This post is a classic example of Selective Reporting: You see some headlines you like, so you skip merrily over the exhaustive research and analysis you should be doing in order to decide whether they're even valid. So much more fun to simply embrace the results!
Welcome to Cranky Fitness. Perhaps you mistook this for a scholarly health resource?
Anyway, in the spirit of "sounds good to me"... How about a couple of studies saying that (1) drinking impressively large amounts of coffee every day may increase longevity and (2) drinking alcohol moderately, or even heavily, as long as it's not "excessively," may boost your chances of living to a ripe old age without cognitive decline?
Again, we are just looking at a few studies and ignoring for now whatever research there may about the downsides of these practices. But it's only fair, right? People who don't want to booze it up, or consume bucketloads of coffee, can find plenty of ammunition, pretty much everywhere, to feel smug about their lifestyle choices.
But those of us who do like to alter our brains with various chemicals, whether because it makes us feel happier, or more alert, or more gregarious, or less likely to collapse into a paralyzing puddle of depression because somehow we've come to live in a country governed by a belligerent orangutan... some of us might appreciate a little positive news for once.
This post is by blog contributor "Research Nancy," with very minimal editorial interference from Crabby. Research Nancy is too humble to say anything more about herself other than: "I love researching things. I am passionate about fitness and health and love learning about new ways to achieve both."
Since I (Crabby) am someone who downs quite a bit of coffee, I asked Research Nancy to round up some studies on whether this habit will kill me or make me superhuman. Not that I plan to do anything differently if it's the former. Anyway, here's her report. Welcome, Research Nancy!
--Crabby
Health Risks and Benefits of Coffee
What is there to know, you may ask, other than “I want it, I need it, it gets me going, causes peristalsis, and I like it!”
Well lots. The Oatmeal can tell you where it comes from and how it gets you going. But is it good for you?
There have been many studies on coffee consumption. These studies have yielded mixed results from ‘you’re gonna’ die’ to it may prevent some diseases. And you might say, well I am going to die, but I don’t think coffee is going to do it. And you would likely be correct.
Sometimes in my idle wandering through the Interwebs ceaseless search for Truth, I come across some disparate studies that seem related. It's some kind of synergistic convergence, if that means what I think it does. Everything comes together like pieces of a jigsaw, and it's serendipity doo dah, serendipity day.... Or something like that.
Here are three excellent studies that prove you can prove anything if you stage your study right prove exactly what I've wanted to hear: it's okay to give in and be baaad...
- fatty food improves memory Yes, according to one white-coated researcher, "By helping mammals remember where and when they have eaten a fatty meal, OEA's memory-enhancing activity seems to have been an important evolutionary tool for early humans and other animals.
"Remembering the location and context of a fatty meal was probably an important survival mechanism for early humans."
However, don't go out and order several dozen extra large pizzas yet. The researchers also admit that eating too many fats can result in obesity. (Really? You think?) Maybe just one pizza.
- drinking coffee fends off Alzheimer's Drinking 3 to 5 cups of coffee daily in middle age can stave off developing Alzheimer's when you're older. Of course, the problem here is that I don't think I'm middle aged yet, even though I'm halfway to 90. (Gasp -- she's how old???) So when should I start hitting the coffee? When I feel middle aged? The study also noted that the group with the lowest rate of coffee consumption scored highest in depression, which might be significant. Sounds significant, even if it isn't.
- Strenuous exercise may be connected to memory loss I stole leveraged this study from Healthbolt. Thankfully, the study dealt with people who did really strenuous exercise, which means you can still follow Crabby's patented S.H.I.I.T. method of keeping fit. You just don't have to do it for too long.
So, now you can wake yourself up with coffee in the morning, chow down at the barbecue, and go easy on the hardcore workout. (Well, so long as you believe these studies. I figure if you already believe these things, you'll find these studies useful and if you don't believe, these studies won't keep you awake nights.)
I'm still waiting for a study that says sitting around reading blogs causes people to get enormous raises at review time, and one that proves spending time in a hammock helps you fit into a skinnier bathing suit. I have a feeling these studies will be along shortly.
I really want this one to be true, in the same way that I want to read a study proving that short, round,Irish-American women are statistically more likely to win the lottery, marry George Clooney, and lose 20 pounds on the Chocolate Éclair diet. Except that my brother is also blue-eyed, so it doesn't settle the issue of which one of us is smarter. (He's probably off looking for a study that proves tall Irish-American men who are older than their sisters are smarter.) Even a quick read of the study raises so many questions that I wonder how the researchers could keep a straight face. I still want to believe.
And one last study, that I also want to believe in:
- Swearing is good for you Apparently someone actually did a study to determine whether people felt better if they swore after hurting themselves. (Um... who funds these studies? 'Cause I'd really like to get going on studying the Chocolate Éclair diet, and I think they'd go for it.)
So, next time you hit your thumb with the hammer, don't hold back on the language. Let it out! You can tell any nearby kids you're doing it for your health. I'm sure they'll understand.
I seem to be powerless to control myself! Part II is better than the first effort, which is not saying much. Though it's a drab gray setting because I needed something with a computer screen. Oh, and I accidentally picked National Start Walking Day to diss walking. Good timing there, Crabby! Go read MizFit; she has an excellent post on why you should start walking today).
(The first episode is here, and is even more lame. (And this new one also appears here if for some reason the player doesn't work).
To Make Up for that Silliness, Now Some Serious Beverage-Related Health News All good this time!
Alcohol: Though recent studies spoilsport studies like this one have suggested links between alcohol and certain forms of cancer, there is overall good news too. According to a study reported in the New York Times, "for people over 55, an alcoholic drink a day reduces death risk by 28%. But, "having one drink or less a week is no help at all." The geriatric study "included more than 12,000 people, followed them for four years and controlled for factors including sex, race, smoking, obesity, cancer, heart disease, recent heart attack, angina, physical function and socioeconomic status."
And Hot chocolate boosts brain power! Or it least it temporarily makes you more alert. Apparently researchers "asked 30 people to perform an array of math tests before and after having either a chocolate drink or non-chocolate drink... The people who drank the chocolate did better on one test that required repeatedly subtracting 3 from a number between 800 and 999."
Which comes up a lot! I can't TELL you how many times lately I've been asked to subtract the number 3 from a number between 800 and 999.
With only 30 people, and with only one of the "array" of tests apparently showing significant results, I'm not exactly blown away by this study. But hey, hot chocolate is tasty and has lots of antioxidants, so I think it's an awesome beverage.
(Weird aside: do you ever click on "related posts?" I have no idea how this hot chocolate post came up as a "related post" when I was reading about a freaky giant sea worm. Do sea worms drink hot chocolate?)
But the most cheerful update of all: coffee prevents cognitive decline, and helps ward off scary brain and nerve diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Just don't waste your beverage-enhanced cognitive capabilites by futzing away an entire evening playing with cartoons!
Any thoughts on beverages or on wasting time on the internet playing with movies?
Yes, it's been a while since a Random Friday, but don't worry--it's still just as dopey as ever. Merry is taking some well-deserved time off, thereby lowering the standards of the blog. Pray for her speedy return!
Let's start with a little bit of science, shall we?
Gay Brains: A brain scan study of gay and hetero brains found surprising differences--with gay men and straight women sharing some characteristics that differed from straight men and lesbians. These were "in the area of the brain responsible for emotion, mood and anxiety." The brains of straight guys and lesbians "were slightly asymmetric with the right hemisphere slightly larger than the left," while gay male and straight female brains were not. And the amygdala (the "fight-or-flight" area) was wired in a similar fashion in gay men/heterosexual women vs gay gals/straight men.
(Note to self: learn better bar-fighting skills and how best to avoid crying at sad movies. Or at least find out why I was apparently issued the wrong model of brain at birth. Consider visiting Healthbolt to take the "what sex is your brain" test).
More Good News on the Beverage Front: At least if you enjoy coffee and/or red wine.
For java junkies, especially the gals: A new coffee study found that women who drank two to three cups of coffee a day had an 18% reduction in death from all causes compared to non-coffee-drinkers. But what about 4-5 cups a day, that can't be good, right? Well ha ha ha! The women who drank that much had a 26% reduction in risk. (However, the risk reduction in men was small enough it could have been due to chance).
And as for the health benefits of red wine? Well, as you may recall, previous research had shown that an ingredient in red wine, resveratrol, extended longevity in mice. But these studies were done with high doses, which is a problematic if you're trying to generalize to humans, given the obvious inadvisability of guzzling several cases of merlot every night. However, this new research was done with much lower doses, implying that even modest amounts of resveratrol can "can elicit many of the same benefits as a reduced-calorie diet," including "a robust intervention in the retardation of cardiac aging."
Cheers!
Losing Your Cool: Do you have kids on sports teams? Does it ever drive you crazy to go to their games and watch obnoxious parents behave like complete assh*les and spoil everything? Well, you may want to visit Juicebox Mom at Just Here for the Snacks and print off some copies of her handy and humorous guide: Parents--How to Behave on the Sidelines.
And speaking of Complete Obnoxiousness, this awesome video has been around the net for a while (and there is now a musical version). But for those who haven't seen the vintage Bill O'Reilly meltdown, it is worth watching a World-Class Prick Professional performing at the peak of his powers.
(And O'Reilly has plenty of company, if you want to see a compilation of similar on-camera temper tantrums).
How Much is Too Much? Here at Cranky Fitness we can't really be accused of "overdoing it" when it comes to rigorous exercise. Nor are we overzealous when it comes to nutrition or personal development or anything else that requires sustained effort. However, some of you out there are quite dedicated and motivated! You may sometimes run into the problem of Doing Too Much.
Are you overdoing it on your exercise routine? Charlotte over at The Great Fitness Experiment has an insightful post on over-training, (and a great follow-up too) that could be a valuable intervention for anyone easily seduced by a "More is Better" approach to fitness. Sometimes more is NOT better.
And similarly, Semi-Charmed Wife asks a lot of good questions about the constant quest for self-improvement and whether it's always healthy. (She doesn't presume to have the answers, either, which is refreshing).
Random Internet Wanderings:
Did you know that the Lolcat people have spawned yet another user-generated humor site that can assist you in avoiding work for hours? Well, it's true, damn it. It's especially suited for people obsessed with popular song lyrics and charts and graphs and such.
It's Friday! I've survived this week without defenestrating a single project manager! Life is good.
In fact, it's too good to post any scientific studies. You don't want to read those on a Friday, do you? Oh, you do? Okay then, just one.
We must be pretty smart, eh Crabby?
Apparently you have to have a fairly sophisticated brain to grasp sarcasm. A group of Israeli researchers published a study in the journal Neuropsychology, which states that "People who have trouble understanding sarcasm also have trouble understanding social cues, empathic response and emotion recognition."
I can understand that grasping sarcasm would require an effort by several different parts of the brain. The language areas of the left hemisphere deal with the literal meaning, areas of the frontal lobes and the right hemisphere handle intentions and emotional content, while a part of the brain known as the right ventromedial prefrontal cortex integrates the two. Still, it's a pretty complicated system when you stop to think about it.
The Israeli researchers wrote, “Understanding sarcasm requires both the ability to understand the speaker’s belief about the listener’s belief and the ability to identify emotions.” Apparently to understand sarcasm you have to be able to perform "sophisticated social thinking."
I like the idea of being thought sophisticated.
Especially if I can be sophisticated without having to wear uncomfortable shoes and chase after somebody named Mr. Big.
Ever wonder if you're drinking too much coffee? This website, Death by Caffeine, figures out how much espresso, or cherry coke, or chocolate milk it would take to do you in. (Death by Chocolate Milk? Even Agatha Christie never thought of that one.)
The solution to the high price of gas?
I think this idea of a retro-fitted electric bike is really cool. If a fully electric car is not in the foreseeable future, this might be a solution. I mean, for around a thousand dollars, you can get a vehicle that goes up to 35 miles per hour. That's enough for getting around on a lot of city streets.
From the 'I don't believe it's making a comeback' department: useless exercise equipment
Yes, just when you thought it was safe to go to the gym, it's back. The vibrator machine! One of those machines that has a vibrating belt that is supposed to 'jiggle' all your fat away. It could be yours for a mere $4,900. Get one today before they're all gone!
I swear, I can't believe someone is selling these again. Or that anyone is buying one. Somebody must. (Note: if you really feel the need to buy one of these, I have this swampland in Florida that you're just going to love.)
From the 'Weird and Wacky Humor' department
A T-Shirt you probably shouldn't wear at work (unless you're a plumber): Crack Kills.
This is another T-Shirt that made me smile, though I'm worried that not everyone might remember the reference.
Warning: play this video and you will be hearing this song All Day!
And finally, thanks to Boing Boing, there is this video. It's a wacky Thai commercial that seemed really bizarre to me.
[By Merry] [Warning: Introductory paragraph contains potentially harmful levels of frivolous levity as well as trace elements such as irony. If you have been advised by your doctor or other health professional to take life seriously at all costs, avoid the first paragraph. You might want to only lightly skim the whole post for that matter.]
I asked Crabby if she wanted to stop undergoing de-box (a necessary part of re-Crab) long enough to do a Random Friday post, and her response... well, let's just say it was something like this:
So I figured I'd throw out a collection of oddities and leave her to unpack in peace. Much safer that way.
Protect your brain... or give it a workout and burn calories?
In the Good News department, drinking coffee protects your brain. I'll drink to that. They recommend you drink a cup of coffee a day. Well, if I must. No word yet on the health benefits of drinking frappacinos.
With this ring, I do solemnly swear... no more sweeping?
Today's husband creates an extra 7 hours of housework each week? Really? Women spend an average of one hour a day (see, I can too do that math stuff) cleaning up after their man? I'm trying to figure out how the husbands manage to create that much extra work each day. It must be that the men simply stop doing any housework once they marry. Huh. Now there's an argument for getting a sex change.
Pop quiz! How good is your memory?
Of course, you all took the video test at the end of that Random Friday post a couple weeks ago, right? Ahem, I said, Right? Anyway, in case you've forgotten it was a test about your powers of observation. Last I checked, everyone who took the test had the same result the first time around, and several of us bombed the second time as well. Or was it a failure? This link explains the condition of change blindness, where you 'see, but do not observe.' I liked this explanation, since it made me feel that I wasn't unobservant, I was merely a normally evolved human. Nice to be normal some times, y'know?
Lose weight, make more money, have a successful life
Apparently the skills needed to lose weight and keep it off are also the skills you need to make more money and be successful in your work: motivation and discipline.
A researcher from the University of Chicago claims that "after controlling for cognitive ability, general equivalency diploma (GED) recipients earn less than other high school dropouts." According to the study, people who took the GED to get out of high school didn't have the drive to succeed that other people who dropped out did.
Does that make sense? I knew highly intelligent people who took the GED to get out of high school early, and they certainly didn't make what's usually considered a success of their lives. On the other hand, I wonder if they wanted to. People who take an unconventional path aren't always unhappy with their choices.
Internet Weirdness
The Internet is a weird place. I mean, why have a website devoted to passing a little red ball from one person to another? Am I missing something here? I know it looks like an iPod advert, but what is the point? Is it supposed to be teaching me mouse-eye coordination or something? (Am I being especially foolish to expect that there be a point?)
And I'm all for stopping people from smoking, but an e-cigarette? This battery-powered device lets you "inhale nicotine without the tobacco smoke and tar" and other "nasty stuff."
I'm glad that people can smoke this thing indoors and get their nicotine fix without annoying the people around them -- but when did nicotine become something that wasn't "nasty"? I wonder who sponsored that research.
I don't know if the following video counts as porn for women or not. Strikes me as more silly than salacious, but I thought it was only fair to include it to refute the claim that men don't like to do housework. (They just apparently want to do housework in ways that are new and damn strange innovative.)
I mean, if men are so leery about doing housework, how do you explain the popularity of extreme ironing... underwater?
If you're acquiring your Coffee Addiction (COFAD) for the first time, please be sure to read all the enclosed materials carefully! With proper care and maintenance you can be prepared to enjoy your COFAD for many, many years to come.
Who Can Safely Use a COFAD?
Lots and lots of folks! COFAD has been thoroughly tested and approved for use by many individuals. However, COFAD is not advised for those with certain body types, brain types, religions, or chemical sensitivities. Nor is it recommended for persons who find the taste of coffee repulsive or who prefer to get "high on life." Please see further warnings below!
What Are Some COFAD Benefits?
Stay Up Later
Exercise With Less Whining
Get More Done
Look More Sophisticated (Sorry, only applies if 18 yrs of age or younger)
Talk A Lot Faster
Entertain Young Children with Sporadic Hand Tremors
Burn Calories Fast with Compulsive Twitching, Finger-drumming and Teeth Grinding
Why COFAD is Better Than Ever!
Haven't had a COFAD for a few years? Now it's New and Improved. Check out these Exciting Enhancements:
95% less guilt! Coffee has been declared, for most people, a Healthy Beverage!
More Variety! Check out all the additional new styles and price ranges! Remember the days when to perform proper COFAD maintenance you had to chose between Grocery Store Brands, Overheated Diner Coffee, or Workplace Sludge? Fancy Espresso drinks were available only if you were European or lived in an unusually hip neighborhood. Now, everyone can line up twenty deep in order to pay $4.00 for your morning brew!
Trendier Than Ever--this Addiction Never Goes Out of Style! (Remember poppers?) Famous Actors, Hipsters, Writers, High-Powered Executives, Sports Heroes, CyberGeeks, and Rock Stars--Everybody's Got COFAD!
Instructions:
Step One: Initialize your COFAD. Simply start by consuming the Coffee-based beverage of your choice. If you find it too bitter, add whiteners and brighteners until the flavor becomes more palatable and tastes like a dessert.
Step Two: Habituate. Make sure you never miss a daily dosage!
Step Three: Escalate. To do so, gradually increase your consumption by adding additional cups. You will know when it's time--former amounts that used to send you flying won't even register anymore.
Step Four: Success! How to know when you don't need to escalate anymore and have successfully set up your COFAD? Quick test: Is it impossible to imagine rising from your bed and speaking, let alone getting through a workday without a steady infusion of coffee? Or, if you found yourself totally out of coffee and your car wouldn't start, would you walk five miles through a snowstorm in your bathrobe and slippers to buy more? How about just your underwear? If your answer to all these questions is Yes, Congratulations, you've successfully installed your COFAD!
Advance Usage: Expert users have reported the ability to enjoy coffee in moderation and find it enhances performance best when Step Three, escalation, is skipped entirely! However, this is not a technique most novices can master. Decades of practice combined with periods of Abstinence or Decaf may be required to achieve this "Moderation" effect.
Warning! Certain side effects have been documented. Like Death. (Click here for For Handy Caffeine Fatal Dosage Calculator. Really--it's pretty amusing).
So Crabby has on several occasions left her accustomed post at Cranky Fitness in order to go Guest Blogging elsewhere. Today, she is doing the opposite--making up for the pretend post below by bringing you some Actual Science by one of our favorite Commenters, NoraBarnacle! She is the host of Crunchy 'Nanas, and she is braving the confusing research around Sunshine and Breast Cancer and making some actual sense of it. She even takes on the Cranky Fitness' bizarre Third Person Format in solidarity with the Crab--not for the blogger who is Faint of Heart!
Now here's her post!
In the height of the summer sunshine, a recent study suggests that UV rays may actually do one some good in the fight against breast cancer. Or, at least the headline writers and journalists want us to think so.
The results from a study by a team at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska show that in a group of women who’ve passed menopause, the lower the level of vitamin D in their bloodstreams, the higher their risk of developing breast cancer. Sun exposure is important in the mechanism for incorporating vitamin D into our bodies, so let’s head out into the sun and fight our risk for breast cancer! Right?
Careful! Don’t go stripping down to your undie-roos and streaking into the burning noonday sun yet. The study examined the effect of calcium and vitamin D supplements. The women who were given both supplements had less than half the chance of developing breast cancer than those offered the placebo. The researchers went one step further and said their findings were consistent with data showing that “cancer risk, cancer mortality, or both are inversely associated with solar exposure, vitamin D status, or both”.
All this seems to be telling Norabarnacle the best of the skin cancer/breast cancer trade-off might actually be vitamin D and calcium supplements and remaining responsible (sunscreen, hats, and not laying out for hours on end, as deliciously tempting as that sounds!) when jaunting out of doors.
Also, if you enjoy playing in the sun, you might consider a cup of joe before you exercise. Another UK study shows that caffeine and exercise working together increases apoptosis (a scary sounding word that usually makes Norabarnacle think of snapping air-filled bubble wrap pockets, but actually means “cell death”) of damaged or cancerous cells. This could be good news for coffee and cola junkies, or at least active coffee and cola junkie mice, who saw a whooping 400% increase in apoptosis. Alas, the theory still needs to be tested out in humans. Still, it seems prevention is better than treatment: caffeine shouldn’t be substituted for sunscreen and responsible sun practices to prevent skin cancer to begin with.
Norabarnacle’s an avid sun-worshiper. Like a shivering lizard to a sun-soaked rock, she basks in it. But, until there is more evidence, you won’t see her swapping sunscreen and shady breaks for sunbathing au natural for hours on end in hopes of preventing breast cancer. And being neither a coffee nor a cola drinker, she won’t be jumping to get her morning fix before she strides out into the sunny sunshine. However in Belgium, they do have some dark chocolate napolitains with tea... she’s not sure how much caffeine is actually in those, but they might be worth a shot!
And Crabby would just like to step back into the blog for a moment and say Thank You, NoraBarnacle!
First off, some nutrition-related studies to get out of the way, so we can all feel Responsible and Informed. Then it's time for the usual Friday Silliness.
So a complicated study about fish oils and vegetable oils seemed to indicate yet again: fish oil is good for you! (The study involved discussions of prostanoids, inflammation, COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes, and other stuff that made Crabby's brain hurt. Smart Scientists: feel free to report back whether this rather indirect sort of "good for you" research seems persuasive or not.)
A study of goats' milk suggested it has health advantages over cows' milk, at least when it comes to preventing anemia and bone softening. Goats' milk appeared to aid the body in using minerals such as iron, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium.
In breaking snack food news, scientists may be getting close to developing allergen-free peanuts. And blue corn chips are better for you than white ones! (Note: Blue corn chips taste excellent when dipped in guacamole (good for you) and washed down with margaritas (not so good for you but what the hell).
And these stories were well-reported elsewhere this week, so you probably already heard that combining caffeine and exercise seems to help prevent skin cancer; and that people who drink diet soft drinks instead of regular still face similar heart disease risks. But Crabby hadn't gotten around to mentioning them here yet.
And if you haven't yet heard about Kopi Luwak, one of the most expensive coffees in the world, just guess what it's made from? Weasel poop! Well, actually Civet poop. Apparently the Asian Palm Civet eats ripe coffee berries somewhere on the islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi. When the civet excretes the partially-digested berries, they are harvested and made into coffee. Yum!
Amazing pictures of the week: Mark's Daily Apple has a post about a very, very large man who lost weight. There are a few photos there, but then he links to more disturbing photos which are (warning), not for the faint of heart. It's inspiring and creepy all at the same time.
And speaking of warnings, would you like to create a silly warning sign like the one at the top of this post? Go here!
Comments, as always, are very much welcome if you can find anything in this mess you want to weigh in on.
Coffee is one of those right-of-passage beverages, like beer or Cabernet Sauvignon, that one has to work a bit to fall in love with. Unlike, say a milk shake, which is more inherently lovable.
Remember back as a teenager or young adult (or even earlier, if you grew up in Crabby's house), how grown-up you felt opting for a cup of coffee instead of a Coke? Gradually, perhaps, the rich bitter taste even started to grow on you (especially if you cheated and added milk and sugar). And the best part? A lovely and perfectly legal buzz. The fact that coffee was vaguely "bad for you" only added to its allure.
But then we all grew up and the nagging of the Health Experts got to many of us. We realized we wouldn't live forever, and the same way we stopped eating so many cheeseburgers, many of us either cut back on coffee, switched to decaf, or just felt guilty about drinking it.
But lo and behold, over the last few years, the nagging has quieted. Health Experts are changing their story: Coffee is even good for you now, and "moderate" consumption is defined as 3-5 cups a day. Hooray!
So recently a bunch of coffee-obsessed researchers got together at some sort of symposium and discussed some of the benefits of coffee: it might reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, kidney stones, gallstones, depression, and type 2 diabetes.
Plus, coffee is great for increasing your endurance and lessening your misery when you exercise.
Of course if you drink a whole pot right before bed, there may be some unwelcome side effects. So don't do that unless you have to because you're laboring under some impossible deadline.
Crabby drinks her coffee brewed strong; mixed with equal parts heated milk (a blend of nonfat and 1%) and she dumps Splenda in it like a sissy 'cause she never totally got used to the bitter taste. How about you?
