Oct. 28, 2011 I The Clarion
Arts & Life
Page 9
Pros and Cons of too much coffee
•7— , I have been a coffee drinker for about 4 years (all being at
(ziassie &matana n \ Tin t t 1 * t n j ■ 1
college). When 1 was younger 1 thought bww 1 will never drink
coffee, it stunts your growth and tastes bad.” Well, after many late
nights studying, playing rock band and God knows what I decided
it smelled pretty good why not try it? I did. Wow, the results were heavenly and I fell in love
with such a drink that could be prepared in so many fashions. All these years of being blessed
to experiencing the wonderful taste and energizing effects on coffee. I’ve started to wonder,
“Can I drink too much coffee?”
I know that coffee has some benefits and negative effects, but I wondered if I was being
unhealthy by drinking it every day. So I did some research, and here is what I found. Studies
have suggested that the consumption of coffee is beneficial to health and appears to reduce the
risk of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, diabetes mellitus type 2, Cirrhosis
of the liver, and gout. Coffee contains antioxidants, which prevent free radicals from causing cell
damage. Most of the negative health effects stem from its caffeine content. Research suggests
that drinking caffeinated coffee can cause a temporary increase in the stiffening of arterial walls.
Excess coffee consumption may lead to a magnesium deficiency or hypomagnesaemia. A few
googled questions and many cups of coffee later, I have come to the conclusion that moderation
is the key to the overall wellness and over-consumption of coffee.
^Baermany is the world's second largest
consumer of coffee in terms of volume at 16
pounds per person.
(JlOver 53 countries grow coffee worldwide,
but all of them lie along the equator between
the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn.
(J^An acre of coffee trees can produce up
to 10,000 pounds of coffee cherries. That
amounts to approximately 2,000 pounds of
bems after hulling or milling.
fB^Vith the exception of Hawaii and Puerto
Rico, no coffee is grown in the United States
or its territories.
^Up until the 1870's most coffee was
roasted at home in a frying pan over a charcoal
fire. It wasn't until recent times that batch
routing became popular
fJlEach year some 7 million tons of green
beans are produced world wide. Most of
which is hand picked.
iJiMajor per-capita consumers of coffee are
Canada, the United States, Germany, Austria,
It^y, and the Nordic countries.
27 percent of U.S. coffee drinkers and
43% of German drinkers add a sweetener to
their coffee.
^ The world's largest coffee producer is
Brazil with over 3,970 million coffee trees.
Colombia comes in second with around two
thirds of Brazil's production.
Q Hard bean means the coffee was grown
at an altitude above 5000 feet.
^ Arabica and Robusta trees can produce
crops for 20 to 30 years under proper
conditions and care.
^ Most coffee is transported by ships.
Currently there are approximately 2,200
ships involved in transporting the beans
e^h year
The popular trend towards flavored
coffees originated in the United States during
the 1970's.
Q Oct. 1 is the official Coffee Day in
Japan.
it
MAZE
If you’re looking for a good way to get into
the Halloween spirit and that fateful night
is still too far away, you’re in for a good
weekend.
That’s right, the dedicated members of
Campus Life, Jones Hall, and CAB are
hosting a haunted house, a little trivia and a
Trick-or-Treating session for the kids in the
Jones building. Trick-or-Treating will be in
Jones from 6:30-8 p.m. with trivia following
close behind until the houses begin their
haunting, which will last from 10-12 p.m..
Along with the house in Jones, Sunday
there will also be a haunted house hosted
in downstairs Dunham by the Psychology
Club with assistance from the History Club.
The house will open at 8 p.m. and go until
12 p.m..
Everyone involved in these projects are
going to great lengths to make sure that these
haunted houses will leave you adequately
scared, so admittance to those events will
only be for ages 16 and older
Themes will be a big part of these houses,
and what themes they are. Dunham’s
downstairs will be converted into an asylum
gone wrong, complete with escaped patients,
doctors performing disturbing experiments,
and general bedlam by the ton. Visitors to
Jones will experience the horror of a haunted
toy store, where the toys and everything they
do are real.
“We wanted to do something creative that
hasn't really been done before. It's going to
be freaky, so people should come prepared to
be scared!" said Jones Community Director
Kait McConomy. So if you want to revel in
the spirit of Halloween a little early, Jones
on Friday and Dunham on Sunday might be
just for you.