Are you a coffee lover?
Deaths have been reported from overdosing on powdered caffeine and caffeine pills, such as weight-loss aids.
If you are a caffeine lover, like most people, then the following facts are a must read for you. According to the Life Science website, these are eight of the most interesting facts about caffeine.
• Caffeine stays in the body for hours
Caffeine is absorbed into the blood and tissues within about 45 minutes of being consumed. But it takes much longer than that for the body to break it down and clear it from a person’s system.
• Death from too much caffeine is rare, but it is possible
In rare instances, when caffeine is consumed at high enough doses (typically in excess of five grams in adults, the amount in about 30 to 50 cups of coffee a day), it can kill. Deaths have been reported from overdosing on powdered caffeine and caffeine pills, such as weight-loss aids.
• Soft drinks contain caffeine
Although it contains less caffeine than a small cup of coffee, a 350ml can of soda has 41 milligrams of caffeine in it.
• Caffeine withdrawal is a real condition
In the latest version of the psychology textbook, entitled Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), caffeine withdrawal is listed as a mental health condition. The text describes the effects seen in some people who abruptly stop or dramatically cut back on their daily use of caffeine. For example, withdrawal side effects, which may start 12 to 24 hours after stopping or drastically curbing caffeine intake, include a throbbing headache, fatigue, irritability, depressed mood and difficulty concentrating. In people diagnosed with the condition, these symptoms are typically severe enough to interfere with a person’s ability to function properly at work or in social situations.
• People aren’t truly “addicted” to caffeine
People who consume caffeine every day are most likely dependent on the drug, and it does produce symptoms of dependence. But addiction is not the best way describe it.
Caffeine use is socially acceptable and because people who consume it in large amounts aren’t thought of as acting like addicts, society doesn’t put its overuse in the same category as that of other drugs.
• Caffeine resembles a brain chemical
Caffeine has a similar molecular structure to adenosine, a neurotransmitter (a substance that transmits nerve impulses in the brain). Because of this chemical resemblance, caffeine can bind to the adenosine receptors in brain cells. But when caffeine molecules take the place of adenosine and bind to these same receptors, they block the sleep-inducing action of adenosine and speed up nerve cell activity. This causes a person to feel temporarily more awake and energetic.
• Caffeine can be found in unusual places
People can purchase caffeine-infused bottled water, jelly beans, breath mints, peanut butter and chewing gum. There are even caffeinated bath soaps that supposedly help wake people up in the morning. Although caffeine can be absorbed through the skin, it’s doubtful this soap will improve alertness during the day.
• Caffeine can exaggerate the effects of stress
Research has found that caffeine can amplify stress in people who consume it every day. In a small study of habitual coffee drinkers, he found that caffeine amplifies the stress response in the body, resulting in increases in blood pressure and heart rate, as well as increases in the production of stress hormones.
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