Caffeine Can Be Bad – When Coffee Attacks!
Just as you can’t have sunshine without darkness and actions without reactions, you can’t have a drug without side effects. Caffeine is a drug and it has both the ability to help as well as the ability to harm. Unlike most drugs however overconsumption does not result in fatal problems but caffeine still has a potential to cause health problems.
With caffeine consumption, stomach acid production is usually increased especially when this caffeine is consumed by way of drinking coffee. This is the reason why most patients who suffer from ulcers are advised by their doctors to steer clear from coffee. However they should be aware of the fact that they should equally steer clear of soft drinks and other products that have high caffeine content. An exception to this rule is tea because although tea contains caffeine, it also has a lot of other nutrients which are beneficial to the health and most ulcer patients can handle it. An erroneous myth exists which suggests that caffeine is a leading cause of ulcer but while it is evident that caffeine can aggravate the condition, no evidence exists to suggest that it actually causes the condition.
Caffeine also raises a person’s blood pressure and what this does is that it causes a persons heart rate to increase as well. However despite this, researchers can seem to reach an agreement as to how caffeine consumption affects the risk of a person having a heart attack. Certain studies have shown a connection between the two while others seem to suggest that caffeine actually helps in the prevention of heart attacks. One study released rather recently has only helped to fuel the debate by adding genetics into play. The study indicates the existence of a gene that either speeds up or slows down the metabolization of caffeine in the body. Those coffee drinkers who metabolize caffeine quickly appeared to have a reduced risk, while those who metabolize slowly appeared to increase their risk of heart attack.
Unwanted effects of caffeine are usually related to the time of day as well as the amount of caffeine that is consumed. A lot of people are aware that caffeine is a stimulant but they are unaware of the potency of its effects. For some people, consuming the amount of caffeine in a 20oz soft drink or just one cup of coffee any time after noon can be enough to produce a restless night. The average person can probably afford to set a deadline at least two or three hours before bedtime as their cutoff point, however, and still manage to get to sleep pretty easily.
Excessive consumption can lead to a syndrome known as caffeinism. In addition to sleeping problems, those who ingest large amounts of caffeine are subject to increased feelings of anxiety, a rapid heartbeat, and tremors. Not to mention more frequent—and longer—trips to the bathroom. If you discover that you are experiencing some of these symptoms you should check how much caffeine you are taking on a daily basis and start a plan of reducing your consumption. However you should reduce your consumption slowly lest you suffer from the detrimental effects of caffeine withdrawal.
Darren Williger is a tea drinking, guitar playing, meditating, wine making sales maker who writes for CaffeineZone.com, SavoryTea.com, and MindSatori.com.
