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Liquid Energy : Examining The Health Effects Of Coffee

Better Essays

Katrine Luck
Dr. Napier
ENC1102-Writing About Texts
15 April 2016
Liquid Energy: Examining the Health Effects of Coffee Americans love coffee. People all around the world have enjoyed this wonderful beverage for centuries. From the very strong brews of Cuba, Turkey, and Italy, to the American Lattes and Café Mochas, the love of coffee is pancultural. We as Americans are very enthusiastic in our obsession with this delicious and sometimes addictive drink. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, “54% of Americans over the age of 18 drink coffee every day,” and “Americans drink an average of 3.1 cups of coffee a day and the average size of a cup is 9 oz.” (Harvard School of Public Health News, 2016). Many towns in the United States …show more content…

According to Joseph Stromberg in an article for the Smithsonian,
Structurally, caffeine closely resembles a molecule that’s naturally present in our brain, called adenosine (which is a byproduct of many cellular processes, including cellular respiration)—so much so, in fact, that caffeine can fit neatly into our brain cells’ receptors for adenosine, effectively blocking them off. Normally, the adenosine produced over time locks into these receptors and produces a feeling of tiredness (Stromberg, 2013).
He goes on to explain that over time, the habitual coffee drinker’s brain creates more adenosine receptors to try to maintain some sort of balance, which is what creates the tolerance, and the subsequent increase in coffee consumption to maintain the same benefits for many coffee drinkers (Stromberg, 2013). Many of the side effects of coffee withdrawal are well known, including headache, lethargy, and a sort of mental fog, the feeling of being not quite up to par, mentally. Knowing the cellular process occurring in the brain during and after the ingestion of coffee helps to explain these symptoms. Over caffeinating, which sometimes occurs when a person drinks too many cups of coffee in too short a period of time, has many adverse effects on the human body. According to the University of Michigan University Health Service, negative effects of over

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