The Benefits and Harms of Caffeine
often fiercely debated. Some swear by its pick-me-up abilities, even crediting it with their success in the workplace or athletic arena. Others report feeling jittery and uncomfortable after ingesting it.
But what’s fact and what’s fiction? Caffeine is a nearly omnipresent substance throughout our society—and an incredibly common addiction for many of us—so let’s examine some facts about coffee, tea, energy drinks, caffeine pills, and more to separate the myths from the truths.
1. Caffeine increases the secretion of adrenaline, often called “the fight or flight” hormone because it prepares your body for physical exertion by releasing glucose into your bloodstream for energy and increasing blood flow to major muscle groups. It also causes dilation of the bronchial tubes, allowing more oxygen into your lungs with each breath you take, sharpening your focus on what’s happening right now.
2. A small caffeine pill (100mg) gives you about as much caffeine as a cup of home-brewed coffee (95mg). You’d need two strong cups of espresso (115 mg each) to get the same pick-me-up effect as a caffeine pill or an energy drink (about 200mg each).
3. Your body builds up a tolerance to the stimulating effects of caffeine after just four days of regular use, requiring you to take more and more for its desired effect.
4. 60% of all adults in North America consume some form of caffeinated beverage every day (that’s over 400 million people!). Worldwide, the figure is 80%.
5. Coffee is the world’s most popular beverage, consumed by over 400 million people every day. It’s estimated that as much as 90% of North America prefers coffee to all other beverages.
6. Coffee is a diuretic, meaning it causes the body to lose water through frequent urination. However, caffeine also stimulates a part of your brain called the pituitary gland, which releases an anti-diuretic hormone that counteracts the effects of the diuretic and actually makes you retain more fluids overall by causing you to produce more urine than you would normally be inclined to.
7. Caffeine may also cause constriction of blood vessels in some parts of your body (like those found in your hands) making them feel temporarily colder or warmer depending on where they are located. It’s why many people who are cold will drink hot coffee—the heat helps warm their hands while drinking!
8. Caffeine can be found in coffee, tea, yerba mate, chocolate and cocoa beans, guarana berries, and sodas like cola or soda pop—and should be avoided by those who are sensitive to caffeine or other stimulants as well as pregnant women and those who are taking certain medications or have certain medical conditions.
9. The ancient Chinese used to chew on the leaves of the Camellia assamica plant (which grows wild in Assam) for their stimulating effects long before they started drinking it as a hot beverage sometime between the 3rd century BC and 5th century AD!
10. A cup of brewed coffee will typically contain anywhere from 95-200 mg of caffeine depending on the type of beans used and the way it was roasted.
11. Coffee is made from roasted coffee beans, which are picked from the berries of a tropical evergreen plant known as Coffea Arabica but can also be found in other varieties such as Coffea Robusta and Coffea Liberica. The fruit of these plants is called a coffee cherry.
12. Older versions of decaffeinated coffee or tea had an agent added to them to remove some caffeine by altering the chemical balance in the leaf before processing it—this additive was often carcinogenic tetrachloroethylene! Newer methods use carbon dioxide or water to selectively extract the caffeine without adding anything harmful back into the final product so you can drink your decaf in peace!
13. Coffee beans are actually the seeds found inside coffee cherries or fruit of the Coffea arabica plant. Green coffee beans are raw and have very little flavor until they’re roasted at temperatures above 400° F which releases their natural oils, giving them their unique aroma, taste, and color.
14. Arabica beans make up the bulk of coffee production and it’s estimated that about 75% of all coffee produced worldwide is made from them. Robusta beans, on the other hand, are considered lower quality due to their shorter growing cycle and higher caffeine content and come almost exclusively from Africa and Brazil.
15. Coffee plants typically take around 3-5 years to mature fully but will continue producing for between 7-10 years if they’re constantly kept fertilized and watered.
16. A coffee tree puts out 1 lb of green berries every year which normally ripens in 4 different stages yellow, red, purple/black, or some variation thereof depending on how ripe they were when picked although only the red ones are good to make coffee with. Coffee trees bloom once a year, usually around February–March in their native regions and producers will only be able to pick the ripe red cherries during this time.
17. The annual global coffee production amounts to an eye-popping 400 million pounds! All of that coffee needs somewhere to go which is where you come in because 70% of it ends up as roasted beans inside bags or cans at your local grocery store for you to take home and drink!
benefits of caffeine:
Caffeine is found in many products worldwide, from coffees and teas to soft drinks and chocolate.
It has been the focus of a great deal of research which has resulted in a better understanding of its biological effects on humans. Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive substance around the world, with approximately 90% of adults consuming caffeine daily.
caffeine Benefits for Men:
Caffeine has a number of effects on male physiology. It can, for example, increase a man’s ability to concentrate and alertness. In addition, caffeine may produce other beneficial effects such as protecting against some diseases (e.g., Parkinson’s disease). However, these benefits must be weighed against potential health concerns that have been linked to caffeine intake including cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. Despite the popularity of caffeine worldwide, there is no scientific consensus on its net effect on health.
side effects of coffee in females:
The caffeine content of beverages:
The caffeine content of naturally caffeinated beverages varies between species and preparations made from them, but generally, 1 cup/250ml of coffee or tea contains about 100mg of caffeine, whereas 1 cup/250ml of cola contains about 50mg. In addition, some prepared caffeinated beverages such as “energy drinks” contain much higher levels of caffeine.
In general, regular coffee or tea contains less caffeine than an equivalent volume of cola; however, stronger coffees and teas can contain more caffeine. A typical serving size for coffee is 250 ml (i.e., 8 fluid ounces), which would normally contain 100 mg to 135 mg of caffeine. Similarly, a standard cup of black tea contains 75 mg to 100 mg of caffeine.
what is caffeine made of:
Caffeine basics: What it is and where it comes from
Caffeine is the most widely used drug in the world, making it one of the most popular psychoactive substances around. Although caffeine’s molecular formula looks intimidatingly long and complex, its structure isn’t too difficult to grasp.
the caffeine content of drinks:
MSG. Monosodium Glutamate contains glutamate which converts to glutamate in our body. There are no studies linking MSG to health problems so not sure why this was posted here? Maybe someone should let Mary know that she needs a better source than other bloggers! Please share Harry’s article with her. I agree that people shouldn’t worry about what the media is telling the public when there are more pressing issues out there like chemtrails and fluoride in our drinking water.
Caffeine, a bitter-tasting white crystalline xanthine alkaloid, is classed as a stimulant drug and 1 of the 8 most consumed beverages worldwide. It has been linked to improved cognitive function & enhanced physical performance.
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) considers caffeine to be generally safe & allows its addition to certain foods products. In this article, we take a look at what caffeine looks like chemically, discuss its benefits for exercise & further reading suggestions can be found at the end of this article.