Debunking Caffeine Myths I Heard Today

avatar

A lot of things have been said about caffeine and it has become such a great deal. I got an energy drink today, just one of about 250ml and someone sat me down to tell me a whole lot of things that I already heard before, the funny thing about this entire conversation was that the majority of all he said was myths about energy drinks. I am sure a lot of people would have heard or believed these myths one way or the other. I will be willing to share these myths and break down the fact about most of them.


Flickr

Caffeine is one of the world's most commonly used psychoactive substances, and it is part of a group called methylxanthines, which are stimulants of the central nervous system. It is a bitter-tasting substance that naturally occurs in some plants. The man started by saying that caffeine has some good sides and went further to mention that caffeine helps to detoxify the body but in the real sense, caffeine doesn't do that. Ginseng which is added to energy drinks is what detoxifies the body, and not caffeine. The best detoxifying liquid to take into the body is water which will help the body function properly.

Caffeine he said, is bad for you but then how do we say that caffeine is bad for us? Caffeine is said to cause osteoporosis which is a bone disease where the strength and density of the bone reduces but this would only happen if a person takes up to 700 milligrams per day but this should not be a concern as humans take less than 300 milligrams per day. Caffeine increases alertness and makes you feel more energetic but would not make you energetic. Adenosine which makes the body feel drowsy by activating GABA is blocked, thereby causing awakeness. Caffeine can affect the sleeping time of individuals and this practice continually is bad as the brain needs enough sleep then, caffeine's effect on sleep varies from person to person as its effect on the brain varies. Caffeine has a half-life of 5 hours and taking it at bedtime can lead to fewer hours of sleep and discomfort and could lead to the inability to have deep sleep. Caffeine is said to decrease the risk factor of colon, breast, head, and neck cancer, and liver disease. It is an Antioxidant (compounds that prevent oxidation damage to cells), and it can also lower the rate of stroke.


Pixabay

The man went on to tell me to take decaf coffee if I needed to take coffee because it doesn't possess caffeine at all but this is wrong. Because 95% of the caffeine has been removed doesn't mean that the coffee doesn't have caffeine. Caffeine can be addictive but then it doesn't mean that it would lead to withdrawal symptoms in months, rather after a two or three days effect of feeling drowsy, the body comes back to normal. Taking caffeine in moderate amounts would not increase the risk of Arrhythmia although it can show up with tachycardia but this isn't long-lasting and when people continually drink caffeine, the tachycardia effect wears out over time.

In reality, the man might have some basis for his words and beliefs, but based on research, what I have seen is that caffeine can be good for the body, and not completely bad as the man described it. This said, it is important to see a doctor to know what's best for you and how many, milligrams of coffee you can take if you do not have any underlying conditions.

Reference

hive-196387 science caffeine stemng stemgeeks neoxian waivio cent bee alive
0
0
0.000
3 comments
avatar

One of the thing that scares me away from caffeine is I heard it is dangerous to the health

0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

Thanks for your contribution to the STEMsocial community. Feel free to join us on discord to get to know the rest of us!

Please consider delegating to the @stemsocial account (85% of the curation rewards are returned).

Thanks for including @stemsocial as a beneficiary, which gives you stronger support. 
 

0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

Since it does produce an abstinence sindrome, would you say it is a moderately or low addictive drug?

I seldom drink coffee 'cos I've found it to accelarate me too much and I would often feel a nasty rebound effect afeterwords, so I usually ingest caffeine through drinks with it but lower in it than pure coffee (tea, mate, boiled mate)

0
0
0.000
Reply