Over the past 50 years, smoking has almost disappeared, and is pretty much history in California.
Is coffee the next bastion to be overthrown? It's unlikely, given the fact that caffeine is
a legal and widely accepted drug.
Although there are positive aspects to caffeine consumption, such as a burst of energy and
brief periods of increased mental and physical performance, there's also risks such as
overdosing and the possibility of becoming dependent.
It probably won't surprise you to hear that people who use large amounts of caffeine over
long periods build up a tolerance to it.
When that happens, they have to use more and more caffeine to get the same effects.
Heavy caffeine use can also lead to dependence. If an individual stops using caffeine
abruptly, withdrawal symptoms may occur, including headache, fatigue, drowsiness, yawning,
irritability, restlessness, vomiting, or runny nose. These symptoms can go on for long as a
week.
Caffeine may cause problems for people with these medical conditions:
- peptic ulcer
- heart arrhythmias or palpitations
- heart disease or recent heart attack (within a few weeks)
- high blood pressure
- liver disease
- insomnia (trouble sleeping)
- anxiety or panic attacks
- agoraphobia (fear of being in open places)
- premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
In deciding whether caffeine represents a health risk, it helps to understand how it works. Caffeine stimulates the brain, which makes you less tired, increases alertness, quickens reaction time, and improves motor tasks, such as typing. Caffeine also causes an increase in heart rate, quicker movement of food through the digestive system, an increase in stomach acid, and relaxation of certain muscles. Caffeine is also a diuretic, which means it increases urine output.
The body rapidly absorbs caffeine once ingested. Because caffeine is perceived as a foreign chemical by the body, it is removed as soon as it is consumed. But, it may take from 10 to 14 hours for the body to totally eliminate caffeine, and its stimulatory effects continue as long as it remains in your body. Once in the body, caffeine goes wherever there's water, which means just about everywhere.
Even at small doses, such as a couple cups of coffee a day, caffeine can cause restlessness,
irritability, nervousness, shakiness, headache, lightheadedness, sleeplessness, nausea, vomiting, and upset stomach. At higher doses, caffeine can cause excitement, agitation, anxiety, confusion, a sensation of light flashing before the eyes, unusual sensitivity to touch, unusual sensitivity of other senses, ringing in the ears, frequent urination, muscle twitches or tremors, heart arrhythmias, rapid heartbeat, flushing, and convulsions.
If you're an individual who shouldn't be drinking coffee, you'll know it. If you consistently need caffeine for energy and you find you can't make it through the day without it, you've probably crossed the line where it's become hazardous to your health.
By Dr. Randi Fredricks, Ph.D.
