Health-Food
Have you ever wondered why coffee is that beverage many people rely upon to keep them awake and brighten their day? Well, it is because of its high caffeine content.
Caffeine is widely taken all over the world either through coffee, energy drinks or some other beverages. Some are even proud to regard themselves as 'coffee addicts'.
If there is such a high consumption of caffeine in the society, it would be necessary to know what its pros and/or cons. Hence the question; how good or bad is caffeine for you?
First, you need to know what caffeine really is.
What is Caffeine?
Caffeine is a natural stimulant of the central nervous system that belongs to methylxanthine class. This means that it is a psychoactive drug just like cocaine. The difference is that caffeine is legal and not regulated in almost every part of the world.
It helps to stimulate your brain, giving you some alertness and it also boosts your energy level.
Caffeine is commonly found in coffee, tea, cocoa plants. It is also used by most companies in the production of energy drinks.
Caffeine happens to be everywhere around you. But how exactly does it work?
How caffeine works
Caffeine takes away the sleepiness after its ingestion. But how exactly does this occur?
When you take a portion of coffee, the caffeine content in it serves as an antagonist of the adenosine receptor. The adenosine is the body substance that helps you to feel sleepy. The caffeine does a job of intercepting the adenosine, shielding you from feeling sleepy.
Caffeine has a quick reaction in the body system. It takes 30 to 60 minutes for it to reach a peak in your blood. Half-life of caffeine in the body is 3 to 5 hours. The other half would remain in your system for a longer period of time.
Foods and drinks that contain caffeine
Caffeine is found in a lot of things people love to eat or drink. Asides coffee, it can also be found in tea, chocolate and energy drinks.
Your favorite Expresso contains around 250mg of caffeine per 250ml, coffee contains approximately 200mg in 250ml, while energy drinks can contain between 50 to 160mg. Dark chocolate could contain as high as 35mg.
Benefits of caffeine
Caffeine does not have any notable nutritional value on its own, but it does a good job at keeping you awake. It enhances the activities of the dopamine and norepinephrine. These are neurotransmitters that keep you alert and focused.
It can be said that caffeine basically helps to keep you awake, alert, energetic, and active. This explains why it is on the morning routine of many.
Recommended dosage
Most food and agricultural products safety departments around the world recommend that it is safe for a person to take up to 400mg of caffeine in a day and not more than 200mg at a time.
This amount can be found in 3-4 cups of coffee or 8 cups of green tea.
Conclusion
Just 1-3 cups of coffee or some cups of tea in a day can help brighten your day; overdose of caffeine can lead to factors that can ruin the day.
Taking too much caffeine often leads to headache, nervousness, faster heartbeat or insomnia in the long run.
Caffeine on a moderate dose is good for you while overdose of it is bad. So, you should not be afraid to consume your caffeine content products in the recommended proportion.
