So today is January 13th, which means I’ve been both caffeine and pop (soda for you Americans) free since the start of the year. I’ve given up caffeine at various times in my life, so that’s not amazingly impressive for me. But I can’t say that I’ve ever given up pop for more than a few days at a time before. I’ve had quite a few problems sleeping over the last few years, and I often have trouble both falling asleep and staying asleep. It seems even the smallest of noises will wake me up sometimes, or even something as small as a breeze blowing across some exposed skin. To be honest, ...

This is actually a pretty big deal. Most people don’t realize it, but North America is one of the few places in the world that uses high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to sweeten drinks and other items. Most other places in the world use pure glucose, which is the main sugar our bodies are built to run on. Fructose is far sweeter than glucose so you can use less of it to sweeten a product. High fructose corn syrup is typically composed of around 55% fructose and another 45% glucose. If you order a coca cola in the Caribbean, you’ll notice that is has a very different (and far more enjoyable IMO) ...