Caffeine is BAD?

 

For most people, having a regular cup of coffee in the morning is an awakening call. Throughout the day, it can keep us calm and sharpen the mind to cope with stress. No wonder majority of the urban populations consume more than 300 milligrams (about 2 cups of coffee) of caffeine daily.

What makes it so special is the main ingredient, caffeine which incidentally is also a drug with many effects on the body's metabolism, including stimulating the central nervous system.

As for teenagers, the trend is more into "energy drinks", "soft drinks" and other caffeinated beverages offered by chic chain outlets like Starbucks. A typical can of cola, originally prepared from kola nuts has about 10 to 50 mg of caffeine per serving. By contrast, energy drinks, such as Red Bull, can start at 80 mg of caffeine per serving. You may be shocked to learn that a "Tall" coffee by Starbucks packs 260 mg whilst its "Grande" has 330 mg.

Chocolate derived from cocoa beans contains a small amount of caffeine and its stimulant effect is further weakened by compounds like theobromine and theophylline. As such, a typical 28 gm serving of a milk chocolate bar has about as much caffeine as a cup of decaffeinated coffee, although some dark chocolate currently in production contains as much as 160 mg per 100g.

Other products ranging from alcohol beverages, bottled water, maple syrup and chewing gum have caffeine added to improve taste and thus boost sales.

All in all, the caffeine in these drinks either originates from the ingredients used or is an additive derived from the product of decaffeination (read below) or from chemical synthesis. Most people take them regularly without realising the effect of habituation, a mild form of addiction.

Source

Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants, as well as enhancing the reward memory of pollinators.

It is most commonly consumed by humans in infusions extracted from the seed of the coffee plant and the leaves of the tea bush, as well as from various foods and drinks containing products derived from the kola nut.

Side effects

As caffeine is both water-soluble and lipid-soluble, it readily crosses the blood–brain barrier that separates the bloodstream from the interior of the brain. Thus, excessive intake can overstimulate the brain and heart, causing seizures and irregular heartbeats, making you restless, anxious and irritable. In some instances, a sudden surge of caffeine could cause some apparently fit, young people with underlying but undetectable heart disease to develop sudden cardiac arrest during strenous workouts that can turn out to be fatal.

Research suggests that caffeine drinks can cause addiction to the drug if there is a sudden pause for the regular shot about 24-48 hours from the last intake. Symptoms of withdrawal include:

• headache
• fatigue
• anxiety
• irritability
• depressed mood
• difficulty concentrating
• nausea
• muscle ache

According to a 2001 study done on caffeine's impact on children showed it is worst than adults due to their smaller body sizes. As this drug is treated as a dietary supplement under a lax law, it is regulated less strictly as favored by the powerful multi-billion drink industry. Only qualification for food with caffeine added is not to exceed 0.02% of total content.

As for some over-the-counter pain relievers and medicines, it is strictly controlled with caffeine added of not more than 65 mg per adult dose. Though achieving lethal dose with caffeine would be difficult with regular coffee, there have been reported deaths from overdosing on caffeine pills, with serious symptoms of overdose requiring hospitalization occurring from as little as 2 grams of caffeine.

Benefits

In its pure form, caffeine is a white crystalline powder that tastes very bitter. It is medically useful to stimulate the heart like in cases given to young kids who suffer breathing problems after surgery. It also serves as a mild diuretic, increasing urine production to flush fluid out of the body and in many weight loss pills to boost the metabolism.

Other possible benefits include improved immune function from caffeine's anti-inflammatory effects and help with allergic reactions due to its ability to reduce histamine concentration. Limited evidence suggests caffeine may also reduce the risk of the followings:

• Parkinson's disease
• liver disease
• colorectal cancer
• type 2 diabetes
• asthma
• dementia/Alzheimer's

Some asthmatic people find relief in coffee and other caffeine-containing drinks with one-third fewer symptoms than those who do not. The action of caffeine has a dilating effect on the bronchial airways.

Prone to migraines? Try muscling-up your painkiller with a coffee chaser. Whatever over-the-counter pain med you prefer, researchers at the National Headache Foundation say washing it down with a strong 12- ounce cup of coffee will boost the effectiveness of your medication by 40% or more. Experts say caffeine stimulates the stomach lining to absorb painkillers more quickly and more effectively.

More studies are needed to confirm these benefits.

How about decaffeinated drinks?

One of the world's primary sources of caffeine is the coffee "bean" from which coffee is brewed. Caffeine content is determined by the type of coffee bean and the method of preparation used. Here, seeds are decaffeinated when they are still green. Many methods can remove caffeine from coffee, but all involved either soaking the green beans in hot water or steaming them, then using a solvent to dissolve caffeine-containing oils.

Arabica coffee typically contains half the caffeine of the Robusta variety and is used more for caffeinated coffees. The decaffeination process extracts at least 97% of its caffeine that give the rich coffee flavour, so the stronger flavoured bean Robusta is preferred. In general, dark-roast coffee has very slightly less caffeine than lighter roasts because the roasting process reduces a small amount of the bean's caffeine content.

On the average, one cup of brewed or one shot of espresso delivers about 100mg of caffeine whilst decaffeinated coffee has only a few mg in each cup. The equivalent of a lethal dose of caffeine is drinking 100 cups of coffee in a day. Compare this with drinking 5-10 cups of decaffeinated coffee to arrive at the same amount of caffeine as would 1-2 cups of regular coffee.

Research suggests that for some people drinking too much caffeinated coffee can get heart palpitations due to an increase in the stiffening of arterial walls and may consider switching to decaffeinated type. Even though decaffeinated coffees contain less than 10 mg of caffeine (typically 2-5 mg) per serving, it is still not suitable for some people:

+ Those sensitive to caffeine where even 10 mg can cause discomfort.

+ Decaffeinated coffee may also have a harmful effect on the heart by increasing the levels of a specific cholesterol in the blood. Researchers found that Robusta contains a much higher content of fats which stimulate fatty acid production in the body.

+ Tea contains more caffeine than coffee by dry weight. However, in a typical serving, tea contains much less of it since it is normally brewed in a weaker manner. Do not be deceived by the pale Japanese green tea which contains far more caffeine than much darker teas. Also present in tea is another alkaloid known as theophylline - a stimulant to the heart as opposed to caffeine for the brain.

Avoid during pregnancy?

 

Many female coffee lovers who become pregnant are concerned about the effect of continued coffee consumption during pregnancy. The good news is current observational data consistently shows that moderate caffeine consumption during pregnancy does not increase the risk of pre-term birth.

 

However, high caffeine consumption is associated with a small increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, low birth weight, and small gestational age (SGA) births. Presently, as the data is limited, the DGAC is unable to identify a level of caffeine intake beyond which risk of pregnancy-related complications increases. Overall, pregnant women and those planning for conception should exercise restraint in coffee consumption and follow the recommendations of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to not consume more than 200 mg of caffeine per day (about two cups of coffee per day).

 

In a recent meta-analysis by Greenwood et al on studies in 60 publications, the data showed that an increment of 100 mg caffeine was associated with a 14% increased risk of miscarriage, 19% increased risk of stillbirth, 10% increased risk of SGA, and 7% increased risk of low birth weight. The risk of pre-term delivery was not increased significantly. These associations are more obvious at higher levels of caffeine intake (>300 mg/day). However, data from many studies did not take into the confounding effects of smoking which was a co-existent habit in many coffee drinkers.

Other comments

+ Some countries have begun to regulate caffeine consumption and mandate health warning on energy drink commercials. This drug is not recommended for children under 18, elderly, diabetics, pregnant (bad for foetus) or breastfeeding women and people sensitive to it.

+ Your body absorbs and eliminates caffeine quickly after being processed by the liver. On average, it takes about 5-7 hours to eliminate half of it from your body and another 3 hours for 25% more to be cleared. As such, for most people, a cup of coffee or two in the morning does not interfere with sleep at night. However, consuming caffeine 6 hours or less before bedtime can disturb the sleep. The effect is also dependent on your liver function, metabolism and the amount of caffeine you regularly consume. People who are more sensitive may not only experience insomnia but also have caffeine side effects of nervousness and gastrointestinal upset. Note that caffeine can accumulate in individuals with severe liver disease.

+ At high levels (more than 744 milligrams/day), caffeine may increase calcium and magnesium loss in urine. However, recent studies suggest it does not increase your risk for bone loss, especially if you get enough calcium. You can offset the calcium lost from drinking one cup of coffee by adding just two tablespoons of milk. Exclude cream or sugar to avoid negating any benefit.

+ Caffeine may destroy intestinal flora leading to overgrown of harmful flora, thus producing malnutrition and toxic production, resulting in an inflamed gut. This is especially so for elderly with a depleted enzymatic system and are unable to metabolise caffeine effectively, causing heartburn problem. Replenishing friendly bacteria is thus crucial for all caffeine drinkers.

With or without the caffeine, coffee is rich in biologically active substances that contribute to its aroma, taste and color. Some of these have been investigated to determine which components of the drink are responsible for its well-documented health benefits. Many of these phenols, such as caffeic acid, exhibit modest, dose-dependent anti-oxidant and anti-carcinogenic properties.

Weighing the pros and cons, is better to recommend moderation in regard to caffeine intake. Continue to have your cup but give a miss on those 'energy drinks' and 'soft drinks' devoid of nutrients and contain other harmful substances.