Do you drink coffee every morning? If so, do you find that if you don’t have a cup first thing, that you feel grumpy, or down right irritable until you do?
You’re not alone.
"It's common for regular coffee drinkers to be cranky before their morning cup of joe,” Healthline explains. “Caffeine only lasts in the system for around 5 hours, so withdrawal-like symptoms like irritability can occur after a night's rest.”
So, while it wakes us up in a sense, the effects of caffeine are only temporary.
Now consider this, I have a friend who has never had caffeine a day in his life and he wakes up every morning happier than the early bird who caught the worm.
This is likely because he never grew a dependency for it.
"Amid myths and controversy about whether caffeine is good or bad for us, evidence suggests that moderate coffee consumption can bring both benefits and risks.” Medical News Today says.
For most healthy adults in the United States, the FDA has recognized 400 milligrams as a generally safe daily amount of caffeine. That's about two 8-ounce cups of coffee.
"However, there is wide variation in both how sensitive people are to the effects of caffeine and how fast they metabolize it,” it says.
In Canada, the total concentration of caffeine allowed in energy drinks is maxed out at 400 mg per litre.
"The typical energy drink, 250-500mL, contains between 80 – 180 mg of caffeine," according to Energy Drink Canada. "All energy drinks sold in Canada must fall within these parameters."
Here’s a quick list of the pros and cons of caffeine usage, followed by a few foods in which it's produced:
Consuming a limited amount of caffeine per day can contribute to the following possible health benefits (pros), and negative side affects (cons):
1. Pro: Weight loss
Caffeine is a well known appetite suppressant which can help you limit your food intake.
It also stimulates thermogenesis, an activation in the body that burns calories by generating heat from processing food in the system.
2. Pro: Alertness
Research shows that a small dose of caffeine will increase attention and alertness, while a much larger dose may actually improve memory and reasoning.
The Journal of Neuroscience explains that “caffeine, the most widely used psychoactive compound, is an adenosine receptor antagonist. It promotes wakefulness by blocking adenosine A2A receptors (A2ARs) in the brain, but the specific neurons on which caffeine acts to produce arousal have not been identified."
3. Pro: Physical performance
Though official results remain inconclusive, it's believed that caffeine can increase both endurance performance and capacity in athletes, while also reducing the perception of exertion.
4. Pro: Mental performance
As mentioned above, caffeine stimulates adenosine receptors in the brain, as well as contains polyphenol antioxidants which not only improves brain function, but also helps digestion, blood sugar levels, and is believed to assist in protecting against blood clots, heart disease and cancer!
5. Cons: Here are some of the risks associated with caffeine consumption:
stomach upset, diarrhea, and nausea
quick or uneven heartbeat
nervousness or anxiety
high blood pressure
jitters and shakes
muscle tremors
dependency
dehydration
headaches
poor sleep
heartburn
dizziness
irritability
Where can you find it?
Caffeine occurs naturally in the leaves, seeds, or fruit of more than 60 plant species, but for regular every day North Americans, you can find it in:
coffee
tea
cacao
yerba mate
Interesting fact: Did you know that Caffeine in plants acts as a natural pesticide? It paralyzes and kills insects that attempt to feed on them. Now put that in your cup and drink it!
