SYDNIE LIEV admits she's an addict.

A hit in the morning and another in the evening help Liev, a 19-year-old Washington University student and cross country runner, get through the day.

Even if she could — and Liev says she can't — she's not looking to give up this dependency, which began when she started college a year ago.

"It's a very controlled addiction," she says, a cup of her vice in hand.

Like many of us, Liev has fallen under the often sweet and always powerful spell of caffeine. Health agencies estimate that 80 to 90 percent of Americans get a daily fix, usually from coffee, tea or soda.

Without it, we'd be a nation of irritable zombies reaching for the aspirin bottle — at least for a couple of days, until we shook the stuff out of our systems.

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