TODAY we celebrate National Carbonated Beverage with Caffeine Day!
A carbonated beverage like soda contains caffeine which is a chemical found in coffee, tea, and some energy drinks. Caffeine is widely used by people who want a boost to their mental alertness especially when they are tired and cannot focus. Sometimes people drink energy drinks containing caffeine to ease their migraines taking it together with painkillers like aspirins which they claim to be effective.
Aside from migraines and mental alertness, people suffering from Asthma take caffeine claiming that it improves the airway function for up to 4 hours. Some people use caffeine to increase physical strength and endurance in playing sports. Studies show that people drinking beverages that contain caffeine are linked with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but it does not mean curing the disease.
With all the claims of the good benefits of caffeine, there are bad effects too. Caffeine can be dangerous and unsafe if taken in high doses. It can cause insomnia, nervousness, and restlessness, stomach irritation, an increase in heart rate and respiration which is linked to heart disease.
In spite of all the claims about caffeine having bad and good side effects people still consume it. It is alright to take some caffeine but take some consideration of your health. In consideration of this day, you can celebrate this day by raising awareness about the side effects of caffeine if taken too much. If you’re a heavy drinker of caffeinated beverages, just drink it in moderation. Share your favorite drink on social media using #carbonatedbeveragewithcaffeineday.
History Throwback!
TODAY in 1975 “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” opens in theaters.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a film about a group of patients at a mental institution, opens in theaters. Directed by Milos Forman and based on a 1962 novel of the same name by Ken Kesey, the film starred Jack Nicholson and was co-produced by the actor Michael Douglas. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest went on to become the first film in four decades to win in all five of the major Academy Award categories: Best Actor (Nicholson), Best Actress (Louise Fletcher, who played Nurse Ratched), Best Director, Best Screenplay (Adapted) and Best Picture.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest marked Jack Nicholson’s first Oscar win, although the actor, who was born April 22, 1937, in Neptune, New Jersey, had already received four other Academy Award nominations by that time. Nicholson’s first nomination, in the Best Supporting Actor category, came for his performance as an alcoholic lawyer in 1969’s Easy Rider, co-starring Dennis Hopper, and Peter Fonda. He earned his next Oscar nomination, for Best Actor, for the 1970s Five Easy Pieces, in which he played a drifter. For 1973’s The Last Detail, Nicholson earned another Best Actor Oscar nomination. His fourth Best Actor Oscar nomination came for his performance as Detective Jake Gittes in director Roman Polanski’s Chinatown (1974). In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Nicholson played Randle McMurphy, a convict who pretends to be crazy so he can be sent to a mental institution and avoid prison work detail. Once at the asylum, McMurphy encounters a varied cast of inmates and clashes memorably with the authoritative Nurse Ratched.
(excerpted from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/one-flew-over-the-cuckoos-nest-debuts)
