The world’s most famous and commonly consumed psychoactive drug, many of us, even can’t live without. It is Caffeine.
It occurs naturally in many foods and beverages such as chocolate, black, red and green tea, some energy and soft drinks and of course coffee (which it takes its name and bitter taste from).
Nowadays, more than 80% of North American adults consume caffeine. However, you have to know these useful facts about caffeine, either you are a caffeine consumer or not.
 |
| Coffee and Chocolate are Rich in Caffeine |
1. Caffeine is considered as a safe and legal central nervous system stimulant due to its low toxicity and health risks.
2. It has some medical and pharmaceutical uses, especially in relieving of some pains and headache and to enhance mental alertness. So, you can always use caffeine to enhance the effect of headache and painkiller medications.
3. Also, it has an antidepressant effect, reduce fatigue and enhances general body coordination.
4. When you feel hungry while on a weight loss program or diet plan, take a cup of coffee and your hunger will decrease immediately, as the caffeine acts as a reliable appetite suppressant.
5. If you often suffer from hypotension due to any reason like anemia or any heart problem, you can use caffeine, beside your medications, regarding to its pressor effect.
6. Caffeine does not store in the body, it is excreted through the urine, so it acts as diuretic and increases urine flow. Therefore, you should decrease caffeine consumption before traveling or being away from the bathroom.
7. It is preferably avoided in pregnant or nursing mothers, due to its ability to penetrate placenta or excreting with mom’s milk.
8. How much caffeine is too much?
As we mentioned above, caffeine is safe, but there is still a chance of toxicity by over dosing or over stimulation. If your caffeine habit totals more than 600 milligrams (more than 6 cups of coffee a day), you may want to consider cutting back.
9. Over consumption of caffeine may leads to unwanted physiological side effects such as restlessness, irritability, sleep disturbance, headache, anxiety and may also makes your heart beat faster.
10. Caffeine can decrease or even stop the effects of benzodiazepine (anti-anxiety medications) like Xanax. So, you should avoid this combination.
11. Actually, even the decaffeinated coffee contains caffeine, but in low extent. So, don’t rely on the word “decaffeinated”.
12. Chronic users may reach some degree of caffeine dependence called “caffeinism”, which their consumption requirements increase gradually. And if it is not available, they may get some withdrawal symptoms which are similar to the over consumption symptoms.
