Coffee has been a mainstay in our culture for almost as long as our culture has existed. I have to admit, the routine of arising, concocting a cuppa joe, and taking that first sip of the bitter brew alone can be easily as addictive as the caffeine.

Unfortunately, I had to bar caffeine out of my diet. It turns out that caffeine is a problem for people with anxiety. Go figure.

So, it was a complete surprise to me when after giving up regular coffee, I began to develop an incredible cramp in my upper left back. One that would not be there when I awoke, but most definitely made itself known shortly after my morning cup of decaf.

It was pure hell, but I got myself off of the decaf. No headaches like when you get off of coffee, but as I have said, breaking the habit of coffee is probably more difficult that getting off of the caffeine.

I became much like an ex smoker. You know how an ex smoker will lean over and simply smell in the smoke from someone else's cigarette, and you can visibly see him relax? That was me with coffee. "Excuse me, may I smell your coffee?" Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. It was ridiculous!

I don't know what's in coffee that bugs my body so darned much, but I'd love to know. I mean, how many people do you know that actually have a problem with decaf, for heaven's sake?

So, I had to know, is it pesticides? Is it the coffee itself? I mean, really, I needed know. I loved my coffee, and felt like there had to be a darned good reason for me to give it up.

I did some research, and found, quite a lot of information on the effects of coffee on personal health. For one, even decaf has 30-40mg of caffeine, so decaf is still a caffeinated drink.

From there, I was led into a laundry list of the not so good effects of caffeine on the human body. The main one being mineral depletion. Calcium, magnesium, potassium, and a whole host of minerals and electrolytes are sucked from the body as if by a really good vacuum cleaner. Life without those minerals can be pure hell. The muscle cramps I described, for one, not to mention chemical imbalances in the brain. For an anxiety-ridden person such as myself, definitely not good.

On top of it all, caffeine increases bad cholesterol. The biochemical in your system that increases the odds of a heart attack, homocysteine, also increases due to caffeine.

Not to mention, the hyper-speed a person goes on when they ingest caffeine. Have you ever sat back and watched someone after

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