Caffeine 101 By Whitney Vaughan
If you’re anything like me, you need some caffeine to get you going in the morning. For me, it’s a cup (or a few cups) of coffee. For some, it’s a soda. Either way, a lot of people “need” caffeine to get there day started, and sometimes, even to get us through the day we’ll have something to drink in the afternoon. So this got me thinking…how much caffeine is too much?
For a healthy adult, it’s okay to consume up to 400mg of caffeine a day. That’s around 4 cups of coffee. This amount should not cause any adverse side effects.
What makes caffeine effective?
Most of us are aware that caffeine is a cognitive enhancer by stimulating the brain & nervous system causing us to be more alert & even increase attentional performance. Some even use caffeine (sometimes something as simple as a cup of coffee) as a performance enhancer before exercising. But let’s look at the science behind it.
Caffeine consumption blocks adenosine receptors in the brain. These particular receptors are what promotes sleep. When the block happens, it keeps us from feeling tired or sleepy therefore we feel more alert.
Side Effects of Caffeine
Like most stimulants, you may experience other side effects from caffeine besides alertness. It can raise your heart rate and blood pressure, but you could have other negative effects if you’re consuming too much. Watch out for things like nervousness and irritability. Caffeine can cause frequent urination and dehydration, so I recommend having water before and after your coffee or soda. You may also experience insomnia, especially if you have caffeine too late in the day. Lastly, dependency could come into effect when consuming caffeine. You may start to feel the need to have more just to keep functioning.
Types of Caffeine
You may have heard or seen labels that mention “natural caffeine” which just like any other natural product means it’s found in nature. Foods like black coffee, black tea and even chocolate are considered to be foods with natural caffeine. Anything natural is easier for our bodies to break down. These foods even have some health benefits because they contain magnesium, potassium and even B vitamins.
Other types of caffeine are synthetic. Unfortunately, most popular energy drinks and sodas have synthetic caffeine in them. You’re getting the same results from drinking them, but you’re body just isn’t going to absorb any nutrients or break it down as easily. These drinks tend to include non-nutritive stimulants like taurine, L-carnitine, D-glucuronolactone, and inositol.
Even chewing gum contains caffeine, which like sodas and coffee, can also have us coming back for more.
My Two Cents
I drink black coffee every morning because I feel like I gotta have it. (Dependency, right?) I also mix in water to help stay hydrated, but I definitely experience the frequent urination. I don’t ever recommend sodas and it’s not because of the caffeine…it’s because of the sugar. And
diet sodas (including “zero” sodas) aren’t any better nutrition wise because of the artificial sweetener like sucralose and/or aspartame they add to these drinks so they’ll still have a sweetness to them. They can cause inflammation in your GI track which leads to bloating. Overtime, they can affective how well your GI absorbs nutrients.
Caffeine is addictive, so be very mindful of how much your consuming daily and read the labels and ingredients of what you’re drinking to make sure you’re not getting too much synthetic, unnatural caffeine.
