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TL,
I drink wayyyy to many energy beverages. Sometimes pounding 5-6 20 oz redbulls a day and coffee. I tend to be slow to fully awaken after I get up from bed, and I want to start my starcrafting as soon as I can in the mornings, hence my extreme energy drinking. As I am well aware, this is very unhealthy. I am realizing it's important to try and remain healthy during starcraft training, and am looking for alternative drinks to redbulls and the such.
Anything is welcomed, but something providing a little pick me up or energy boost would be excellent.
I know a lot of people turn to tea... But i've never been into tea so much, not sure what types are good.
Please educate me on healthier alternatives to energy drinks!
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Norway28665 Posts
drop the energy drinks and only drink coffee. and try to moderate your intake. drinking 100+ oz of redbull on a daily basis seems insane.
I actually edited this part once already cause I mis-mathed, but then when I correct-mathed, it didn't add up, because surely you'd be dead. 3 liters of redbull a day?
or, you could keep it up, but channel your redbull-fueled mania into doing something awesome, like becoming the figurehead of starcraft 2.
also, I moved this to blogs.
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throw cold water on face
drink cold water
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I make it through my day just fine without loading myself up with battery acid, and I have faith that you can to if you taper off. Why is this in the starcraft forum @_@
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Eat some veggies, drink water and go outside for a while.
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On January 30 2012 02:08 Liquid`Drone wrote:
drop the energy drinks and only drink coffee. and try to moderate your intake. drinking 100+ oz of redbull on a daily basis seems insane.
or, you could keep it up, but channel your redbull-fueled mania into doing something awesome, like becoming the figurehead of starcraft 2.
also, I moved this to blogs.
ah, my apologies on the wrong section. I know, it really is crazy, that's why I know I need to stop. Is coffee really a better option? I would assume because of no added vitamins or anything?
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On January 30 2012 02:09 superjoppe wrote:
Eat some veggies, drink water and go outside for a while.
Veggies? I was unaware of the energy giving power of veggies? Any type specifically?
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With that kind of energy drink intake, you can develop a serious caffeine dependency. Personally I rarely drink coffee or energy drinks (once or twice a month), and the only tea I drink is usually green tea, low in caffeine. A lot of people wake up and turn to caffeine to get them going, but its really unnecessary. Waking up is not hard if you sleep adequately and adhere to a regular schedule.
I'd suggest dropping those drinks entirely (if not for the caffeine, for the sugar...) Drinking that many energy drinks in one day is going to seriously mess with your blood sugar levels and long-term usage like that could really put you at risk for developing diabetes.
I've been using an iPhone app lately called SleepCycle. The premise behind this app is that you are most refreshed when waking up after completion of a REM sleep cycle. Movement in your sleep, specifically how much you move, is directly correlated to how deep of a sleep you are in. The app works by putting your iPhone face-down on your bed while you sleep, and tracking your movement through the accelerometers in the phone. So, you put in the time you want to wake up, and in a half-hour window of that time when you are moving the most it will slowly wake you up with an alarm that slowly gets progressively louder.
Sounds like BS, but it's definitely changed how I go about my day. I used to naturally sleep in until 11am some days, skip my morning university classes etc., but now I can wake up at 6:30am, go to the gym before my day starts with no problem. If you have an iPhone I highly recommend it! You won't even need coffee or energy drinks if it works for you as well as it does for me.
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I have heard that speed can keep you up for a while.
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On January 30 2012 02:14 Freak705 wrote:
With that kind of energy drink intake, you can develop a serious caffeine dependency. Personally I rarely drink coffee or energy drinks (once or twice a month), and the only tea I drink is usually green tea, low in caffeine. A lot of people wake up and turn to caffeine to get them going, but its really unnecessary. Waking up is not hard if you sleep adequately and adhere to a regular schedule.
I'd suggest dropping those drinks entirely (if not for the caffeine, for the sugar...) Drinking that many energy drinks in one day is going to seriously mess with your blood sugar levels and long-term usage like that could really put you at risk for developing diabetes.
I've been using an iPhone app lately called SleepCycle. The premise behind this app is that you are most refreshed when waking up after completion of a REM sleep cycle. Movement in your sleep, specifically how much you move, is directly correlated to how deep of a sleep you are in. The app works by putting your iPhone face-down on your bed while you sleep, and tracking your movement through the accelerometers in the phone. So, you put in the time you want to wake up, and in a half-hour window of that time when you are moving the most it will slowly wake you up with an alarm that slowly gets progressively louder.
Sounds like BS, but it's definitely changed how I go about my day. I used to naturally sleep in until 11am some days, skip my morning university classes etc., but now I can wake up at 6:30am, go to the gym before my day starts with no problem. If you have an iPhone I highly recommend it! You won't even need coffee or energy drinks if it works for you as well as it does for me.
I do not have an iphone, but your point is defiantly made about sleeping adequately. I know I have since stopped such intense consumption of energy drinks, just drinking coffee today. But maybe I should look into figuring out some healthy ways to about sleeping better, that may be what I need to awaken with more pep and energy.
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On January 30 2012 02:17 zalz wrote:
I have heard that speed can keep you up for a while.
I have also heard this.
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Norway28665 Posts
caffeine isn't necessarily bad for you by default. while I'm by no means an expert on nutrition, I've definitely read that coffee provides certain health benefits. like most things in life, it becomes bad when there's an excess of it. however, energy drinks, like red bull, are not something you want to consume on a daily basis, and definitely not multiple energy drinks.
wikipedia is your friend here, as always;
"The results of a study showed that the ingestion of one, 250mL can of sugar-free Red Bull, in a sample of 30 healthy young adults, had an immediate detrimental effect on both endothelial function, and normal blood coagulation. This temporarily raised the cardiovascular risk in these individuals to a level comparable to that of an individual with established coronary artery disease."
note that 250 ml is 9 oz - according to yourself, you sometimes ingest 10 times that amount in a single day.
whereas coffee
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_effects_of_coffee
has listed 13 possible benefits of different character and 8 different possible negatives, and more importantly;
coffee is absolutely tested. trillions of cups have been drank by billions of different people, and thus, it cannot be all that detrimental if used moderately.
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Keep in mind that drinking coffee loaded with sugars/cream is almost as bad as downing cans and cans of RB. Sounds pretty obvious, but it's amazing how many people don't realize this and just assert coffee is automatically healthier.
@ Freak705: The app sounds interesting. Unfortunately, no iPhone. I'm pretty much an insomniac and don't get much sleep period, so the caffeine's almost a must for me. I went to sleep at 4 AM the other night, brain woke me up at 8 for no particular reason, and couldn't get back to sleep even though I was dead tired so I just rolled around for a bit before hitting the dining hall for some coffee. >.>
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On January 30 2012 02:37 Liquid`Drone wrote:caffeine isn't necessarily bad for you by default. while I'm by no means an expert on nutrition, I've definitely read that coffee provides certain health benefits. like most things in life, it becomes bad when there's an excess of it. however, energy drinks, like red bull, are not something you want to consume on a daily basis, and definitely not multiple energy drinks. wikipedia is your friend here, as always; "The results of a study showed that the ingestion of one, 250mL can of sugar-free Red Bull, in a sample of 30 healthy young adults, had an immediate detrimental effect on both endothelial function, and normal blood coagulation. This temporarily raised the cardiovascular risk in these individuals to a level comparable to that of an individual with established coronary artery disease." note that 250 ml is 9 oz - according to yourself, you sometimes ingest 10 times that amount in a single day. whereas coffee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_effects_of_coffeehas listed 13 possible benefits of different character and 8 different possible negatives, and more importantly; coffee is absolutely tested. trillions of cups have been drank by billions of different people, and thus, it cannot be all that detrimental if used moderately.
oo. thanks for the info drone. I didn't quite realize the immediate negative health effects of energy drinks. Yah, i was a crazy person drinking that much Red Bull...
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most of the drowsiness you feel in the morning stems from the amount of water you lose during the night while you're constantly exhaling rhythmically without any interruption for 8 or so hours. SO fixing that dehydration in the morning is top priority, so my routine in the morning is downing a bottle/glass of water while my coffee brews.
so like eri said, coffee is certainly better than red bull. also I would recommend apples in the morning for their water and caffeine supplement as well. (I literally buy like a shitton of apples on like a boring sunday afternoon and just chop em up into a large bowl which is like my "breakfast snack bowl")
good luck with your switch! also working out is a great way to stretch your energy. as in waking up at a regular hour, and doing a fitness exercise. this will carry your more nutritious wake-up cycle throughout the day so you don't crash in the afternoon.
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I suggest crack or meth. It'll get you up the same amount, but at a slightly lower cost to your health.
But seriously, just get enough sleep, eat well (fruits, veggies, maybe get a multivitamin), and have maybe a cup or coffee in the morning. If you need that much energy drink/caffeine to wake up in the morning, then there's something wrong.
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Good grief, that is a lot of Red Bull. o_O
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yah, after hearing from you guys and reading up a bit more, I think my issue may be more related to sleeping, and exercise. I think those things will help a lot in not having to use energy drinks as a pick me up. Thanks for the info guys, really helps a lot.
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On January 30 2012 03:10 mOnion wrote:
most of the drowsiness you feel in the morning stems from the amount of water you lose during the night while you're constantly exhaling rhythmically without any interruption for 8 or so hours. SO fixing that dehydration in the morning is top priority, so my routine in the morning is downing a bottle/glass of water while my coffee brews.
so like eri said, coffee is certainly better than red bull. also I would recommend apples in the morning for their water and caffeine supplement as well. (I literally buy like a shitton of apples on like a boring sunday afternoon and just chop em up into a large bowl which is like my "breakfast snack bowl")
good luck with your switch! also working out is a great way to stretch your energy. as in waking up at a regular hour, and doing a fitness exercise. this will carry your more nutritious wake-up cycle throughout the day so you don't crash in the afternoon.
really really good point on the hydration, makes sense, thanks for that.
I will give apples and fruit a go, I tend to not eat breakfast so that may in fact help out a lot. I've been reading the effects of no breakfast on the body and energy levels, so the apples make a lot of sense as well. Thanks for the info.
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On January 30 2012 03:49 zer0das wrote:
Good grief, that is a lot of Red Bull. o_O
yah.. so friggin unhealthy.. need to switch up my beverages!
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Keep bananas handy... it's as convenient as opening a can. Gives you sugar plus fiber/water/nutrients etc. If you want in a drink, throw it in a blender with milk.
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10387 Posts
I find that a cold shower in the morning will get me running lol
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curious how much you
1) sleep per night
2) exercise
3) drink water & eat healthy
1)having a good sleep helps with your energy throughout the day so much.
2)getting your blood flowing and the chemical release that exercise gives you helps ENORMOUSLY. seriously just doing 20 pushups and 20 situps when you wake up or while the computer boots up will help you a lot.
3) keep hydrated,but dont overdo it. (Water should be your drink of choice) Eating healthy snacks > eating fatty/ sugary snack foods.
Try to keep something like oranges / apples in the fridge instead of a candy bar or an energy drink. Fruit is also delicious 
I'm glad that you have started to fix the energy drink problem you were having. It can be very unhealthy if you overdo it.
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There is a new drink from monster called absolute zero and it has no sugar no calories and only 135mg of caffeine. Instead of relying on energy drinks to wake up just try and wake up yourself which does sometimes suck but is better for you. I did try the absolute zero about a week ago and it was pretty good and the best thing about it was it doesnt make you crash but it slowly fades away after about 3-5 hours of drinking it.
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Honestly, it sounds like you have a questionable lifestyle. With proper exercise, hydration (water is the way) and nutrition, you shouldn't need more than a few cups of coffee throughout the day to be at an optimal energy level, if that...
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Eat healthy, do sports. Balance carbonhydrates, fat and protein... you will be much more fit.
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Canada9720 Posts
drink tea. make sure the water is boiling
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Drinking that much crap is extreme. Drinking that much crap for the expressed reason to sit around and play starcraft is honestly deeply disturbing to me.
I'm not trying to be a douche in your blog, but you might need to seriously reconsider your life, and not just what you are drinking.
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Before I ladder I usually do a few pushups to get the blood flowing. Also fruit can be good for a energy boost, Apples/tangerines are really good for that. Also drink water as well this will keep your stamina going.
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i think the healthy alternative to energy drinks is not drinking them
maybe replace them with water eh
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Drinking water and eating a meal of veggies once a day helps a lot. I've made that into my routine. Like every night I would make sure no matter what I would have a bowl of salad, it does wonders for your skin.
Another thing is to try to replace the things you like to snack on with fruits and veggies. Like oranges, bananas, and celery. It does a great deal in the long run for your health.
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Well, when I feel like shit I do pushups until I'm out of breath. Then obviously if you're breathing hard you shouldn't be drowsy anymore.
I've moved to the sugarfree varieties of energy drinks and diet sodas (diet Dr. Pepper is aaammaaazzziiinnngg) when eating out, else ice water most of the time. When I want something flavored, usually Arizona iced tea is what I grab, the calorie/serving ratio is pretty decent compared to sodas/juices.
Don't believe the hype, energy drinks aren't poison, they're just a coffee alternative. Treat them as such.
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5 hour energy is pretty good. I use it when I'm on international trips (jetlag) or after a long night.
I don't use them very often, but they work very well.
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What the fuck man, don't drink that much redbull. To use energy drinks in moderation is to use them only when you really need them (pulling an all nighter or something), DON'T use them to wake up in the morning.
Your caffeine tolerance is probably way fucked up right now so the first step is to just cut the redbull for starters. If you need something to perk you up in the morning then drink some coffee or black tea; if you have trouble staying awake after this you probably aren't getting enough sleep. Try to get 8-9 hours of sleep and go to bed at the same time / wake up at the same time every day. If you get sleepy during the day, take a 20 minute nap around 1pm, but make sure to wake up immediately and do not stay in bed. You can increase the benefit by drinking a cup of tea or coffee beforehand and you get hit with the caffeine right as you're waking up.
Overall the best alternative is to not use them since they cost a lot of money and unhealthy (sugar), but tea and coffee are acceptable alternatives assuming you don't use too much sugar (preferably none).
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The best way to stop driking so much redbull is to stop being lazy. I fucking hate getting up in the morning, but I have to do it because I have to make money so I can bay bills and feed myself.
Energy drinks/coffee will help you get up, but I've found them to be pretty useless unless I really need to stay up and get something done (ironically tonight is one of those nights). The hardest part by far is the first 5-10 minutes after getting out of bed, after that you should be fine. Just force yourself to get up and make breakfast or something. Getting your body moving will help immensely with waking up and food will give you energy to stay awake. I'm guessing that you drink so much redbull because you feel tired after the effects of the last one you drank wear off. If you get a reasonable amount of sleep (6+hours) and you have food in your stomache and you are hydrated there should be no need for energy drinks.
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On January 30 2012 03:10 mOnion wrote:
most of the drowsiness you feel in the morning stems from the amount of water you lose during the night while you're constantly exhaling rhythmically without any interruption for 8 or so hours. SO fixing that dehydration in the morning is top priority, so my routine in the morning is downing a bottle/glass of water while my coffee brews.
so like eri said, coffee is certainly better than red bull. also I would recommend apples in the morning for their water and caffeine supplement as well. (I literally buy like a shitton of apples on like a boring sunday afternoon and just chop em up into a large bowl which is like my "breakfast snack bowl")
good luck with your switch! also working out is a great way to stretch your energy. as in waking up at a regular hour, and doing a fitness exercise. this will carry your more nutritious wake-up cycle throughout the day so you don't crash in the afternoon.
wow i never knew that dehydration from sleep makes you tired, weird
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What you do...is as soon as you wake up , leave your house and start a fight.
You'll be awake in no time.
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You will destroy your stomach if you drink that much for too long a period of time. Coffee is good, but that also needs to be moderated. Just space out your intake.
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Get seriously ill for a year so you get a nausiating feeling for the rest of the day when you even drink half a can. It worked for me.
Slowly get less intake. It is hard to really stop in one go unless you can hop over to another addiction.
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I used to be somewhere close to your position. Lots of soda and energy drinks. Sometime ago I switched to canned iced tea, and then to regular tea. Once you get used to regular tea, even the canned tea from before will make your mouth feel sticky from all of the sugar. I've had only one energy drink since, and it was during the Skyrim release weekend. Feels pretty good.
Go grab one or two variety boxes of regular tea next time you're at the store, and then try them until you find the one you like best without adding sugar or anything else.
Also, make sure to actually use boiling water instead of trying to make iced tea with cold water and teabags. Makes a giant difference.
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http://lifehacker.com/5585217/what-caffeine-actually-does-to-your-brain
Here is a knowledge bomb: If you use caffeine regularly your body becomes tolerant and you begin to lose effectiveness. Rather, you become as effective as a person who doesn't drink caffeine when you've just had your dose, and less effective when you've not had your regular dose. In order to gain good effects from caffiene, you have to have it only once in awhile... Rarely enough that your body does not become tolerant to its effects. I assume it is pretty similar to other things found in energy drinks, but I don't know.
Tea is not exactly a healthy alternative. It tastes good and it has antioxidents, but it's still caffiene and you can still have too much of it. The best way to have more energy in your life is to get off your regular intake of drugs.
By a funny coincidence I'm actually quitting caffiene right now. 37 hours in and I am feeling pretty okay. Most of yesterday I had a dull headache. Was drinking several cups of various teas (black, oolong, green and white, whatever I felt like). Noticed I've been feeling really tired and low on energy. Slept pretty well last night for the first time in awhile and feel pretty awake today. Your habit is probably more serious and might take longer.
glgl coffee tea etc taste good, but if you want caffiene to be useful you can't have them daily.
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As others in the thread have said, you might be developing a dependency on caffeine so your brain requires a certain amount of it before you feel "awake". Make sure you are getting a good amount of sleep every day, and seriously try cutting back on your daily intake. Also make sure you are getting in some physical activity, maybe jogging for 30 mins every morning when you wake up will help as well.
You'll probably feel really tired for a few days... just try to hang in there and your body should get used to the lower amounts of caffeine.
Also having a good breakfast can help you stay awake. Something like: 1-2 eggs, toast, grapefruit, juice, and a cup of tea will give you everything you need to start the day.
If you're not sure what kind of tea to get, I'd suggest Tazo - Awake, it's got some caffeine but just having one of these a day isn't a big deal.
![[image loading]](http://i.pgcdn.com/pi/85/12/02/851202075_260.jpg)
Some more info from MedicineNet.com about caffeine withdrawal:
+ Show Spoiler +symptoms include headache, tiredness/fatigue, decreased energy/activeness, decreased alertness/attentiveness, drowsiness/sleepiness, decreased contentedness/well-being, depressed mood, difficulty concentrating, irritability, and felling muzzy/foggy/not clearheaded. The onset of withdrawal symptoms typically begins 12-24 hours after abstinence, with the peak intensity occurring at 20-51 hours. The withdrawal symptoms last for a range of two to nine days. This is a considerable amount of time that makes it easy to understand why people would have a hard time cutting caffeine from their diet.
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sorry for the long time no response, have been busy the past week. My issue with not being able to wake up properly I think may be a sleep condition, so im going to see a doctor about it sometime in the very near future. I've been doing more exercise, haven't had an energy drink since right before writing this blog, and trying some of the things mentioned here, and other places, and no matter the amount of sleep I get, exercise I do, i'm still waking up tired. I'll continue to do these things as I realize that the effects of exercise and a better diet aren't going to show themselves till after a few weeks most likely, but I am going to see a doctor, because it's really frustrating to not be able to practice or ladder as much or as effectively as I want to without energy drinks.
Thanks a lot to everyone who responded with good intent, everything said here has been taken into account by me, and I hope to hear some more helpful suggestions. Thanks a lot guys.
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On February 01 2012 03:16 HardlyNever wrote:
Drinking that much crap is extreme. Drinking that much crap for the expressed reason to sit around and play starcraft is honestly deeply disturbing to me.
I'm not trying to be a douche in your blog, but you might need to seriously reconsider your life, and not just what you are drinking.
thanks for your input.
my lifestyle isn't the issue, I do and have started doing regular exercise. though talking with a friend I have begun to think it may be an issue with my sleep. Possibly a sleeping condition. So i will see a doctor about it.
about me wanting to not feel tired and play starcraft, well, to each his own man. If you don't take starcraft seriously, or games seriously, that's totally straight man, no problems with it from me. But I take it very seriously, it's my dream to be a progamer. And if I am feeling unable to get up and practice, without having to go drink a bunch of unhealthy beverages, i am very unhappy. My lifestyle is my choice, and if im happy, that is all that i care about. And for the most part I am, besides this little issue were discussing here.
Again, thanks for your input, as I can see where your coming from.
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If you still want a caffeine high, just buy caffeine pills. Caffeine pill + water = no health problems whatsoever, no teeth staining, nothing. Just the drug high.
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EPT
