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The Breakdown on Caffeine
With midterms nearly upon us, many students will turn to caffeine to get through the crunch time. Caffeine keeps our eyes open and gives us the buzz to stay up late, but what else does it do?
Caffeine is an alkaloid found in coffee, tea, cola nuts, mate, guarana. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, cardiac muscle, and respiratory system. Caffeine is a known diuretic and delays fatigue.
A story by Webmd.com suggests that consuming more than two cups of coffee a day may cause nervousness, rapid heartbeat, palpitations, sleeplessness, and irritability. It can even lead to health problems such as osteoporosis or high blood pressure. Many consumers have experienced one of the side effects of skipping the usual morning cup - a caffeine withdrawal headache.
Caffeine Withdrawals
According to cofffefaq.com, regular caffeine consumption reduces sensitivity to caffeine. The body responds to over intake with a dramatic drop in blood pressure, causing an excess of blood in the head (though not necessarily the brain), which leads to a headache which can last from one to five days.
Many coffee drinkers will "give in" and drink more coffee to alleviate the pain, or you can take an analgesic (pain reliever) such as aspirin, though many analgesics contain caffeine dosages.
How much caffeine is in what?
The amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee varies depending on how the drink is made, and what it is made of. Generally, a filtered cup (250 ml) of coffee has between 125mg of caffeine. The same size serving of tea may contain 20-200 mg of caffeine. Energy drinks contain 150mg or more, and cola drinks (350ml) between 30-72mg. It's important to note that energy drinks are not required to list their caffeine content on their labels, so you might not be able to judge just how much caffeine you're getting from them.
It's not completely bad for you
According to The Buzz on Coffee, by Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD/LD, "The studies have shown that regular coffee drinkers can reduce their risk of Parkinson's disease by 80%, the risk of colon cancer by 25%, the risk of cirrhosis of the liver by 80%, and cut the risk of gallstones in half. In one study, people who drank 2 cups a day of decaf coffee had half the risk of rectal cancer, compared with tea or caffeinated coffee drinkers." Still, it's good idea to use caffeine in moderation. Don't use a triple shot latte to replace a good night's sleep. Zelman also recommends that you talk to your doctor about your caffeine intake if you experience palpitations, a rapid heartbeat or any symptoms associated with caffeine overload.
Did you know...
Caffeine was on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) list of prohibited substances for many years. Athletes who tested positive for more than 12 micrograms (about 5 cups of coffee) of caffeine per milliliter of urine could be banned from the Olympic Games. The IOC removed caffeine from the banned list in 2004.