Is there ANYTHING wrong with coffee??
While this drink is universal, helpful, and delicious, have you ever wondered, is this just too good to be true?? My mom is a regular coffee drinker, and I’ve always worried about the fact that she gets a severe headache and a little bit nauseous on the days that she doesn’t have her usual morning mug. What’s the cause of this? Why caffeine of course! While caffeine has been shown to increase energy metabolism throughout the brain, resulting in alertness, concentration, focus, and elevated energy levels, there have been many side effects associated with withdrawal symptoms present in individuals that did not get their daily dose. Symptoms such as headache, fatigue, irritability, sleepiness, dysphoria, nausea, vomiting, nervousness, restlessness, anxiety, and limb tremor have all been reported following the removal of caffeine from one’s diet. Luckily, a little bit of researching revealed that although caffeine does have addictive qualities, humans seem to possess a very low tolerance for the “drug” – meaning continued consumption of caffeine very slightly, if at all, elevates the needed amount to achieve the same effect. For this reason, “coming off” of caffeine only takes a couple of days and coupled with adequate sleep (and sometimes moderate exercise) a person can return to normal without feeling like they’d surely die without stopping by Starbucks. So what’s the catch? What would it take for this seemingly superlative beverage to start to exhibit some serious negative effects? It turns out that college kids could be at high risk of an unheard of little caffeine addiction. Ever pulled an all-nighter and lived on coffee for a full 36 hours? Ever done that twice in one week? If so you might want to consider what such a large dose of coffee might do to you before you start thinking you can beat sleep if you start an espresso diet. A study done on rats by Nehig and Boyet in 2000 had some interesting results involving very large doses of caffeine. While frequent doses of caffeine had very similar effects to humans, administering the largest dose of caffeine to rat test subjects (10mg) stimulated the nucleus accumbens – the region in the brain that is involved in reward and addiction. When stimulated, this area releases higher levels of dopamine – the same effect achieved by use of cigarettes, alcohol, and even heroine. While we already know that we are more tolerant for caffeine, repeated large doses (Nehig and Boyet defined a large dose as considerably above the average daily intake of coffee per day) of caffeine could start to have an addictive effect on individuals. So it just might be possible to get seriously and possibly dangerously addicted to coffee after all! In addition, high levels of caffeine are shown to have the same effects as caffeine withdrawal – something no one wants to go through just for enjoying a couple extra pumpkin lattes!
Dews, P. B. "Caffeine: Behavioral Effects of Withdrawal and Related Issues." Food and Chemical Toxicology 40.9 (2002): 1257-261. Print.
Lorist, Monicque M., and Mattie Tops. "Caffeine, Fatigue, and Cognition." Brain and Cognition 53.1 (2003): 82-94. Print.
Mayo Clinic Staff. "Caffeine: How Much Is Too Much?" Nutrition and Healthy Eating. Mayo Clinic, 9 Mar. 2009. Web. 3 Dec. 20011.
Nehlig, Astrid, and Sylvette Boyet. "Dose–response Study of Caffeine Effects on Cerebral Functional Activity with a Specific Focus on Dependence." Brain Research 858.1 (2000): 71-77. Print.
Nehlig, Astrid. "Caffeine and the Central Nervous System: Mechanisnms of Action, Biochemical, Metabolic and Psychostimulant Effects." Brain Research Reviews 17.2 (2003): 139-70. Print.
Besides the possible development of a minor addiction, there may be other reasons to be concerned about the use of caffeine by young adults.
ReplyDeleteWith the sudden large availability of caffeine products such as sports and energy drinks, children and adolescents has become the fastest growing population of caffeine users with an increase of 70% in the past 30 years (Temple, 2009). Now, its been stated that the adolescent and child caffeine consumption should not exceed 100 mg/day and 2.5 mg/kg per day but many popular energy drinks usually contain much more (Seifert, 2011). In fact, energy drinks can range from 50 mg (same as a can of soda) to 500 mg (similar to 5 cups of coffee) (Temple, 2009).
Because children and young adults are still growing, these large overdoses of caffeine can have damaging affects on their maturing systems and critical metabolism reactions. As just one example, it has been found that caffeine interferes with intestinal calcium absorption (Seifert 2011). Although this may not be such a big deal for a fully mature adult, for a young adolescent who is still undergoing bone acquisition, large, constant doses of caffeine can prevent the deposit of calcium in the bones and thus affect the skeletal structure (Seifert 2011).
Unfortunately, more work is needed in this area in order to truly understand the long term affects of high-caffeine use at a young age. But in light of what is currently known, caution and moderation need to be used when it comes to caffeine intake and the use of energy drinks.
Temple, J. (2009). Caffeine use in children: what we know, what we have left to learn, and why we should worry. Neuroscience And Biobehavioral Reviews, 33(6), 793-806.
Seifert, S., Schaechter, J., Hershorin, E., & Lipshultz, S. (2011). Health effects of energy drinks on children, adolescents, and young adults. Pediatrics, 127(3), 511-528.
Coffee is an important global crop and can be regarded in many different lights. Coffee production is an enormous industry with its worldwide trade exceeding $10 billion USD (1). It is also ceremonial and plays an intricate role in communities, entertaining, and livelihood. There are many individuals, especially in western countries, who anticipate the seasonal coffee drinks (i.e. peppermint mocha) major cafes like Starbucks introduce throughout the year. In general, there is significant appreciation for coffee. While the issue of caffeine intake and its effects is an important one, what are the potential benefits of coffee?
ReplyDeleteButt & Sultan (2011) highlighted some potential benefits including:
→ reduced risk of kidney and liver cancers
→ negative correlation with “incidence of metabolic syndromes and diabetes mellitus”
→ reducing risk of Parkinson’s disease (age and gender dependent relationship)
→reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease
→ significant antioxidant capacity
(1)- Butt, M.S., Sultan, M.T. Coffee and its consumption: benefits and risks. (2011). Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. 51(4): 383-373. Accessed Online: 12/4/11
I am one of the unlucky few who experience negative effects after consumption of one cup of coffee. Whether it be a Starbucks Vanilla latte made with soymilk or a cup of Nicaraguan blend that I make at home if I don’t eat a ton of food while drinking coffee then within an hour I can see visible effects. My hands begin to shake, I become extremely nauseated and an overwhelming feeling of panic begins to take me over.
ReplyDeleteI’ve always wondered what can make an individual more sensitive to caffeine over others. In 2002 a study was done which found that while high does of caffeine (300-400mg) can result in panic and anxiety these effects are generally not seen in normal consumption. However subjects who already present with panic and anxiety disorders have an increased sensitivity to caffeine and experience more severe effects. Patients with panic disorder have an increase in anxiety, nervousness, fear, nausea, palpitations, and tremors after consumption of a normal or low dose of caffeine. The biochemical mechanism underlying these effects is still unknown and not all PD patients experience caffeine-provoked panic attacks so much is yet to be learned. The overall conclusion of this study is that the broad population of individuals who consume caffeine should limit their consumption to a moderate intake so as to avoid of any negative side effects.
I have never been diagnosed with panic disorder so I know that isn’t the cause for my increased sensitivity to caffeine. Until future studies figure out what may be the cause – perhaps lower body weight causes small doses of ingested caffeine to act in the same way that large doses may in a normal-sized person – but until that’s discovered for sure, I’ll stick to my hot cocoa in the morning.
P. Leeana. “Energy Drinks and the Neurophysiological Impact of Caffeine.” Frontiers of Neuroscience. 5:116. 2011.
The topic of how caffeine affects us is especially interesting to me because of it’s unique relevancy in our time. People have been drinking coffee for thousands of years – its’ only today, in our age of excess, that we have begun worrying about overconsumption.
ReplyDeleteI recently read a study that showed that a single espresso contains more than 200milligrams of caffeine. Pregnant women who consume over 200mg of caffeine a day are shown to have an increased risk of miscarriage. Yet a separate study stated that children might safely consume 300milligrams of caffeine per day! With seemingly contradictory statistics, it seems that much more information needs to be collected about the effects of caffeine.
Personally, I believe that (like many other things), caffeine is perfectly safe, and even beneficial, in moderation. It is overconsumption that causes the most adverse effects.
Caffeine Myths and Facts. WebMD. Retrieved from: http://www.webmd.com/balance/caffeine-myths-and-facts
I recently broke my caffeine addiction. When I didn't get my morning cup of jo, I found it difficult to do my homework and even focus in class. I don't think that caffeine consumption is bad and only has negative side effects, but I do think regular consumption is dangerous in the sense that it alters my mornings.
ReplyDeleteOn a less personal note, I read an article that discussed the effects of maternal coffee consumption. Just like tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and drug use, coffee consumption has adverse effects on fetal activity. So, as agreed with Carly,caffeine is safe, but definitely in moderation.
Off the topic that caffeine could be dangerous I was interested in how lethal caffeine really is. It turns out the TI of caffeine is 100. Therefore, the lethally caffeinated individual would have to consume 100 time their regular dose in order for it to be lethal. Well, as far off as that seems it may not be that outrageous with all the energy drinks, anti-dose pills and just the regular cup of coffee. But in fact it really is almost impossible to keel over this way. What would physiologically happen before this is due to the GABA-A receptors are being blocked intracellular calcium would increase to a point where one would have a heart attack before they would respiration depression. Now that I have explained how killer caffeine is, I have to admit I am definitely an addict. My morning coffee is essential to the day, but I plan on keeping it below 100.
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