Fueled by Caffeine: It’s Benefits and Drawbacks.

Now a days, people can’t function optimally without a cup of caffeine to start their day. Making the analogy, gasoline is to cars, as caffeine is to people—a perfect statement to describe the importance of caffeine. Below are some of the benefits and disadvantages of adding caffeine to your diet.

Caffeine: Beneficial or Harmful?

Caffeine is widely known for its ability to reduce fatigue, increase performance, elevate drowsiness, and improve alertness and focus.

Several academic studies suggest that caffeine has the ability to help elevate one’s mood and help prevent illnesses such as several cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and Parkinson’s disease to name a few. [1]

Although caffeine proves to be an effective drug with several short term and long-term benefits, its disadvantages are rarely talked about. The drawbacks brought by caffeine are usually only experienced for a couple of days and aren’t as harmful as other psychoactive drugs such as nicotine and cocaine[2]. However, it is still better to consider and be aware of how your cup of caffeine affects your body.

When the body constantly ingests caffeine at excessive amounts, it causes the brain to develop more of the receptors that cause drowsiness and reduces the stimulants that occur naturally in the body, making you reliant on caffeine. [3]

Other disadvantageous effects of the excessive intake of caffeine range from: insomnia, dehydration brought about by increased urination due to caffeine, to caffeine dependency and withdrawal – with symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, irritability, depression and difficulty in concentrating.[4]

Everything in Moderation: Drink up! a cup or two won’t hurt.  

Your daily dose of caffeine may be beneficial to your daily performance but take heed when drinking beyond the prescribed consumption rate per day. Removing the harmful effects of caffeine from the body isn’t as fast as removing chemicals off a coffee maker – How to descale a Keurig? Easily done, how to rid the body of built-up stimulants? Now, that takes some time. So, drink up! But remember to do so in moderation.

Moderate amounts of caffeine prove to be beneficial but remember that even medicine when taken in excess can be poison.

More about coffee: Getting to know the beans in your cup.

Caffeine intake differs per person, how much is yours?

References:

[1] Whiteman H. (2015). Caffeine how does it affect our health?

Retrieved from: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/271707.php

[2] Department of Chemistry, the University of Kansas (n.d.) Caffeine: the chemistry behind the world’s most popular drug, pp. 5. Retrieved from: https://chem.ku.edu/sites/chem.ku.edu/files/docs/CHEM190/caffeine.pdf

[3] Department of Chemistry, the University of Kansas (n.d.) Caffeine: the chemistry behind the world’s most popular drug, pp. 5

[4] Department of Chemistry, the University of Kansas (n.d.) Caffeine: the chemistry behind the world’s most popular drug, pp. 6

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