Caffeine Explained: Everything You Always Wanted to Know

Everyone has their favourite beverage, some like coffee, while some simply adore their morning tea. While their tastes might differ, the presence of caffeine remains the same. Let’s understand what exactly caffeine is!

Who doesn’t like to have their daily pick me up drink to lift their spirits and prepare them for a hectic day ahead. But do you know the amount of caffeine your favourite drink contains? A cup of freshly brewed coffee, ice cold soft drink, a hot cup of aromatic tea or your favourite energy drink, one thing that’s common across all of them is their core ingredient i.e. caffeine.

People across the globe have been enjoying beverages and food items containing caffeine for a very long time, which has made it one of the most studied ingredients in food science. Despite all the misperceptions and misconceptions, caffeine still remains a steady ingredient in at least almost all the beverages that people love to gorge on. To help you understand what is caffeine, we bring you some science based information about health, that will not all answer all your ifs and buts but will also help you understand caffeine effects on health.

Is Caffeine Safe?

This is the most common question that people ask generally, whether caffeine is safe or not. The answer can be simple, anything in moderation is safe and the same goes for caffeine too. Decades of research and studies have also found that consuming caffeine in moderate amounts is generally good for your overall well being and causes no harm to your health.

What Amount of Caffeine is Considered as Moderate for an Adult?

For a healthy adult, moderate caffeine consumption should not exceed 100  milligrams per day, which constitutes to some 2 to 3 cups of home brewed coffee per day. This much amount of caffeine consumed every day has no adverse effect on the health of a healthy adult in general.

Benefits of Consuming Caffeine

As mentioned earlier, if taken in moderation caffeine can be great for your health with several health benefits. Historically, small amounts of caffeine have been used for weight control, overcoming chronic fatigue conditions, alleviating different kinds of pain, improving breathing patterns, etc.

Additionally, small amount of caffeine in your daily diet can provide you the below mentioned health benefits:

• Caffeine can benefit people who are at the high risk of liver disease
• It helps in increasing muscle strength
• If consumed in moderation, caffeine can increase your metabolism by breaking down the fat, freeing fatty acids and forcing them to burn in the form of energy
• Caffeine consumption increases the effect of pain relief medication
• Improves your mental faculty
• Reduces the symptoms of asthma
• Detoxes liver and cleanses the colon
• It relieves post workout muscle pain by up to 40%
• Caffeine benefits your health by warding off diseases like Alzheimer and Parkinson Disease
• Reduces the risk of stroke and Type 2 diabetes by almost 22%

Side Effects of Caffeine 

Anything consumed above its recommended amount can cause problems to your health. Same stands true for caffeine as well! Caffeine remains neutral to your health until you start consuming it in excess. Once the excess consumption begins your body gets used to it and takes the form of addiction. You may also experience some caffeine side effects upon excess intake. Symptoms arising out of your too much coffee consumption are the same as you may feel at the time of caffeine withdrawal.

However, excess of caffeine can lead to below mentioned heat hazards:

• Restlessness
• Irritability
• Anxiety
• Heartburn
• Headaches (sometimes severe)
• High blood pressure
• Sleeplessness
• Rapid heartbeat
• Nausea

Caffeine Withdrawal Symptoms

Caffeine withdrawal symptoms will start surfacing as soon as 12 hours after you had your last cup of your favourite caffeinated beverage, though the symptom will largely depend on the amount of caffeine you have consumed. These withdrawal symptoms may last for up to a week if you are trying to reduce your caffeine intake.

• Restlessness
• Irritability
• Anxiety
• Headaches (sometimes severe)
• Muscle stiffness
• Chills and/or hot spells

We suggest that you start cutting down on your caffeine intake slowly as it will help you in avoiding withdrawal symptoms as well as caffeine side effects. You can even try decaf coffee or a herbal green tea in the morning if you cannot start your day without your daily dose of kick.

Pre-Workout Benefits of Caffeine

If you are in constant search of some serious kick before starting a workout then caffeine can come to your rescue. There is no denying the fact that most of the athletes and bodybuilders rely greatly on caffeinated pills and drinks as a common supplement in their pre-workout diet. This is because in addition to all caffeine benefits, it also acts as an excellent choice for consumption before a workout.

Studies have shown that consuming caffeine before workout helps in increasing alertness, sharpens focus, helps burn fat effectively, improves mood, helps gym goers in working for a longer period in gym and also boosts their pain tolerance.

There are several ways to consume caffeine before your workout the best among them is in the form of your favourite cup of hot beverage, caffeine capsule if you are not fond of coffee, dark chocolate, energy drinks, green tea or pre-workout supplements and fat burners, which you can mix with the beverage of your choice as per the recommended dosage.

Caffeine levels in the bloodstream of a normal human reach its peak approximately 60 to 90 minutes after consumption, therefore, you should take caffeine at least 1 to 2 hours prior to your workout session for maximum effect.

Some Interesting Facts About Caffeine

Almost every other individual uses caffeine on a daily basis. This can be in various forms. Here are some interesting facts that you should know about caffeine:

• Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance found mostly in the leaves, fruit and seeds of more than 60 plants across the globe.
• The content of caffeine found in coffee and cocoa beans, kola nuts and tea leaves is mostly used for making popular beverages and food items like coffee, tea, soft drinks and chocolates.
• Caffeine is also one of the most commonly used flavouring agents used in many of the desserts and beverages.
• The origin of coffee dates back to 575 A.D. In the African region, where coffee beans were used as currency as well as food.
• The first ever caffeinated soft drink was created in the 1880’s.

Conclusion

So far we have discussed caffeine benefits, side effects, withdrawal symptoms, and some interesting facts. If you are suffering from any health conditions or illnesses, you can consult your doctor to determine safety of the caffeine products you consume.