking forward to. Thanks for reading.
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Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is the most widely consumed stimulant drug in the world. It is present in a variety of forms: medications, coffee, tea, soft drinks, and chocolate. About 80% of adults in the United States consume caffeine in the form of coffee or tea on a daily basis. In quantities found in food and beverages, caffeine is unlikely to cause acute medical problems. In addition to its cardiovascular effects, caffeine induces a number of metabolic changes, including hyperglycemia (by stimulating gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis), increased renal filtration, ketosis, and hypokalemia. Caffeine is a potent stimulator of gastric acid secretion and GI motility. Caffeine toxicity can occur and allergies of caffeine are quite common. Caffeine converts into many byproducts, including theophylline. Theophylline keeps the bronchial tubes open. Allergic individuals are less likely to suffer respiratory collapse, during an anaphylactic reaction. Therefore one may be allergic to caffeine without knowing because you would not experience a typical allergy. In conclusion it is your best bet to avoid caffeine as it is a powerful stimulant and can cause a variety of problems.