(As a coffee roaster and fanatic, I am not certain I agree with everything the FDA says, but, here goes!)
Medicines in my Home:
Caffeine and Your Body
Originally Published: Fall 2007
Caffeine occurs naturally in more than 60 plants including coffee beans, tea
leaves, kola nuts used to flavor soft drink colas, and cacao pods used to make
chocolate products. Man-made caffeine is sometimes added to foods, drinks, and
medicines. Ninety percent of people in the world use caffeine in one form or
another. In the U.S., 80 percent of adults consume caffeine every day – the
average adult has an intake of 200 mg per day, the amount in two 5-ounce cups
of coffee or four sodas. A study of 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students in Ohio found
that students took in an average of 53 mg of caffeine per day, but almost one in
five students took in more than 100mg of caffeine each day.
Whether caffeine is consumed in food or as a medicine, it changes the way your
brain and body work and changes how you behave and feel. Caffeine is a central
nervous system stimulant. Your central nervous system includes your brain,
spinal cord, and the other nerves in your body. Caffeine’s main effect on your
body is to make you feel more awake and alert for a while, but it can also cause
problems.
It can:
• Make you jittery and shaky
• Make it hard to fall asleep, stay asleep,
or get a good night’s sleep
• Make your heart beat faster
• Cause an uneven heart rhythm
• Raise your blood pressure
• Cause headaches, nervousness, and/or dizziness
• Make you dehydrated (dried out) especially after a workout
• Make you dependent on it so you need to take more of it
Did You Know?
Caffeine doesn’t make a drunk
person sober or fit to drive – it
DOES NOT get rid of the effects
of alcohol.
The FDA says that caffeine is both a drug and a food additive. Caffeine is used in
both prescription and over-the-counter medicines to treat tiredness or drowsiness
and to improve the effect of some pain relievers. People with heart problems
shouldn’t use caffeine because it makes their hearts work too hard, and people
with anxiety problems or panic attacks may find that caffeine makes them feel
worse.
After drinking caffeine, it usually reaches its peak level in your blood within one
hour and stays there for four to six hours. Caffeine increases the release of acid
in your stomach, sometimes leading to an upset stomach or "heartburn." Caffeine is a diuretic, meaning it makes your body lose more water. So, drinks that contain
caffeine aren’t good for quenching your thirst. Whether you drink sodas or coffee
with caffeine or use medicines with caffeine, take care to drink extra water when
you are working out or in the heat so your body doesn’t get dehydrated (dried
out). Most experts feel that using small amounts of caffeine during pregnancy is
safe, but larger amounts of caffeine can be harmful during pregnancy. Women
who are pregnant or planning to get pregnant should speak with their doctor
about using caffeine. (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists.
Caffeine and Pregnancy. December 2006.)
When people use caffeine every day, their
bodies get used to it, and they don’t get the
“good effects” of feeling more awake and able
to concentrate unless they use more of it.
This is called “tolerance.” Some studies show
that caffeine causes a physical dependence
or addiction. If a person gets withdrawal symptoms when they suddenly stop
using caffeine, then the person has a physical dependence on caffeine.
Withdrawal symptoms don’t feel good and can include: severe headaches,
muscle aches, temporary feelings of depression, and irritability. When people
experience these symptoms, they often just take in more caffeine to make them
go away. This cycle is hard to break.
Did You Know?
Experts agree that four to seven
cups of coffee or more each day
is too much.
Studies suggest that moderate amounts of caffeine are not harmful. How much is
moderate? One hundred to 200 mg (one to two 5-ounce cups of coffee) each day
is the limit that some doctors suggest, but each person is a little different. How
caffeine affects people varies with their size, their sex, and how sensitive they
are to caffeine’s effects. Experts agree that 600 mg (four to seven cups of coffee)
of caffeine or more each day is too much.
Caffeine overdose is dangerous and can kill you. FDA knows of a 19 year old
college student who died after taking an overdose of caffeine tablets to stay
awake. A caffeine tablet contains as much caffeine as one to three 5-ounce cups
of coffee.
Be informed. Learn how much caffeine is in your foods and drinks. Check the
Caffeine Content Table to see how much caffeine you take in each day. If you’re
taking in too much caffeine, you may want to cut back. This isn’t easy – reduce
your caffeine slowly to make withdrawal symptoms (like bad headaches, and
feeling tired, and depressed) as mild as possible.
Caffeine Content in Common Drinks and Foods - in mg (University of Washington)
Coffee 150 ml (5 oz) 60-150
Coffee, decaf 150 ml (5 oz) 2-5
Tea 150 ml (5 oz) 40-80
Hot Cocoa 150 ml (5 oz) 1-8
Chocolate Milk 225 ml 2-7
Jolt Cola 12 oz 100
Josta 12 oz 58
Mountain Dew 12 oz 55
Surge 12 oz 51
Diet Coca Cola 12 oz 45
Coca Cola 12 oz 64
Coca Cola Classic 12 oz 23
Dr. Pepper 12 oz 61
Mello Yellow 12 oz 35
Mr. Pibb 12 oz 27
Pepsi Cola 12 oz 43
7-Up 12 oz 0
Mug Root Beer 12 oz 0
Sprite 12 oz 0
Ben & Jerry’s No Fat
Coffee Fudge Frozen Yogurt 1 cup 85
Starbucks Coffee Ice Cream 1 cup 40-60
Dannon Coffee Yogurt 8 oz. 45
100
Grand Bar 1 bar (43 g) 11.2
Krackel Bar 1 bar (47 g) 8.5
Peanut Butter Cup 1 pk (51 g) 5.6
Kit Kat Bar 1 bar (46 g) 5
Raisinets 10 pieces (10 g) 2.5
Butterfinger Bar 1 bar (61 g) 2.4
Baby Ruth Bar 1 bar (60 g) 2.4
Special Dark Chocolate Bar 1 bar (41 g) 31
Chocolate Brownie 1.25 oz 8
Chocolate Chip Cookie 30 g 3-5
Chocolate Ice Cream 50 g 2-5
Milk Chocolate 1 oz 1-15
Bittersweet Chocolate 1 oz 5-35
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