Caffeine - good or bad for your health?

Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, and it is one of the most popular ‘drugs’ in the world, consumed by up to 90% of people in the world in one form or another, but mostly in beverages. Finland followed by Norway, Iceland and Denmark make the top of the list when considering biggest caffeine consumption in the world. 

Caffeine is found in coffee, tea, cola, energy drinks, chocolate and some medicines. Canadians get about 60% of caffeine from coffee and 30% from tea. For children, most caffeine comes from cola drinks.

In healthy adults, a small amount of caffeine may have positive effects. It can increase alertness and help with concentration. However, some people find that caffeine disturbs sleep, causes headaches, and makes them irritable and nervous.

Caffeine's strongest effects are felt for about an hour after taking it, but some effects last 4 to 6 hours. In fact, researchers suggest that taking caffeine even six hours before bedtime could reduce sleep by more than one hour since it causes increased neuronal firing in the brain which the pituitary gland perceives as an emergency and therefore causes the adrenal glands to release adrenaline. Caffeine also increases dopamine levels, which may explain its addictive effects.

What are caffeine bad effects?

Caffeine is a diuretic, which means it prompts the body to produce more urine. Because of that it is good to avoid caffeinated drinks before exercising.

Caffeine can cause you to feel jittery, skittish, restless, excitable or anxious. It can temporarily speed the heart rate. It can exacerbate the stress and hurt a person's ability to concentrate.

Caffeine can cause insomnia. It can be very hard to fall asleep when you take a lot of caffeine. This is especially true if you take it at night, but is also true of higher doses earlier in the day.
It can cause headaches in higher doses.

Some caffeinated beverages can have other health effects such as: upset stomach, raise blood pressure and blood cholesterol, and speed up the heart rate, increasing the risk of heart disease.

Caffeine can have negative effects on pregnant women or on women who would like to become pregnant including an increased risk for difficult conception and miscarriage.

Health Canada recommends no more than 400 milligrams of caffeine per day for a healthy individual, and a lower limit for women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning to become pregnant.

What are caffeine good effects?

Researchers in Japan have shown that caffeine may increase memory.

After exercising it may be a good option to have caffeine with carbohydrates since it replenishes muscle glycogen concentration. Also, it relieves post work-out muscle pain by up to 48%.

Caffeine can ease depression by increasing dopamine in the brain.

Caffeine may prevent skin cancer according to a study out of Rutgers University in which was found that caffeine prevented skin cancer in hairless mice.

How many cups of coffee are you having per day?