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Your health:

Picking the right mid-day pick-me-up
 

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Do you sometimes feel sluggish in the afternoons, and crave a Coke or coffee to get you going again? If so, you’re not alone. That’s because our bodies work on circadian rhythms, a sort of internal clock that’s governed by biology, not the structure of the workday. For some of us, the solution to this sluggishness is a drinkable afternoon pick-me-up.

The Longwood Medical Area has lots of beverages to choose from. To size them up, I checked out the sugar and caffeine fixes served up by Starbucks, Au Bon Pain, and Dunkin’ Donuts. I also did some tea and soda research for those who never touch a cup of Joe. Caffeine, a stimulant, and sugar, a quick energy source, get many of us through the day. But those calories add up, and when the buzz wears off you may find yourself as sluggish as before—if not worse.

The best afternoon pick-me-up is a 10-minute break for a walk around the block or up a couple flights of stairs. You'll find the natural burst of energy will benefit you more than any beverage.

The good news is that you can have your pick-me-up and drink it too, while minimizing the extra calories. First, pick something without cream or whipped cream. (A Dunkin’ Donuts Coolatta with cream, for example, has 180 more fat calories than one made with two-percent milk. For a daily drinker, that difference adds up to 12 pounds of body weight per year.) Sugar also adds more calories to drinks than many people realize—recent research at Children’s showed a clear link between daily soda consumption and obesity in children. Although diet sodas eliminate the sugar problem, they include aspartame, which some research has linked to cancer.

Two simple ways to minimize the fat and sugar are to choose smaller beverages and to reduce the amount of caffeine in coffee by ordering half-decaf. A small amount of caffeine will give you a bit of a boost, but is less likely to give you side effects such as insomnia, anxiety and irregular heartbeat.

The best afternoon pick-me-up, however, is to take a 10-minute break for a quick walk around the block or to climb a couple flights of stairs. If you get moving for just a few minutes, you’ll find the natural burst of energy will benefit you more than any beverage.

How much caffeine does it have?
   
 

Related resources

Caffeine content of coffee beverages

Nutritional information for…
   …Au Bon Pain
   …Dunkin Donuts
   …Starbucks

Related Article:
   Mid-day fitness

 

Selected beverage comparisons

 

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