Caffeine
Caffein is the most famous and hence widely used drug in the world. It is a bitter substance found in leaves, chocolate, softdrinks, certain medicines, some nuts and seeds of fruit of number of plant species, such as tea and coffee plants.
Caffein has many effects on the body metabolosm, such as stimulating the central nervous system and releasing free fatty acids from adipose tissues. Also it affects your kidney, increasing urination and later that may be lead to dehydration. Additionaly caffeine gives you a boost of energy and make you more alert.
The amount of the caffein in two to four cups of coffee may not be harmfull fot most of the people. But the higher use of caffein can make you anxious, restless and irritable. It also causes headaches, abnoemal hear bits, keep you away from sleeping well and other problems.
Few people are more sensible to the effects of caffein than the others. They reduces the amount of caffeine. Hence should pregnant and nursing women. If you discontinue the use of caffein you could get withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms include:
- severe headaches
- muscle aches
- temporary depression
- irritability
- caffeine could stunt growth
However the caffeine effects vary from person to person. Doctor recommended that people should consume up to 100 milligrams of caffeine daily. The following chart shows the list of caffeinated products with the amount of caffeine they contain.
| Drink/product | Size/amount | Caffeine content |
| Tea | 150 ml | 30-100 mg |
| Cocoa | 50 ml | 30-60 mg |
| Cola soft drink | 250 ml | 35 mg |
| Diet cola soft drink | 250 ml | 35 mg |
| Chocolate milk drink | 250 ml | 2-7 mg |
| Energy drink | 250 ml | 80 mg |
| Milk chocolate bar | 55 g | 3-20 mg |
| Dark chocolate bar | 55 g | 40-50 mg |
| Coffee | ||
| Instant | 150 ml | 60-100 mg |
| Drip/Percolated | 150 ml | 100-150 mg |
| Espresso | 150 ml | 90 mg |
| Decaffeinated | 150 ml | 2-4 mg |
Effects of Caffeine:
Small amount of caffeine like one or two cup of coffee daily can activate your brain and the central nervous system. Because of that the person feels more active and aware. This amount of consumption can not have lasting effects on your body.
Many students or people consume caffeine products to study at night and continue their work for 24 hours, but the after effect is that they feel tired and inactive the next day. Also many children and young people may suffer from the anxiety, bed wetting, and sleep problems.
Some people have number of physical effects on their body due to the consumption of caffeine such as irritability, restlessness, dizziness, increased breathing and heart rates, excitability, lack of concentration, headaches, dehydration, gastrointestinal pains.
If the caffeine has taken in high amount then there are several effects on the body such as osteoporosis, heartburn, severe insomnia, ulcers, infertility, high blood pressure and heart disease. If the pregnant woman consumes high amount of caffeine then there might be the risk of miscarriage, difficult birth and delivery of low weight babies.