Essay on Caffeine. Why Is It Almost in All Products?
Cappuccinos are addictive, which makes it worse, but it is also an energy booster which makes it good. Caffeine has been an ingredient in popular drinks such as a cup of coffee, a soft drink, a cup of tea, or even energy drinks. Caffeine is very popular and known for being consumed in some type of form by ninety percent of Americans and according to the Kuakini Health System, it is consumed “300 milligrams a day”(Kuakini Health System).
What exactly is caffeine? Caffeine helps you stay alert and awake and how this works is by stimulating the brain and the central nervous system. Coffee’s energy booster became discovered by an Ethiopian shepherd. How the caffeine takes place is by blocking the effects of adenosine in which adenosine relaxes a person’s body and makes them feel that sleepiness. Adenosine will build up more, and this is what makes people feel more tired once they are not consuming coffee.
How caffeine takes a toll on your body depends on how much of it you drink. If you are a caffeine addict and decide to take a break from it this can cause painful side effects to your body. An article mentions the type of effects that happen by this withdrawal is “Headache, fatigue, depression, fogginess, and other symptoms”(Steven, Susan). Addiction to caffeine comes along easily since it only takes six ounces of coffee to get you going according to Griffith(caffeine researcher).
Coffee is not the only way to intake caffeine there are also chocolate bars that contain this “drug.” Chocolate contains twelve milligrams of caffeine, and it only takes about four bars of chocolate to add to the same amount of caffeine which a regular cup of coffee contains. Since there is only a small amount of caffeine in chocolate it is not enough to get you addicted to chocolate as it gets you addicted to coffee. A cup of coffee contains sixty-five through one hundred and fifty milligrams of caffeine which is nothing compared to a chocolate bar.
How should you know when you have had enough caffeine for the day? Mayo Clinic states that “adults can consume up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per day”(Healthline). Most people do not pay attention to what is included in their foods or drinks, so it is important to notice all the labels and how much of what is inside. How much coffee you can consume also depends on weight, health, and more so not everyone can consume that 400 milligrams a day.
Mayo Clinic gives a chart showing the caffeine content in well-known drinks. Decaf is much better than regular and has shown to be healthier, and that is proven in these charts. A brewed coffee contains ninety-five through one hundred and sixty-five milligrams while a brewed, decaf contains two through five milligrams of caffeine. A brewed black tea contains twenty-five through forty-eight milligrams of caffeine and a brewed black, decaf contains two through five milligrams of caffeine. The only soda that contains the most caffeine is cola which runs through twenty-four and forty-six milligrams. These charts show that the most popular drinks contain lots of caffeine, but it does not seem to have much of an effect on your health as long as you consume the proper amount.
Most addictions can cause an overdose, so does that mean it is possible to overdose on caffeine? Oddly, a caffeine overdose is possible if you drink over eighty cups of coffee in a day. A panic attack is also possible from too much caffeine and that is not too surprising since caffeine contains a stimulant that wakes the body up with a lot of energy. There is also such a thing as caffeine poisoning and this is most common in children. Caffeine poisoning mainly happens if you consume the same amount as twelve energy drinks. As anything else caffeine also has its side effects.
Some people consider caffeine a “drug” since it is something that people feel that they need to continue their day. There are even medications that contain caffeine such as No-Doz pills which contain two hundred milligrams of caffeine. “A college student went into a seizure and died after chasing down spoonfuls of caffeine with an energy drink”(NPR). This shows how powerful caffeine is and based on how much one chooses to consume it will play a big role in anyone’s health.
Coffee is similar to water and not by the benefits of each, but by how they are the most popular beverages. The difference between coffee and other “drugs” is it is not the same as marijuana or alcohol and there is also not a limit on how much of it you can take. Caffeine itself is not the problem it is the way you use it that makes it the problem. A lot of people do not believe caffeine is a big deal, but there have been twenty thousand emergency room visits because of it and mainly from energy drinks. Most people believe they need coffee to survive but some other things you can do to take yourself away from this is drinking enough water or taking walks can help.
Caffeine is considered a “drug” and there has been much evidence proving it to be a beneficial one. Parkinson’s disease has about two hundred thousand cases per year and there have been many studies showing that caffeine lowers the risk of getting it. According to the magazine article “Caffeine: More than Just a Pick-me-up” David mentions that “Those who drank one to three cups of regular coffee a day had a forty percent lower risk of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s than those who consumed none”(Schardt, David). There has even been a lower risk of type two diabetes when consuming a few cups of coffee a day. “People drinking a few cups of coffee a day have a lower risk of type two diabetes, and drinking more than that is linked to even lower risk”(Schardt, David). This type of evidence shows that caffeine intake can be good for some diseases.
The biggest problem with caffeine is how it always brings you back for more. It is always important to realize when enough is enough and to cut back. While a twelve-oz can of soda contains around forty milligrams of caffeine, it is important to remember there are also sugars and calories in the soda can too. Caffeine is stronger in lattes, cappuccinos, and gourmet espressos so considering the effects it causes is important.
Starbucks is one of the largest coffee retailers in the world with twenty thousand Starbucks locations all around the world. It has been shown that Starbucks banks about sixty-one million every day. From adding up all the numbers that Starbucks makes it has been shown that Starbucks stores use about two billion cups. Starbucks also offers eighty-seven thousand drink combinations which are a lot of choices to choose from.
Is powdered caffeine dangerous? According to the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) “ingesting a single teaspoon of powdered caffeine is, “roughly equivalent” to drinking twenty-eight cups of coffee at once”(Samantha Allen). The calculations on the web on how much you should use on a teaspoon have been proven wrong and have been proven to be fatal. Even after the deaths and wrong information, I do not understand why the FDA has not put a ban on this product. When this product is sold there are no labels on how to use this product and it is also sold quickly because of how cheap it runs from only twenty bucks. More actions should be taken when allowing this product to be sold and also the quantity of it.
Caffeine has the biggest effect on the brain and especially ones that are still developing. For children, it has more health effects from unhealthy eating behaviors and being overweight. For an adult, the caffeine intake is four hundred milligrams a day, but for a child, the caffeine intake should only be forty-five milligrams a day. One twelve-ounce diet coke would add up to the amount of caffeine a child can have a day. In a study it was found that “seventy-five percent of children consume caffeine on a daily basis, and the more caffeine children consumed, the less they slept”(Lauren Cox). This goes to show that that is always important to take in the proper amount.
There is no doubt that caffeine has been a big research topic and there are a lot of good and bad things to say about it. The only proper way to handle caffeine is by drinking the right amount based on many factors. As more research comes out there is more information based on how it mainly affects the brain and how it can easily become an addiction. Caffeine has made its mark all around the world and is here to stay. Is caffeine that addictive?
