Can a Mother Give up Caffeine?

No. The end.

(Shout-out to The Monko from Taming the Goblin for suggesting that simple approach!)

But seriously...why am I even asking such a silly question? I've been an avid coffee-drinker and worshiper for two decades. Drinking coffee makes me happy and gets me through the day. Why stop now?

Well, I'm hitting middle age (although you can't really tell from the outside), and I'm trying to take my health more seriously. We've all heard the conflicting reports: caffeine is bad. No, wait, it's good. No, hang on there--it's bad again (my all-time favorite coffee factoid is that is lowers suicide risk in women. That's good). I'm perpetually exhausted, which is why I stick with caffeine--but why do so many health aficionados insist we cut it out? I had to find answers. Here are some good ones:

• Caffeine increases stress hormones (which, in turn, leads to systemic inflammation)
• Addiction to caffeine affects your cardiovascular system
• Coffee's acidity can cause heartburn and mess up your gut flora
• Caffeine may affect serotonin levels, leading to depression, anxiety, and sleep issues
• Coffee can affect liver function, making it harder for your body to excrete toxins.

(It seems there are a lot of implications for those of us with MTHFR gene mutations--if you're in the "MoFo" club, read the entire article from which the above information came. It told me everything I needed to know, including why I need to cut out the coffee itself, not just the caffeine. Damn it.)

So now, let's revisit my original question: "can a mother give up caffeine?" I certainly don't want to, but it looks like I'm going to have to give it a shot (pun alert!). It seems to be helping me get through my day, but if the experts are right, it's actually increasing my stress, affecting my sleep, adding to my stroke risk, compromising my serotonin, and making my body toxic. When you put it in those terms, I think trying to give up coffee is something that needs to be done, pronto.

Wish me luck. Hopefully a healthier mom will be a happier mom.

The Sunday Parenting Party: Linkapalooza

Quote of the week

Conversation that just went down at Prickly House:

Me (to Prickly Dad): Do you wanna write a guest post? "Taming the Goblin"'s husband just wrote a guest post for her.

Prickly Dad: Oh, dear God, no. Why would I want to do that?

Allrighty, I guess I'm on my own! Today's topic, then, will be "Potpourri." Let's begin...

Parenting Articles I've Sent My Husband This Week

• Nearly 25 Years of Parenting--and All I've Got Are These Three Lousy Tips
• Parents, Teach Your Child to Obey, Not Cooperate

Fascinating Health Information

• B12 Deficiency: A Silent Epidemic with Serious Consequences
• Roo's Clues: Interview with Dr. Ben Lynch About the MTHFR Gene Mutation
• 10 Simple Things You Can Do Today That Will Make You Happier, Backed by Science

Prickly Mom's Anti-Common Core/Anti-Standardized Testing Soapbox
Protect Young Kids from the Harmful Effects of Testing. In this article, anthropologist Gwen Dewar shows a real-life example of a totally confusing standardized test question presented to young New York State schoolchildren. Poor kids. I wasn't even sure of the right answer.

Quotes of the Week

• "When you don't make your needs clear, they will not be met." (Applicable to adults and four-year-olds alike)
• "Comparison is the thief of joy."
• "When you have one foot in the past and one foot in the future, you end up pissing all over today."

And finally...the Sunday Parenting Party! Again, I couldn't narrow it down to three favorites. You guys are all such deep thinkers. (If you've been featured, feel free to grab a button!)

My Favorite Submissions from Last Week's SPP

• Feeling Judged (Taming the Goblin)
• Parenting Mantras: "Just Wait" (Dirt and Boogers)
• Dancing to Dynamite: Life with SPD (Lemon Lime Adventures)
• I Reject Your Statement of Faith (Suzy Homeschooler)
• The Yin and Yang of Parenting (The Tao of Poop)
• When Should Children Start School? (Sand in my Toes)
• The Modesty Lesson I Want My Children to Hear (Toddling in the Fast Lane)
• The Gratitude Shift (The Good Long Road)

Welcome to The Sunday Parenting Party, hosted by Dirt and Boogers, Play Activities, Crayon Freckles, Taming the Goblin, The Golden Gleam, Prickly Mom, and The Tao of Poop. The SPP is place for readers to find ideas on nurturing, educating, and caring for children, as well as honest posts about the stresses of being a parent or caregiver. Links to reviews and giveaways are welcome as long as they are relevant to the topic. All parenting philosophies are welcome with one exception: please do not link to posts promoting physical discipline, as this is something we would feel uncomfortable having on our blogs. (P.S. By linking up you agree that your post and photos are Pinterest, Sulia, G+ and FB friendly. We will be showcasing ideas on The Sunday Parenting Party Pinterest board.)

Organic Food: I'm Starting to Get It

I love going to Target to see what they have on the "end caps." I don't know why I even know the term "end cap" (I think I learned it from my mom--they're the ends of the aisles closest to the wall...where the store usually puts the clearance items), but it's like knowing some kind of secret shopping jargon. It makes me feel like I have a bargain-hunting superpower (don't worry; I'm just going to burst my own bubble and acknowledge that everyone knows about the end caps at Target, not just Prickly Mom).

Today's big score was Kraft Organic Macaroni & Cheese for $1.24 a box. I don't usually buy organics (unless they're on the end cap)...in fact, until this afternoon, I was still one of those people who rolled her eyes and said "oh brother" when thinking about buying organic foods. But it was on clearance, and I needed macaroni and cheese, so I threw two boxes in the cart.

It's the "organic-i-est"

Now for the backstory. Let me preface this by saying: if the following health information interests you, please follow the links I'm including within this paragraph. I am not a science professional and cannot begin to explain this in the proper way. Please read what the professionals have to say. Anyhoo...I recently found out that I have a double (homozygous) mutation of the gene called MTHFR (for those of you who already know about MTHFR, I have two mutant C677Ts. My A1298Cs are both clean). The MTHFR gene is responsible for a biochemical process called methylation. People with MTHFR mutations are not able to efficiently methylate, which converts folate and B vitamins into their usable forms, and are less able to detoxify the body, which can lead to a plethora of health problems including chronic inflammation, high blood pressure, migraine, increased risk of stroke, neural tube defects, treatment-resistant mood disorders, autism, ADHD, dementia, miscarriages, increased cancer risk, and much more. As such, those of us with any type of MTHFR mutation (which could be up to 40% of the population), need to avoid the typical folic acid and B vitamins sold in stores and added to flours and prepackaged grain-based products (our bodies can't process them efficiently and have trouble getting rid of them) as well as any unnecessary additives and everyday toxins. There are special pre-methylated versions of folate and the B vitamins on the market that I have been taking, which have started to improve my overall health (more on that another time).

Since I have a homozygous (double) mutation at position 677 of the MTHFR gene, that means both of my children automatically have one 677 mutation (I don't know Prickly Dad's status, so I'm just assuming, for now, that he gave them clean copies). This means that my boys are methylating their folate and B vitamins at around 70% capacity at best (I, on the other hand, am only operating at around 10% capacity, at worst. Scary, huh?). As a result of my MTHFR research, I have been making an effort to cut processed food--especially those grain-based foods enriched with folic acid and B vitamins--out of my family's diet. Unfortunately, two big kid-food staples, pasta and breakfast cereal, fall squarely into that no-no category.

Now, back to the organic mac. I had been doing a little unrelated research on un-enriched flours (I want to start baking more in an effort to cut out the pre-packaged treats), and discovered that a lot of "organic" flours seemed to also be un-enriched. Hmmm. So I went to the Kraft Macaroni & Cheese website to compare the ingredients of the organic and regular versions, and lo and behold...unlike the standard "blue box," the stuff I just got off the Target end-cap contains no extra folic acid and Bs! Score!

So today, fellow moms and dads, I apologize for rolling my eyes at organic foods. I finally get it. In addition to lacking the folic acid my boys and I need to avoid, organic foods probably also lack a lot of the additives and chemicals our mutant MTHFR genes have trouble ousting from our cells. Of course this calls for a lot of further research, but I think I made a lot of progress today on my path to better health for my whole family. Thanks, Target!