Considering the recent conflicting reports on caffeine - one day
it's OK to consume, the nest day it's not - you may have had nagging
doubts about the health effects of your favorite caffeine-containing
beverage.
Although people have consumed caffeinated foods and beverage for
hundreds of years, questions persist about its potential effects on
health. But according to leading medical and scientific experts,
caffeine consumed in moderation produces no adverse health effects.
Moderate consumption of caffeine, defined as two to four cups of
coffee a day, has been found to be of no major concern. Caffeine
effects are similar to those of amphetamines, but milder. Caffeine
stimulates making people feel more alert and less fatigued. Caffeine
also helps by dilating heart arteries, hence increasing blood flow;
its effect on head arteries is to constrict, helping to counter
migraine headaches.
Cholesterol problems. More recent
studies have associated claims of increased cholesterol to coffee
oils and not directly to caffeine, as previously believed. These
coffee oils are mostly extracted when brewing coffee with paper
filters, the oils are left behind during the brewing process.
Drinking decaf coffee showed no drop in cholesterol levels.
Heart problems. The 1980s studies
relating heart problems to excessive coffee drinking (five cups or
more), were discarded by a more recent report which showed no
increase in heart attacks for people who drank six cup of coffee or
more.
High blood pressure.
Scientist reported in the
Archives of Internal Medical that coffee, tea and other caffeinated
beverages do not cause any persistent increase in blood pressure.
Some individuals sensitive to caffeine may experience a very small,
short-lived rise in blood pressure, usually not lasting more than
several hours. Studies show any rise in blood pressure is less than
that normally experienced when climbing stairs.
Physiological effects of caffeine on
human body appears to be as a stimulant of the central nervous
system and most of the effects observed are behavioral in nature.
Caffeine is associated with an increase in intellectual activity,
but this seems to be significant only when the individual is
fatigued or bored. Similarly, the effect of caffeine on sleep varies
widely among the population. Individual sensitivity and frequency of
consumption seem to determine which individuals feel some effect.
Studies at Vanderbilt University have found many individuals feel no
effects from caffeine on sleep, while others report delayed, reduced
or poorer quality sleep.
Caffeine has been proven to increase gastric
acid secretion, therefore is a preferred after-meal beverage.
Although there is no clear evidence to link excessive coffee
consumption with incidence of peptic ulcer, coffee (caffeine)
ingestion is clearly undesirable for ulcerated persons. Persons with
ulcers should avoid the increase gastric acids in their stomachs.
Osteoporosis problems. There is some
evidence to link caffeine to a negative effect with calcium
metabolism. Women who drink caffeinated products lose more calcium
through urine and tend to have less dense bones than non-caffeine
drinkers. Drinking at least a daily glass of milk for every two cups
of coffee may offset the calcium loss.
Weight loss. Here are some good news
for weight lose enthusiasts. Caffeine increase the caloric burning
rate. According to a Danish study of normal weight volunteers the
caloric burning rate. According to a Danish study of normal weight
volunteers, one cup of coffee has been found to raise the metabolic
rate by three to four percent. This caloric burn rate is even
greater with exercise. Caffeine seems to make body fat more readily
available as fuel to exercising muscles. Muscles work longer before
they fatigue.
Cancer Problems. Speculation that
caffeine could be a possible cancer risk has not been confirmed by
scientific investigations. A number of human epidemiological studies
have examined the increased risk of developing cancer at different
locations in the body. Two recent studies of large numbers of
people in Norway (16,600) and Hawaii (7,350) found no relationship
between coffee consumption and cancer risk. A Harvard study of
121,700 nurse found no risk of breast cancer
associated to coffee. In actuality the study revealed fewer nurses
with breast cancer among those drinking coffee than with abstainers.
A
similar inverse relationship was established between coffee drinkers
and colon/ rectum cancer. A Boston
University study of 5138 cancer patients concluded that there was a
40 % lower risk of developing colon cancer for those drinking five
cups of coffee or more.
Today, with increased attention to maternal nutrition, many women
wonder if it's safe to consume caffeine-containing foods or
beverages during pregnancy. While some
studies have shown conflicting results, the weight of scientific
research continues to indicate that moderate caffeine consumption
does not affect fertility, or cause
adverse health effects in the mother or child.
Additionally, in 1992, researchers analyzed the effects of
cigarettes, alcohol and coffee consumption on pregnancy outcome in
more than 40,000 Canadian women. Although alcohol consumption and
smoking tended to have adverse effects on pregnancy outcome,
moderate caffeine consumption was not associated with
low birth weight or
miscarriages.
Women should also take note of what they eat while
breast feeding to ensure healthy milk
production. Though caffeine can permeate into breast milk, nursing
mothers can safely consume up to 300 mg of caffeine (2-3 cups of
coffee or several cans of cola) without passing on a significant
amount of caffeine to the baby.
Actually, children are no more sensitive to caffeine's potential
effects than adults. In general, caffeine is eliminated from the
body twice as rapidly in children than
adults.
