Caffeine Health Benefits

This article discusses the affects caffeine has on several aspects of human health. These included toxicity, cardiovascular effects (arrhythmia, heart rate, cholesterol and BP), bone/calcium balance, behavior, and reproductive and developmental effects. It also discussing the affect caffeine intake has on children and reproductive-aged women.

C. Sig. Of Topic -Connection – Caffeine is pervasive in our society these days and every few months we hear about how a study has shown that it is bad for us or good for us. What are we to believe?

The health effects of caffeine have been extensively studied. The short term side effects of mild caffeine consumption have been identified as headaches, nausea and anxiety. The long term effects of moderate caffeine consumption have been identified as a reduced risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes, hepatic diseases and cardiovascular disease. The side effects that caffeine can have on people are both positive and negative.

Druggists have classified caffeine as a stimulant, that can give energize people. Caffeine is also psychoactive, which means that it affects your central nervous system. Caffeine can have some unwanted side effects such as: blood vessels getting smaller which makes it harder to pump blood throughout the body. Many people have medical conditions that can be made worse if they are consuming caffeine. Caffeine has been thought to cause certain types of cancer, thought it haven’t been proven. But the most serious cancer link to caffeine came from one study reported in 1981 that showed people who consumed caffeine had an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Being psychoactive drug caffeine can alter a person’s mood and change their behavior. Caffeine can affect the reproductive and nervous system of men as well as woman. Studies have shown that drinking caffeine can highly increases heart rate and levels of cholesterol.

Even though I do not possess a caffeine produced disease, I have experienced the consequences of drinking high amounts of caffeine which includes anxiety, insomnia, gastritis, colitis, mild tremors, and irritability. Although small quantities of caffeine may not substantially cause serious problems, if consumed in high quantities (>400mg.), it might worse the conditions of an anxiety disorder, diarrhea, bipolar disorder, bleeding disorders, heart conditions, diabetes, glaucoma, osteoporosis, epilepsy, irritable bowel syndrome, and high blood pressure (webmd, 2009). In addition to the consequences of caffeine mentioned above, new studies have linked caffeine to psychotic symptoms (Grimson, 2011). At the moment, I do not suffer any of the diseases previously mentioned, but I do have a family history of diabetes, depression, and anxiety disorders. Thus, the predisposition to any of the risks of a high caffeine intake increases. In summary, the consequences of consuming high doses of caffeine vary from person to person, and it may elicit different effects, which may range from a mild change of mood to a complex psychotic break; therefore I considered quitting caffeine an optimum choice for a healthier

All around the world, people drink coffee, tea and caffeinated drinks to wake up in the morning, to be more vigilant and alert throughout the day. Not only does this keep individuals alert but also allows them to focus and efficiently manage their time throughout their day. This quality of caffeine has caused it to be one of the most highly consumed psychoactive drugs. Individuals who require frequent intakes of Caffeine often feel tired, weak, drowsy if they tend to miss their cup of coffee early in the morning. Although, Caffeine is known for causing wakefulness and alertness it also has its downsides. If a person has a large dose of caffeine in a limited time, the drug could cause them trembling, anxiety and nausea. In long term effects,

Stress causes the body to keep fat stored in the abdominal section because it slows down the amount of calories your body burns. High levels of cortisol can be really dangerous on the body especially in younger people. A person that drinks large amounts of caffeine may feel like there brain is foggy at times. This is due to the caffeine causing the blood flow to the brain to reduce, which can lead to short term memory loss around 30 minutes. The lack of blood flow is what triggers the headaches (Mohlman). Caffeine causes insomnia, in high doses could make a person have irregular heartbeat. It is high in sugar, which is very bad for someone’s body which can then lead to high blood pressure. It may cause a high alertness then a sudden crash making you feel worse physically. Caffeine can worsen anxiety, causing bone weaking, may even make glaucome worsen. It can result in depression, because it increase the bodys dopamine levels. Caffeine causes inflammation in the stomach which can lead to ulcers. Female infertility, which results in tubal disease, also osteoporosis, caused by the increase in urinary which disposes calcium. It gives people withdrawl sysmtoms such as headache, tiredness, nausea, possiably vomiting (Caffeine). There is many negitive effect it has on the body.

Caffeine has become a staple in many developed nations. As a stimulant, caffeine provides a viable solution to many individuals maintaining a busy lifestyle. Particularly in the developed world, individuals tend to work long hours, which creates vast amounts of stress. To help alleviate much of the fatigue that accompanies a busy lifestyle, many individuals elect to drink caffeinated beverages. These beverages range from typical colas to coffee, to energy drinks. Each has its own concentration of caffeine, or energy inducing ingredients. Through the consumption of these beverages, many individuals develop a habit of dependency. Those who consume, often do so in large quantities. Large amounts of caffeine can potentially be harmful to an individual's health when consumed vigorously. Below is a chart from the Specialty Coffee Association of America indicating consumption within America. According to the data compiled in the chart, 172 million Americans consumed coffee on a daily basis.

It can cause caffeine induced anxiety disorder causing a person to constantly worry and be unsettled. It is also known to cause hyperactivity and poor sleeping habits due to caffeine blocking chemicals that communicate with the brain. People who drink a lot of caffeine are known to be irritable, and have high anxiety levels and muscle tension. Caffeine can also slow reaction time. When someone drinks caffeine, it stops or slows down chemicals that need to get to the brain, but do not get to the brain causing many problems with the central nervous

Some long term effects of caffeine that may appear if a person consume caffeine from moderate to heavy level: osteoporosis, hypertension, heartburn, ulcers, severe insomnia, anxiety, depression or infertility.

According to Hart & Ksir (2010, p. 274), the major concerns voiced about caffeinism are the physiological symptoms from excessive use of caffeine such as nervousness, irritability, tremulousness, muscle twitching, insomnia, flushed appearance and elevated temperature. Caffeine has been found to not be very toxic; it would take about one hundred cups of coffee to be equivalent to ten grams of caffeine to cause death from an overdose. Symptoms from the overuse of caffeine dissipate as soon as caffeine intake is restricted.

Caffeine is a pharmacological agent, a drug, which can lead to physical dependence if people use it on a daily basis. It has been reported that after only a week of daily caffeine consumption, people experience side effects such as, headaches, fatigue, decreased alertness and drowsiness, when they try to stop their consumption (Evans & Griffiths, 1999).

Heart Disease: A lot of studies have been done on the relationship between caffeine and heart disease. While scientists don't believe it is a primary cause of these diseases, it can make all of them worse. Caffeine raises blood pressure, causes angina attacks and can cause difficulties in those who have murmurs.

Thesis Statement: Caffeine is something that almost everyone has consumed and some people are even addicted to, it has negative and positive effects on one’s health.

One part of the human body that too much consumption of caffeine can affect negatively the your heart. Caffeine speeds up your brain cells, which speeds up your heart beat in the process. Too much caffeine will also raise your blood pressure. Caffeine using adults were polled on their stress levels given a 1 to 5 rating, with 5 being the most stressful. With each stress rating, each adult averaged a 1.7/0.4 mm Hg in blood pressure, and 1.8 beats per minute more in heart rate than adults in the lower stress rating (Lane, J.D., 2002). With further testing, they found that stress level and caffeine went hand in hand, with the highest caffeine users being the ones with 5 stress ratings. This study showed that consuming caffeinated beverages raises your blood pressure and heart rate by a considerable amount. In the same study as above, they used 500 mg of caffeine (close to 4 cups of coffee) to see how much it raised a person’s blood pressure throughout a single day. On average a person’s blood pressure was 4 mm Hg higher during than day than on a normal