Caffeine Facts!

How many of us start our day with a cup of coffee or tea, or we hear that person in the office say “I just don’t function until I have my morning coffee”? Time to learn more about that required caffeine hit!

a little bit about caffeine...

Caffeine is a naturally occurring chemical substance which affects our central nervous system by temporarily warding off drowsiness and makes us alert. I think this comic by The Oatmeal Comics sums up what caffeine does in our bodies really well:

Caffeine is naturally found in coffee, black tea, green tea, chocolate, yerba mate, guarana berries and foods derived from the kola nut (such as cola). It is added to energy drinks to help give the buzz. The effect usually occurs within an hour of consumption and a moderate dose wears off in about 5 hours.

Benefits of Caffeine

Caffeine is not only a stimulant, it also has other effects in the body. Do you find that soon after your caffeine hit you need to go to the toilet? Its not a coincidence. Caffeine is a natual diuretic, meaning your urinary output is increased. Caffeine also is a mild laxative, so can be beneficial to those with constipation. Caffeine is also a bronchodilator – it dilates the bronchi and bronchioles, thereby increasing the airflow to the lungs. If someone is suffering from asthma, or difficulty breathing. Be a MacGuyver and give them a cup of strong coffee! (Note, ask them if they have any caffeine sensitivities first!)

Health risks of Caffeine

Caffeine can disrupt natural sleep patterns, especially if its consumed in the evening. While not all people are affected by this, in some in can cause insomnia. Caffeine affects liver detoxification by speeding up your 1^st liver conveyor belt (don’t know what I’m talking about? Read this blog entry.). This can have detrimental toxic effects.

Once people get used to having coffee regularly, they can develop a dependency for it, which can lead to symptoms including headaches, irritability, nervousness, restlessness, heart palpitations after use. When your body consumes high levels, you may get anxiety and coffee jitters from over excitation of your nerves.

If you want to withdrawal from caffeine, you may experience headaches, irritability, nervousness, joint stiffness, anxiousness which begin to show in the 1^st 12 to 24 hours, peaks at 48 hours, then continues for 2-9 days.

Like anything in life, moderation is the key. A coffee or green tea now and then should cause no major disruptions to your health (unless you fit into the categories below), but if you live off the energy drinks, then be prepared to be at risk. I went to uni with a guy who used to drink Red Eye energy drinks all the time and one day I saw him drinking Red Bull Essence. He was sweating in the middle of Winter. That was 10 years ago. I would love to know how he is today!

Avoid if...

Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, insomnia, peptic ulcers or a sensitivity to caffeine should avoid caffeine products. Some religions, including Seventh Day Adventists, Christian Scientists and Gaudiya Vaishnavas refrain from caffeine.

How much caffeine is in things?

This table shows caffeine amounts in mg, based on the USDA Nutrient Database.

Product	Serving size	Caffeine per serving (mg)
Caffeine tablet (extra-strength)	1 tablet	200
Caffeine tablet (regular-strength)	1 tablet	100
Coca-Cola Classic	355 mL	34
Coffee, decaffeinated	207 mL	5–15
Coffee, espresso	44–60 mL	100
Coffee, instant	1 tsp	31
Drip coffee	207 mL	115–175
Guaraná Antarctica	350 mL	30
Guayakí yerba mate(loose leaf)	6 g	85
Hershey's Milk Chocolate(11% cacao content)	1 bar	10
Hershey's Special Dark(45% cacao content)	1 bar	31
Jolt Cola	695 mL	280
Mountain Dew	355 mL	54
Percolated coffee	207 mL	80–135
Red Bull	250 mL	80
Tea – black, green, and other types, – steeped for 3 min	177 mL	22-74

Caffeine amounts vary for different foods, so these figures are not finite. Tea and coffee caffeine amounts can vary based upon growing conditions. If you are concerned, check the labels!

So how much is too much to consume each day? It varies from person to person, but most places I researched said the ballpark guideline is no more than 600mg daily to avoid major health risks.

Guidelines state that pregnant and breastfeeding women should have no more than 200mg daily, as higher doses are connected with low birth weights and even miscarriage. Anything you ingest also affects your baby – caffeine can affect your babies heart rate (if pregnant) and can be passed through breast milk (when lactating). There are great caffeine-free beverages available if you wish to avoid coffee and black tea altogether – see below for more details.

A fatal dose of caffeine is 170mg/kg, which is like consuming 80 to 100 cups of coffee at once. Perhaps you don’t need a caffeine hit THAT much!

Decaffeinated coffee?

Many times have I gone into a cafe and the person in front of me has asked for a skinny decaff, or I go into the supermarket and there are jars of decaffeinated coffee sitting on the shelf next to the instant. Coffee naturally contains caffeine, so how do they get the caffeine out of it??

After doing some research, I found there are several methods on decaffeination:

• Swiss Water and French Water extraction: uses no chemical solvents. This involves soaking the beans in hot water, then spraying the beans with the water to reduce flavour-loss compromisation.
• PROS: No harmful chemicals used in process.
• CONS: Flavour of beans may be lost.
• Solvent extraction: uses methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, ethyl alcohol, acetone and ethyl ether to extract the caffeine. This may done directly after the water extraction methods, or involves direct solvent extraction.
• PROS: Full-flavour of beans is maintained.
• CONS: Harmful chemicals are used in this process. Methylene chloride has been found not to be carcinogenic to humans, but can deplete the ozone layer.
• Super critical carbon dioxide extraction: high-pressure carbon dioxide is transformed into a dense liquid, in which the beans are treated with to extract the caffeine.
• PROS: This does not involve dangerous chemicals and there is no flavour lost in this process.
• CONS: Found to be very capital intensive
• Microbial decaffeination: Bacteria is sprayed onto coffee plants and is capable of degrading caffeine
• PROS: No caffeine processes warranted, flavour of beans remains
• CONS: Enzymes in bacteria to degrade caffeine are not stable
• Genetic modification: some companies have derived methods capable of producing decaffeinated plants.
• PROS: No caffeine processes warranted, flavour of beans remains
• CONS: The plants use caffeine as a defence against predators (thus making the plant weaker) and decaffeinated plant seeds may prevent growth of neighbouring plants. Unknown long term effects of genetically modified foods.

Annoyingly, when looking at jars of instant coffee, the caffeine extraction method is not listed. So how do we know what we’re consuming? We don’t. Companies that mass produce their decaffeinated coffee are more likely to use a cheaper method which may involve chemical extraction.

Caffeine free alternatives!

Yes, you can still go to the local cafe and not have caffeine! What are the options?

• Roasted dandelion root tea – tastes similar to coffee, but without the caffeine
• Herbal teas – chamomile, lemongrass & ginger, cinnamon, peppermint, licorice – all are popular teas found at  most cafes which are a sweet alternative!
• Rooibos tea is Afrikaan for “red bush” and is popular in South Africa. It is starting to get more fame here. Tastes similar to black tea and comes in many flavours.
• Fresh juices – a natural energy hit with a freshly made juice. Apple, orange, carrot, celery, ginger, beetroot, pineapple, mint, lemon, watermelon... the choice is yours on what you put in.

Don't take from this blog that I am anti-caffeine. Far from it! Like most people, I enjoy the aroma, taste and buzz from a good coffee. But like I said earlier, moderation is the key. Knowledge is powerful and this blog is about education, not reprimand. Be aware of what you are putting in your body and take care of it.

Another perk of a caffeine hit - amazing coffee art!

Comic is copyright to The Oatmeal Comics.