Here are some of my thoughts on
CAFFEINE AND COFFEE
Sixty percent of the caffeine we consume comes from coffee;
30% of caffeine comes from tea; the remaining 10% comes from three sources:
cola beverages; chocolate products; medications. Because so much of the
caffeine we consume comes from coffee, it's difficult to separate the effects
of caffeine from the effects of other components in the coffee.
| Sources of Caffeine | ||
|---|---|---|
| ITEM | SERVING | CAFFEINE |
| Coffee: | 200 mL/6 oz. cup | |
| Filter drip | 110-180 mg. | |
| Instant | 60-90 mg. | |
| Tea: | 200 mL/6 oz. cup | |
| Weak | 20-45 mg. | |
| Strong | 79-110 mg. | |
| Colas: | 280 mL/10 oz. | |
| 1 can | 22-50 mg. | |
| Chocolate products: | Chocolate milk (250 mL/8 oz.) | 2-7 mg. |
| Chocolate bar (56 g/2 oz.) | ||
| Dark | 40-50 mg. | |
| Light | 3-20 mg. | |
Caffiene's effects on the blood vessels often render it medically useful: it dilates arteries feeding the heart, increasing blood flow; but it constricts arteries in the head, helping to counter migraine headaches. Other points:
Source: September, 1996 Reader's Digest
Thursday, May 15, 1997
By Philip Jackman
TODAY, Collected Wisdom is in the mood for a bracing hot beverage, but we can't decide between a steaming cup of Colombian or a piping pot of Earl Grey.
The question: Which drink contains more caffeine -- coffee or tea? Tony and Marilyn Baker of Richmond, B.C., are thirsting for knowledge on this.
The answer: Quenching that thirst is Anne Kalvik of the Addiction Research Foundation in Toronto, who sent us a copy of the ARF's fact sheet on caffeine. It turns out that coffee has more caffeine, but so does tea, depending on which way you look at it.
"The caffeine content of coffee beans varies with the species of coffee plant," the ARF says. "Beans from Coffea arabica, grown mostly in central and South America, contain about 1.1 per cent caffeine. Beans from Coffea robusta, grown mostly in Indonesia and Africa, contain about 2.2 per cent. Caffeine also occurs in cacao pods and hence in cocoa and chocolate products; in kola nuts, used in making cola drinks; and in the ilex plant, from whose leaves the popular South American beverage yerba mate is prepared."
Tea leaves contain about 3.5 per cent caffeine, the ARF informs us, but a cup of tea usually has less caffeine than a cup of coffee because it takes much less tea to make the drink.
There are about 75 milligrams of caffeine in an average cup of coffee in North America, says the ARF, but this varies widely depending how the coffee is made and the amount of coffee used. Generally, instant coffee has less caffeine (an average of 65 mg a cup) and coffee prepared by drip methods contains more (110 mg). Tea averages about 30 mg a cup, but the range is also large -- from 10 to 90 mg.
Canadians, by the way, consume more caffeine than Americans. We each take in an average of 240 mg a day (55 per cent from coffee, 32 per cent from tea, 7 per cent from soft drinks and 6 per cent from other sources), whereas Americans consume 210 mg (60 per cent from coffee, 16 per cent from tea and soft drinks).
In tea-drinking Britain, they pour 445 mg of caffeine down their throats every day, 72 per cent from the national drink and 19 per cent from coffee.
Are Caffiene and Coffee Safe to Consume ?
Although the safety of caffeine and coffee has been questioned
many times, there is no convincing evidence linking moderate intakes
of caffeine or coffee to major health problems. However, higher intakes
of caffeine and coffee may have undesirable side effects. Understand, though,
that this is still an area of controversy and definite conclusions cannot
be drawn.
With these facts in mind, and recognizing that the foods containing caffeine are non-nutritious items, Health and Welfare Canada is advising Canadians to keep coffee consumption to no more than the equivalent of 4 cups of coffee a day. Although the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee varies, this recommendtaion aims to limit caffeine consumption to about 400 to 450 milligrams of caffeine daily.
Note the dates on this set of external references:
From: stevek@locus.com (Steve Krattiger)
Subject: Here's the scoop on caffeine.
Message-ID: <26820@dice.la.locus.com>
Date: 30 Jul 91 20:44:16 GMT
Organization: Locus Computing
Corporation, Los Angeles, California
Hi,
Last month I sent out mail regarding the effects of caffeine, and aspartame
(nutri-sweet). First off, I would like to thank all who sent me a reply
(there were a lot!). Included in this article are parts of text from some
of the replies that I received for your review, but the first part will
be the overall summary of the vast net-knowledge on this subject. I do
not intend to be an authority on this subject now, nor is this to be the
definitive source on diet drinks. This is merely a survey of what the people
on the net know about caffeine, aspartame (Nutrisweet), Phenylketonurics,
and saccharine. I hope it is of use to some of you. I apologize for the
delay in posting the results, but I was on vacation for a while... :-)
Overall, it was felt that caffeine is relatively safe to use on a continuous basis. Caffeine is a stimulant, and has many reported side effects such as sleeplessness, irritability, increased heart-rate, gastritis, ulcers, neuromuscular twitches, trembling, heart palpatations, diarreah, fluid retention that leads to aggravated PMS, and high blood pressure. Caffeine is also a very addictive stimulant that reportedly increases stomach acid production, and also could be a bladder irritant, and may cause birth defects if ingested during pregnancy. However, we find caffeine in many of the things we eat and drink. Of the drinks, included in some of the responses, it has been noted that Diet Coke has either 26 mg or 46 mg of caffeine per can, and Diet Pepsi has 52 mg caffeine per 12 oz can. Other drinks mentioned: Coffee has 103 mg in each 6 oz cup, and Black Tea has 50 mg caffeine per 6 oz cup.
A couple of people responded to the question of whether Coke-a-Cola on tap contained saccharine. The general consensus was that yes, Sodium Saccharine is normally used in fountains and on-tap, or at least a mixture of saccharine and aspartame is used. It was also stated that when aspartame is heated, formaldehyde is produced as a by-product, so this can be quite dangerous if kept in unrefrigerated syrup canisters. One other reply noted that while the soda water in fountains is kept cooled, the syrup containers and hoses are not. In fact, they are usually stored inside or beside the tap machines, and sometimes stored beside pump motors which are warm, which could be detrimental to the syrup that is mixed into your soda.... Something to think about.
Phenylketonuria is an inherited disease. People who have this rare disorder are simply lacking a certain enzyme called phenylalanine-4monooxygenase and are unable to digest phenylalanine. Phenylalanine is an enzyme that is found in many foods such as red meats, and dairy products, and with most people, there is no problem digesting it. But, there are about 1% or less of the population who have this disorder. For those who do, consumption of food items containing phenylalanine will cause a continuous build up of phenylalanine in their blood which will lead to severe retardation, and eventual death if the levels get too high. It has also been noted that drinks should not be given to children under 7 if they contain aspartame.
Overall, it does seem to be relatively safe to drink Diet Cokes on a regular basis (provided you are not a Phenylketonuric). It was noted that Nutrisweet was probably the most thoroughly tested food product in history because of it's widespread uses, and because it came about shortly after it was discovered how bad saccharine consumption was on a regular basis. So, for now, Nutrisweet can be considered safe for consumption. But who knows what will be discovered 20 years from now.... :-)
Below are selected parts from the letters I received. I have included them so that you all can draw your own conclusions. Thanks again for the great response!!!
-stevek
From: pals@inland.com <Randy Pals>
Date: 8 Jun 1991 12:23:48 GMT
Caffeine itself is not to my knowledge a problem. At dosages of 1,000 mg
and up (an average cup of coffee contains about 100 mg, colas somewhat
less than that), "caffeine toxicity" can occur producing symptoms
like restlessness, trembling, palpitations, and diarrhea. The way caffeine
works on the brain is interesting. Basically, your brain has its own natural
stimulant(s) and depressant(s). The relative action of these chemicals
is controlled by the number of receptor sites in the brain. Caffeine occupies
the depressant receptor sites *without* having the depressant effect, thus
leading to a higher ratio of active stimulant/depressant receptor sites,
and you become more stimulated. Not to be outdone, the brain compensates
to some degree by increasing the number of depressant receptor sites (time
constant is measured in days). Thus, when you don't get your coffee, you
feel lousy. If you continue to go without caffeine (or cut down a lot),
the brain will reduce the number of depressant receptor sites, and you'll
feel better again.
Date: Mon, 10 Jun 91 10:00:05 -0700
From: csg@pyramid.pyramid.com (Carl S. Gutekunst)
Keep in mind you get about a quarter the caffeine in a 12oz diet coke (26mg)
that you get in a 6oz cup of brewed coffee (over 100mg). Diet Pepsi and
Mountain. Dew are about twice that (52mg). Black tea is about 50mg per
6oz cup. By comparison, Anacin has 30mg per tablet (60mg per dose); Excedrin
has 50mg per tablet. Old classic NoDoz is 200mg per tablet.
Date: Mon, 10 Jun 91 15:14:50 PDT
From: uunet!mtxinu!ingres.com!jpk@orchard.locus.com (Jon Krueger)
It [caffeine] can affect behavior. Although it can increase output, and
can even improve performance mildly on some tasks, it can in heavy doses
interfere with other tasks such as those requiring concentration. This
can be seen as a health problem if you like. As with most stimulants, it
can cause tachycardia, increased heart rate. If you have a heart murmur
or other heart problems this might be very bad. It has a long half-life,
it remains in the blood stream for about twelve hours. This can cause loss
of sleep; people drink their last cup of coffee at one or two o'clock in
the afternoon and then wonder why they have trouble getting to sleep at
ten or eleven o'clock that night. This can also be seen as a health problem,
since many of those people won't have the option of sleeping later that
morning, and accumulated sleep loss is a cause of many other health problems.
It remains true that for most people, in the doses they're ever going to
ingest, it's among the safest of drugs.
Date: Sun, 9 Jun 91 14:14:36 EDT
From: "Paul S. Winalski 09-Jun-1991 1419" <winalski@psw.enet.dec.com>
Aspartame is a molecule formed from two amino acids: aspartamine and phenylalanine.
There is a metabolic disease called phenylketonuria whose sufferers lack
the enzyme that breaks down phenalanine into tyrosine. This leads to the
buildup in the bloodstream of a class of compounds called phenylketones,
which eventually are excreted in the urine (hence the name of the disease,
phenylketonuria, which is neo-latin for "phenylketons in the urine").
Phenylketones in the blood at these concentrations is not a normal phenomenon
and has a variety of toxic effects. In infants, it severely damages the
normal development of the brain, leading to severe mental retardation.
The effects on adults are minimal (if any). The treatment for phenylketonuria
is to avoid phenylalanine in the diet. Hence, people with this problem
must avoid aspartame, since it contains phenylalanine. The separate, red
warning is because phenylketonuria can be such a devastating condition
for small children.
From: JAHAYES@MIAVX1.ACS.MUOHIO.EDU
Date: Mon, 10 Jun 1991 11:32 EST
Phenylalanine is an amino acid, one of the components of proteins, which
are simply strings of amino acids glommed together. In normal metabolism,
free phenylalanine is converted to other products (I'll spare you the gobbledegook),
and excreted. In some people, however, the enzymes which perform this task
are faulty and excess phenylalanine is built up in the bloodstream. This
can cause serious neural damage, especially in newborns. There is a condition
which causes retardation in children if not caught soon enough, and it
results directly from this faulty system, and is called "Phenylketonurea",
or PKU for short. It's easily detectable nowadays, and you just have to
avoid feeding your kid phenylalanine, and after it's about five, it's no
longer as vulnerable. Bananas are particularly high in this amino acid.
If you're not a PKU person, and if you were, you'd know, you've got no
problems. Caffeine is a potent histaminergic substance, which means among
other things that it stimulates like crazy your stomach's acid production.
In addition to the acid of coke (or pepsi, or coffee...) this can lead
to gastritis and ulcers.
Date: Tue, 11 Jun 91 18:18:19 EDT
From: Deborah D Crume
<dkrume@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Phenylketonurics are people with a hereditary metabolic disorder which
makes their bodies incapable of processing phenylalanine, an amino acid
that naturally occurs in food. Hospitals now routinely test all newborns
for PKU--babies can die from it. Although I don't know any phenylketonurics
personally, I've read that they can lead fairly normal lives although their
diets are of course somewhat restricted.
Here's another thought: the only place in the United
States where coffee is grown is Hawaii. Why not try "the cup that
cheers" youself? Call Lion Coffee at (800) 338-8353
and I know they'll be pleased to ship you a little taste of paradise. My
own favorites are Kona Macadamia Nut and Chocolate Kona Madamia Nut coffee.
Or, order on the net from Island
Gifts Direct.
Coffee Nutrition
| Nutrition Comparison of Coffee |  | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITEM | SERVING | CAL. | FAT | CAFFEINE | POTASSIUM | SODIUM | CALCIUM | |
| Brewed W/Distilled Water | 1 Cup | 4.5 | 0 g | 137.5mg | 163.5mg | 2.5mg | 4.5mg | |
| Brewed W/Tap Water | 1 Cup | 4.5 | 0 g | 137.5mg | 128 mg | 4.5mg | 4.5mg | |
| Instant, Prepared W/Water | 1 Cup | 3.5 | 0 g | 57.5mg | 64.5mg | 5.5mg | 5.5mg | |
| Instant, Decaf. | 1 Cup | 3.5 | 0 g | 2 mg | 62.5mg | 5.5mg | 5.5mg | |
| Source: http://www.cnn.com | ||||||||
Caffiene: (trimethylxanthine) C8H10N4O2 operates using the same mechanisms that amphetamines, cocaine and heroin use to stimulate the brain blocks adenosine receptors, adenosine is a neurotransmitter that slows neuron firing and expands the blood vessels around your brain for nourishment by allowing additional blood flow while you sleep. Caffiene blocks its receptors, thereby causing the brain vessels to constrict. Many headache medicines have a small amount of caffiene in it to relieve pressure felt on these blood vessels.
The lack of adenosine causes neurons to fire at a quicker rate. Once the pituitary gland becomes aware of this, it thinks the body is facing an emergency. In emergency situations adrenaline is released to help the body and mind act quickly in a fight or flight situation. This causes extreme stimulation. Blood vessels on the surface constrict, muscles tighten, heart beats faster, blood pressure rises, and even your pupils dialate.
Caffiene also causes dopamine levels to rise. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that aids in the feeling of pleasure in some parts of the brain. This is what gives you an instant up as caffiene blocks the reuptake of dopamine. This is how many illegal stimulants work, and what makes caffiene addictive.
The problem with caffiene though is that it has a rather long half life for the frequency with which we use it. It takes 6 hrs to process half of what is consumed. This causes the body to miss quality sleep time and thus increases the need for use the next morning, and thus the self promoting, self destructive cycle continues.
source: http://www.sins-r-us.com/drugs/herbalecstacy.htm
Coffee was first discovered over 1000 years ago, and currently approximately 75% of Americans drink coffee on a regular basis. Despite the thousand years that have passed, there is still mystery and controversy surounding the biological effects of coffee and it's principal active ingredient, caffeine. Caffeine is the most widely used stimulant drug in the world, usually ingsted in the form of coffee, tea, soft-drinks, and chocolate. Table 1 shows the relative caffeine content of these food items. Caffeine is also used by triathletes and other athletes as a peformance aid. The purpose of this article is to discuss the role of caffeine as an ergogenic (energy generating) aid in endurance sports and to discuss the health issues related to caffeine use.
Caffeine is well absorbed from by the stomach and intestine, and peak blood levels occur about 45 - 60 minutes after ingestion. Once in the blood stream, caffeine causes a number of responses in the body. Caffeine is well known for it's stimulant effects on the brain, but there are a number of other physiologic effects that occur. Blood pressure, pulse rate, and stomach acid production are increased, fat stores are broken down, and fatty acids are released into the blood stream. These effects can last from a few hours to as long as 12, but within 4 days of regular use, the body develops tolerance to many of the effects of caffeine. For example, although caffeine increases blood pressure and pulse in a first time user, a regular user will not experience any significant change.
In making a decision whether or not to use caffeine -- or any other drug -- it is important to consider the potential adverse effects on health. These can be separated into short term (ie. related to a single dose) and long term. The short term affects of caffeine are much better understood than the long term effects.
Because caffeine increases the production of stomach acid it may worsen ulcer symptoms or cause acid reflux ("heartburn"). Insomnia, poor sleep, and anxiety are well described psychological side effects of caffeine. Regular evening use of caffeine may, over time, deprive the body of proper sleep, resulting in lack of energy and fatigue.
Many studies have suggested a relationship between chronic caffeine use and a number of diseases. Proving a cause-and-effect, however, has been difficult and most of these suggested links remain inconclusive. Some of the difficulties that arise in studying the long term health effects of caffeine are due to problems in accounting for other lifestyle variables (eg. smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise), differences in genetic inheritance, form of caffeine intake (coffee, tea, sodas), and the presence of other biologically active substances in the beverage. For example, one study looked at the whether caffeine intake increased the risk of heart disease. Over 45,000 people were evaluated and the data indicated a slightly increased risk of death from heart disease in individuals who had an average daily consumption of more than 5 cups of *decaffeinated* coffee. Currently, there is no evidence that caffeine causes cancer, stomach ulcers, high blood pressure, or serious heart arrhythmias.
Abrupt discontinuation of caffeine in a regular user may trigger caffeine withdrawal symptoms. The most common symptoms are headache and fatigue. The headache may begin as soon as 18 hours following the last dose of caffeine and may worsen with exercise. It is not known why some people experience caffeine withdrawal and others do not.
Despite considerable research in this area, the role of caffeine as a performance enhancing drug is still controversial. Some of the data are conflicting, which is in part due to how the experimental studies were designed and what methods were used. However, there is general agreement in a few areas:
Glycogen is the principal fuel for muscles and exhaustion occurs when it is depleted. A secondary fuel, which is much more abundant, is fat. As long as there is still glycogen available, working muscles can utilize fat. Caffeine mobilizes fat stores and encourages working muscles to use fat as a fuel. This delays the depletion of muscle glycogen and allows for a prolongation of exercise. The critical time period in glycogen sparing appears to occur during the first 15 minutes of exercise, where caffeine has been shown to decrease glycogen utilization by as much as 50%. Glycogen saved at the beginning is thus available during the later stages of exercise. Although the exact method by which caffeine does this is still unclear, caffeine caused sparing in all of the human studies where muscle glycogen levels were measured. The effect on performance, which was observed in most experimental studies, was that subjects were able to exercise longer until exhaustion occurred.
In addition to the beneficial effects on muscle, caffeine may alter the perception of how hard you are working. During testing, athletes are asked to judge their effort, which is referred to as the rating of perceived exertion (RPE). Some studies have yielded significantly lower RPE's -- less fatigue -- when the athlete used caffeine. Other studies have not found this effect. Obviously, the RPE is very subjective, and there are many things that may influence it.
Although caffeine does not appear to significantly alter water balance or body temperature during exercise, dehydration is a potential concern because caffeine is a mild diuretic. Some athletes may also experience abdominal cramps and diarrhea related to the large intestine contractions caused by caffeine. The combination of dehydration and cramping can have particularly detrimental effects on performance.
jenky@rice.edu
Last update 11/95
source: http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/caffeine.html
Caffeine intoxication usually occurs with consumption above 250mg (equivalent to about 2 1/2 cups of coffee). Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant and may be taken to help restore mental alertness when unusual tiredness, weakness or drowsiness occurs. Caffeine's use as an alertness aid should be only occasional. It is not intended to replace sleep and should not be used regularly for this purpose.
Coffee, brewed - 40 to 180mg per cup
Coffee, instant - 30 to 120mg per cup
Coffee, decaffeinated - 3 to 5mg per cup
Tea, brewed American - 20 to 90mg per cup
Tea, brewed imported - 25 to 110mg per cup
Tea, instant - 28mg per cup
Tea, canned iced - 22 to 36mg per 12 ounces
Cola and other soft drinks, caffeine-containing - 36 to 90mg per 12 ounces
Cola and other soft drinks, decaffeinated - 0mg per 12 ounces
Cocoa - 4mg per cup
Chocolate, milk - 3 to 6mg per ounce
Chocolate, bittersweet - 25mg per ounce
Symptoms - Cardiovascular
Heart racing/palpitations
Caffeine intoxication can cause a rapid or 'pounding' heart rate.
Arrhythmia
Symptoms - Food - Beverages
Negative reaction to coffee
Symptoms - General
Fatigue that worsens during the day
Caffeine is known to cause periods of exhaustion.
Constant fatigue
Symptoms - Metabolic
Hyperactivity
High caffeine levels can cause restlessness.
Symptoms - Mind - Emotional
Being anxious/nervous
Irritability
Symptoms - Mind - General
Being easily excitable
An overstimulated mind
Caffeine intoxication is known to cause rambling thought and speech.
Symptoms - Skin - General
Dark/dark/flushed facial coloring
Facial flushing
Diet
Dehydration - Dehydration may result from the increased urinary frequency brought on by caffeine.
Chocolate Craving
Chocolate contains significant amounts of magnesium and a chocolate craving may be your body's way of trying to get more.
Habits
Lack of Sleep - It almost goes without saying that coffee decreases the quality of sleep and is one of the leading causes of sleep disturbance. Coffee drinkers are sleepier and groggier than non-coffee drinkers when they get up in the morning, causing them to depend on coffee to get them going. This grogginess may be the result of their entering caffeine withdrawal during the night, or that drinking coffee kept them from sleeping well in the first place, or both.
Mental
Anxiety
Musculo-Skeletal
Muscle Cramps / Twitching
Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) / Periodic Limb Movement - Excess caffeine levels cause restlessness. Caffeine has been shown to increase subjects' proneness to develop RLS at lower levels of blood glucose. It is therefore no surprise that a xanthine-free diet (no coffee, tea, cola beverages, cocoa) has been reported to be another effective dietary measure RLS sometimes following a short period of caffeine withdrawal. [J Clin Psychiatry 39: pp.693-8, 1978; Ann Intern Med 119: pp.799-804, 1993]
Uro-Genital
Increased Urinary Frequency - Caffeine is a diuretic, causing increased urination.
Supplements and Medications -
Significant/moderate caffeine supplementation
Symptoms - Food - Beverages
(High) tea consumption
(High) coffee consumption
Caffeinated soft drink consumption
Counter-indicators:
Coffee consumption
Diet
Dehydration - Dehydration may result from the increased urinary frequency brought on by caffeine.
Diet - Caffeine/Coffee Avoidance
source: http://www.digitalnaturopath.com/cond/C569985.html
The LD_50 of caffeine (that is the lethal dosage reported to kill 50% of the population) is estimated at 10 grams for oral administration. As it is usually the case, lethal dosage varies from individual to individual according to weight. Ingestion of 150mg/kg of caffeine seems to be the LD_50 for all people. That is, people weighting 50 kilos have an LD_50 of approx. 7.5 grams, people weighting 80 kilos have an LD_50 of about 12 grams.
One exceptional case documents survival after ingesting 24 grams. The minimum lethal dose ever reported was 3.2 grams intravenously, this does not represent the oral MLD (minimum lethal dose). In small children ingestion of 35 mg/kg can lead to moderate toxicity. The amount of caffeine in an average cup of coffee is 50 - 200 mg. Infants metabolize caffeine very slowly.
Caffeine, the molecule = 1,3,7-Trimethylxanthine
CH3
|
N
/ \
N----C C==O
|| || |
|| || |
CH C N--CH3
\ / \ /
N C
| ||
CH3 0
source: http://members.aol.com/seanborg/mtdew/caffeine.htm
For those who love coffee, the taste is often cited as the reason for the "addiction" and the use of that word does not imply anything like a drug addiction. However, try to take away someone's coffee abruptly and chances are they will experience withdrawal symptoms (2). The body develops a dependence on caffeine which is very obvious; stop drinking coffee for a day after being a regular drinker and get a headache, then drink coffee and it goes away. Some call this an addiction, coining terms such as "caffeinisme" and "caffeine withdrawal syndrome" (4), and classify caffeine as a mind-altering drug (3) (5) (6) (7). Many others protect caffeine, saying it does not compare to a true drug addiction and some even claim it has benefits-that it not only increases alertness but has other healthful properties (2) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13). It is very difficult to find an objective article on the effects of caffeine, for while the information is often corroborated by other reliable sources, one page will present all negative studies and side effects of the drug, and others only the positive. Reading a single article may convince you of one perspective, for there is a vast amount of information supporting both sides. Most agree that drinking caffinated beverages forms dependence, but those defending caffeine dismiss this as trivial while others see it as a very unhealthy cancer on society. The reality is somewhere in between. Caffeine is addictive but it is certainly not a strong physical addiction, for it is relatively easy to stop taking caffeine. The true addiction is psychological and is the most widespread addiction on earth.
The fact that caffeine is a drug cannot be denied. It effects the entire body in many ways, many involving chemical interactions in the central nervous system. One question is whether caffeine is even bad for you, if there is any reason to worry that one might be taking too much. The answer is that while providing many short-term benfits, caffeine has many short and long-term negative effects, which are and must be taken into consideration when deciding whether calling a craving for caffeine an addiction is justifiable.
Caffeine acts directly on the central nervous system as a mild stimulant (2). Once caffeine enters the blood stream, it takes only a few minutes for it to be all over the body. Only about 3% passes through and is released in urine. Most of its effects are short-term and are the ones everyone associates with it. The peak levels of caffeine in the blood are reached about 30 minutes after ingestion, and the half-life in the blood stream is about 4 hours (5). There are long-term effects which are less well-understood, such as possible carcenogenic properties and contribution to heart disease incidence (5).
The short-term effects include an increase in blood pressure (a health hazard for some) and elevate neural activity in many parts of the brain (5). The postponement of sleepiness that is the main effect attributed to caffeine, however it has many less-desired consequesnces as well. The alertness people crave is caused by caffeine's ability to block the binding sites for adenosine (14), a neurotransmitter which has a calming effect. It does this because it fits into the same receptors which accept adenosine and is even more attracted to these sites than the chemical intended to bind there. At the same time, the drug raises the level of other chemicals known to cause excitement, such as adrenaline, adrenal hormone cortisol, and lactate (6). These allow for faster reaction times and greater alertness.
Many of the negative side effects of caffeine are also related to its effects on the nervous system. When a person has too much caffeine, that amount depending on the person's ability to metabolize caffeine, restlessness, jitteriness, dehydration, and arrythmias can result (4). The inability to sleep when sleep is desired can be considered a negative side effect, and the quality of sleep in which caffeine is still effecting the body is lowered. Less time is spent in REM sleep, when dreaming occurs and which is the most essential part of sleep to humans, so the person will often feel less refreshed in the morning (5). A feeling of nervousness can also result, probably caused by the faster heart rate and increased levels of stimulating chemicals released in the nervous system.
Now that caffeine is recognized as a substance that is not ingested without consequences, the question becomes whether the need for caffeine can be called an addiction (2). The answer to this seems to depend on one's definition of "addiction." In popular usage, many would say that they are "addicted" to coffee or to caffeine simply because they have it every day and don't want to go without it. Psychologists and others who deal with addiction as an illness define an addict as having "1) severe withdrawal symptoms; 2) tolerance to a given dose, or the need for more and more of the substance; 3) the loss of control, or the need to consume the substance at all costs"(13). Most agree that the term caffeine "dependence" is more acceptable. This is partly because of a wish to preserve the seriousness of the term addiction for drugs and alcohol which are more harmful, since many feel that if the term addiction is overused and people overreact to the "threats" posed by caffeine, kids will take warnings about other drugsless seriously (1).
source: http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro99/web3/Howard.html
Individual Susceptibility
The effect of a chemical also depends on another set of variables. Organisms will have various responses to chemical exposures because each organism is unique. For example, if a population of people was exposed to the same amount of the same chemical, some people might have very severe reactions to the chemical while others might have no reaction at all. Those with a severe reaction are considered more "susceptible" to the chemical. Individual susceptibility varies but is influenced by age, gender, health status, genetics, and lifestyle.
The Chemical Caffeine
Caffeine is a chemical that most people ingest at some time in their lives, and many people ingest caffeine daily. People consume caffeine in coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, soft drinks, and some drugs. It is a naturally occurring chemical that comes from the coffee bean, tea leaf, kola nut, and cacao pod.
As a central nervous system stimulant, caffeine in moderate doses can increase alertness, reduce fine motor coordination, alter sleep patterns, and cause headache, nervousness, and dizziness. In massive doses, caffeine is lethal. However, it is hard to get a lethal dose of caffeine just by ingesting it in food and drink: A lethal dose of caffeine is 170 milligrams of caffeine for every kilogram of body weight, or about 10 grams for an average-sized adult. One would have to drink 80-100 cups of coffee in rapid succession to reach that threshold.
Caffeine is absorbed rapidly into the bloodstream from the gastrointestinal tract. It can exert its effects within 15 minutes after it is consumed and reaches maximum concentration in the bloodstream within about one hour. The blood distributes caffeine throughout the body, where the caffeine increases metabolic rate by about 10 percent. Once in the body, caffeine will stay around for hours: It takes about six hours for one-half of the caffeine to be eliminated. Gender affects a person's response to caffeine: Females metabolize caffeine 20-30 percent more quickly than do males.
Because caffeine constricts the cerebral blood vessels, blood pressure rises and heart rate increases in the presence of caffeine. When people who regularly ingest caffeine stop ingesting it, they can suffer severe headaches because the blood vessels in their brain are dilating.
Research into the detrimental effects of caffeine has not uncovered any connections between ingestion of caffeine and heart disease, stroke, or cancer. There are some studies that show that large doses of caffeine, such as five to seven cups of coffee a day, can delay fertility.
source: http://137.187.206.89/supplements/nih2/chemicals/guide/lesson4-1.htm
If you want to sleep well, don't drink beverages containing caffeine or alcohol within 3 to 6 hours of bedtime.
Alcohol is a depressant and while it can speed the onset of sleep, you'll wake up again and sleep poorly the second half of the night.
Caffeine is a stimulant. It's in coffee, black tea, cocoa and most soft drinks. The adult liver needs 3 to 6 hours to metabolize caffeine (up to 24 hours for older adults). One cup of coffee 2 hours before bedtime can double the time it takes to fall asleep.
source: http://www.heritageridgega.com/newsletter/0205/
Note! I cannot possibly keep all these current. If you discover one of these links fails, I would appreciate your .
Chocolate, In Short
The source of cocoa and chocolate, cacao beans are the fruit of the cacao tree, which grows only 20° north or south of the equator and mainly in West Africa and Latin America. After harvesting, cacao beans are cleaned, roasted, and shelled, leaving only the meat within (called the "nibs.") 50% of the content of the nibs is a vegetable fat, called cocoa butter. The pressure generated by grinding the nibs melts the cocoa butter, which results in a bitter liquid called chocolate liquor. By pressing the chocolate liquor under high pressure the cocoa butter can be extracted, leaving a dry substance behind. This is crushed to a flaky consistency which is then called cocoa powder.
Various forms of chocolate are created by combining pure chocolate liquor with its components cocoa butter and cocoa powder, plus other ingredients of sugar, milk or cream in various proportions. Under FDA standards, the following are defined:
When baking, the following can be used to replace each type of chocolate called for in a recipe:
| Unsweetened | Semisweet | Sweet | |
| Cocoa Powder | 3 T (45 ml) | 3 T (45 ml) | 3 T (45 ml) |
| Sugar | 3½ T (53 ml) | 4½ T (53 ml) | |
| Cooking Oil | 1 T (15 ml) | 2 T (30 ml) | 4 2/3 T (40 ml) |
| Resulting chocolate | 1 oz (60 ml) | 3 oz (120 ml) | 4 oz (153 ml) |
Storage of Chocolate
Since chocolate contains cocoa butter, temperatures above 78°F cause chocolate to melt, allowing the cocoa butter to rise to the surface. This forms a gray surface discoloration known as "chocolate blooming." Another effect is called "sugar bloom," which occurs when cooled chocolate sits out in warm air. The temperature causes moisture to condense on the chocolate, and this tends to dissolve the contained sugar. The result is a whitish coating on semisweet or sweet chocolates. In both cases the quality and taste of the chocolate will not be affected, but the appearance may suffer. For baking and cooking purposes, blooming will be entirely undone when the chocolate is melted, and the true color will be restored.
Stored correctly, chocolate products will remain fresh for over a year. To avoid bloom, keep chocolates in a cool, dry place, with the temperature maintained below 70°F. Chocolate may be refrigerated but expect blooming to occur when it is returned to room temperature. Baking, or bitter, chocolate and cocoa powder are least susceptible to bloom because they contain no sugar and reduced cocoa butter content. Where possible, store all chocolate in sealed containers to keep out excess moisture. Opened containers of chocolate syrup should be kept refrigerated to extend the freshness.
When making candies, blooming can be retarded by tempering the chocolate in the finishing process. Basically, this means lowering the temperature in the final cooling in a very even and controlled manner, with constant stirring. It cannot be rushed. Also, tempering is hard to do on very humid days, and be sure to keep all excess water, even a few drops, away from the chocolate during tempering. Properly tempered chocolate should not bloom (until after the next melting, which destroys tempering). However, as previously stated, bloom though unappetizing to look at does not affect the taste or quality of chocolate.
The history of chocolate is almost as rich as the flavor of the cocoa
bean it comes from. When Spanish explorers arrived in Mexico, they found
cocoa beans being used as money. The rich liquid produced from the bean
was a favorite of royalty in both the Inca and Aztec civilizations. It
is even said that the legendary Mexican Emperor Montezuma drank only chocolate
from his golden ceremonial goblets.
Columbus was the first to bring these prized beans back to Spain. But it
was Hernando Cortez who introduced the Spanish Court to chocolate as a
hot beverage, where it was later sweetened with cane sugar and flavored
with vanilla. The drink was an instant favorite in the court - and so highly
prized that the method of preparation was a closely guarded secret for
more than a century.
But try as they might, the royal families could not keep the reputation
of this delicious new beverage from spreading first to other European countries
and eventually back again to the new world.
Chocolate That Grows On Trees
Cocoa trees grow best in the hot, rainy climates near the Equator -
principally in the West Indies, South and Central America and in the tropical
forests of West Africa. Although they can reach heights of 40 feet or more,
the trees are usually pruned back to 20 feet to produce better yields.
One of nature's most colorful plants, cocoa trees have large glossy red
leaves when young. As the trees mature, tiny white or pink blossoms appear
on small "cushions" which form on the trunk and older branches.
The beans which will become chocolate are contained in green or maroon
pods up to 15 inches long.
When the pods ripen, they are carefully picked and slit open. Each may
contain as many as 50 beans--but only a few of them are good enough for
Ghirardelli. These are scooped out and allowed to dry leisurely in the
sun before being shipped to our chocolate factory.
The Art Of Making Fine Chocolate
All the skill of a master chef goes into making Ghirardelli Chocolate.
The first step is to roast the beans. For this, a large rotary oven is
used to turn the beans continually until they are a rich chocolate brown.
During this slow roasting time, a wonderful chocolate aroma fills the air.
After cooling, the beans pass to a "cracker and fanner" machine.
It does what the name implies - cracks the beans and blows away the husks.
What is left are the nibs, or the inner parts of the bean, which are fed
into a mill where they are crushed, heated and finely ground. The result
is a rich, dark liquid called chocolate liquor which flows from the mill.
When poured into molds and allowed to harden, the resulting bars become
a familiar baking ingredient - unsweetened or baking chocolate.
Turning Chocolate Liquor Into Cocoa Powder
The liquor of the cocoa bean is the basic ingredient of all chocolate
products. It contains two unique and flavorful food elements, cocoa powder
and cocoa butter. To make cocoa powder, it is first necessary to remove
some of that butter. This is done by subjecting the liquor to extreme pressure
in hydraulic presses, squeezing out the cocoa butter and leaving a hard
cake of pressed cocoa. The cake is then pulverized into a fine powder.
Ghirardelli cocoa powder is widely used by dairies, bakeries and food processors
as a flavoring, or made into thick chocolate syrup. But most people know
it as a delicious drink.
How Ghirardelli Makes Great Eating Chocolate
While cocoa powder is made by removing cocoa butter, eating chocolate
is made by adding it. Cocoa butter, sugar and vanilla are combined with
the chocolate liquor and mixed together, making a heavy paste. Adding the
cocoa butter enhances the flavor and improves the texture, giving Ghirardelli
Chocolate its smooth, even consistency.
In making milk chocolate, whole milk powder is also added. The paste is
then fed through a "refiner" or series of large polished steel
rollers, creating a very fine flake. Refiner flake is fed into "conches",
which are special heavy-duty mixing machines. More cocoa butter is added
and the mixture is kneaded for many hours. This kneading action aerates
the mixture and helps develop the wonderfully unique flavor of Ghirardelli
chocolate.
Finally the product is ready to bear the famous Ghirardelli name. The mixture
is poured into a variety of molds, from the 3/8 oz. square to a large 10
lb. pan. The filled molds are then cooled to solidify the chocolate and
release it from the mold. The chocolate is then wrapped in foil and packaged
for sale.
A Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate bar contains vitamin A, protein, minerals,
riboflavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin D. In addition, chocolate is an excellent
source of quick energy and is used frequently by hikers and athletes during
periods of long exertion.
But, best of all, Ghirardelli Chocolate may very well be simply the best
of all. Over the years our Chocolate has earned numerous awards and other
honors in culinary and taste competitions around the world. But the recognition
we prize most is our hometown reputation as "San Francisco's Own".
Premium American Chocolate from Famous Ghirardelli Square
| Nutrional Value of Chocolate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cocoa Powder |
Unsweetened Chocolate |
Semisweet Chocolate |
Milk Chocolate |
|
| Calories | 112 | 140 | 130 | 155 |
| fat | 3 | 14 | 9 | 9 |
| carbohydrates | 16 | 9 | 17 | 16 |
| protein | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
approximate contents (in grams) per 1 oz. (28g) serving. About half the fat is saturated; almost all the carbohydrates are sugars. Also, there are traces of vitamin A and iron, plus traces of sodium, calcium, and chlorestoral in milk chocolate. While I won't say "Chocoloate calories don't count," I will say this: if you're watching your intakes and you don't think you'll enjoy them, don't eat them and leave more chocolate for the rest of us to indulge in.
Here are some web links to other chocolate pages on the net.
Hershey's Chocolate.
Need I say more?
Godiva Chocolatier,
Inc. Chocolatier Recipes and online shopping!
Visit Cadbury's
to see the Chocolate, the Taste!Note! I cannot possibly keep all these current. If you discover one of these links fails, I would appreciate your .
Motto at this point: 