Caffeine

WHAT drug do four out of five Filipinos take on any given day? Caffeine! It’s found in coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, softdrinks, aspirin and some analgesics commonly used for pain relief. Caffeine, is in fact, a drug and can be highly addictive. It doesn’t take much to develop a dependency on this drug as it is readily available and is an ingredient in many foods and drinks consumed every day. Caffeine is the most overused stimulant in the world. It is a stimulant and it affects the nervous system. It is a a drug that artificially elevates your mood and supposedly fights fatigue.

Recent studies, however, show that caffeine can actually pose significant health risks especially for unsuspecting susceptible people. It can cause hypertension, abnormal heart rhythms, problems with pregnancy and birth, osteoporosis, ulcers and heart burn, as well as panic and anxiety attacks. An overdose of caffeine can overstimulate your nerves, making you feel anxious, jittery, irritable, and even cause you to tremble. Too much caffeine can cause diarrhea and hot flashes.

The first time I even tried coffee was at the age of 16. I drank two sips and felt nervous. I started to shake, felt sick to my stomach and even started to sweat. This was from two little sips! Do you remember the first time you drank a cup of coffee? How did you feel? That reaction is still happening to you every time you drink a cup of coffee. We’ve become so desensitized to caffeine that we no longer notice its effects. Try giving up caffeine for three weeks and then have just one cup of coffee. You will feel panicky, jittery and your heart will race. Can you imagine the toll it takes on your body over years of abuse? We have to ease up on the consumption to help eliminate long-term damage.

What exactly is caffeine? Well, it is similar in structure to adenosine, which is a chemical found in the brain that actually slows down its activity. Since the two chemicals compete with each other, the more caffeine one consumes the less adenosine becomes available. That explains why caffeine can temporarily heighten concentration and keep you from being sleepy. Caffeine usually will reach its peak penetration in the bloodstream 30 to 60 minutes after consumption. It typically takes four to six hours for it to wear off. Interestingly, coffee accounts for only three quarters of the daily caffeine intake people consume. Soft drinks and chocolate make up most of the remaining 25 percent.

There’s the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to caffeine. While it is true that you can get a quick jolt of energy from drinking a cup of coffee, it doesn’t last very long and often you will find yourself unable to fall asleep. It can overstimulate the nerves, making you feel restless, anxious, nervous and irritable. The amount of caffeine needed to trigger a reaction depends on your own sensitivity to the drug and how often you drink it. The reason we drink caffeine in the first place is because we love the rush of energy and temporary euphoria we get from it. However, because our bodies become desensitized to caffeine so quickly, we must continually increase our daily dosage if we still want to achieve that energy rush. Eventually, we need a huge daily dose just to feel normal. That normalcy involves a lot of energy ups and downs throughout the day which is common pattern for most drugs that are addictive. some people as so desensitized to caffeine they can drink a strong cup of coffee just before going to bed. Some people suffer very few side effects from caffeine while others especially if they are not used to it can have a major reaction from the slightest amount. Caffeine can also cause facial flushing, diarrhea and frequent urination. People with high blood pressure should avoid caffeine altogether because it can raise blood pressure.

There is some research that shows consuming caffeine has a few benefits. Caffeine in moderation can fight drowsiness, fatigue, and muscular fatigue and improve your mood performance. The key word here is moderation because most people use caffeine in excess. It does not take much to develop a dependency on caffeine either. One study shows that one to three cups of coffee a day will do it. The average cup of coffee (six ounces) typically supplies around 100 milligrams of caffeine. It can vary depending on how the coffee is prepared. The more coffee grounds you use, how fine they were ground and longer you brew the coffee the more caffeine there will be. The average adult consumes around 200 milligrams of caffeine a day and the top percentage of those people take in more than 400 milligrams a day! Drinking more than 600 milligrams a day can lead to stomach ulcers, hand tremors, an irregular heartbeat and insomnia. Caffeine promotes stomach acid secretion so it can be a potentially dangerous substance for those with peptic ulcers.

Dependency

How do you know if you are dependent on caffeine? Try eliminating all caffeine from your diet for three days. See how you feel. If you get a throbbing headache you are probably drinking too much caffeine. The amount of withdrawal is usually equal to the amount of addiction. Quitting caffeine can have some pretty significant side effects. The most common complaint is a frequent headache.

One study I conducted for three months in which I interviewed 30 people showed that 10 percent of those who quit caffeine went through severe withdrawal symptoms. They became depressed and fatigued and some even complained of flu-like symptoms including nausea and vomiting. In general, the symptoms appear within 12 to 24 hours after kicking the habit and virtually all caffeine in your body is eliminated during that time. The withdrawal symptoms seem to be worst on the first or second day and can last up to a week although the usual time is four days.

You can quit or gradually wean yourself off caffeine. You have to decide what you can handle. If you drink coffee only in the morning the craving you have first thing in the morning for that cup of coffee may actually be a withdrawal symptom.

Health drinks

For the past several years, caffeine has been linked to an added risk of cancer, coronary heart disease, osteoporosis, hypertension and even prenatal problems. If you are trying to get pregnant you’d better cut the caffeine out of your diet. Several studies have shown that caffeine can impair fertility especially if you have three or more cups of coffee worth of caffeine a day. Pregnant women eliminate caffeine from their body more slowly than usual. The caffeine can reach the fetus and can get overstimulated, have abnormal heart rhythms and get the jitters before and after birth as a result.

Caffeine can also be hard on your bones. The more caffeine a woman drinks the more calcium she excretes in her urine. Women with history of bone thinning should avoid caffeine. Also, women who have tendency of having osteoporosis should avoid caffeine.

Caffeine is found in so many different products that merely switching to decaffeinated coffee won’t solve the problem for you but it will help reduce your intake if you can’t bear the thought of leading a coffee-less life. If you decide to eliminate caffeine from your life, back it off slowly if you start to get headaches. You will win the battle of the bean if you stick to your plan.