Most people view caffeine as a legitimate pleasure! It is almost the only substance everyone can love! Whether coffee, tea or soft drink lovers! Because of that, people circulated many myths about caffeine and attached them to it without any single evidence to prove it!
Caffeine coffee
Who among us does not link caffeine to energy? And is it a well-known natural tonic? Who among us has not heard of the harmful effects of drinking coffee on the health of the heart, brain and memory? Some even believed it! In this article, we talk about several famous myths that people have traded and believed about caffeine, and the truth is from these myths! But before that, do you know what caffeine is?
What is caffeine? Is it beneficial or harmful to health?
Every day, billions of people from different parts of the world depend on coffee or black tea as a morning drink to ward off drowsiness and get an energetic boost to get out of bed energetically, or to get an alert in a night shift during which sleepiness sneaks at you in the middle of the night!
Coffee of all kinds
Coffee, being one of the most common drinks with a high caffeine content, has often been charged with many counts regarding its harmful effect on the health and safety of the body. However, many studies have indicated the opposite and that it has many health effects!
The most vulnerable ingredient in coffee and any other energy-boosting drink is caffeine, a natural stimulant commonly found in tea, coffee and cocoa plants.
This natural stimulant works by stimulating the brain and central nervous system, which helps you stay awake and reduces the effects of fatigue.
Myths about caffeine
Historians have traced the first fermented tea back to 2737 BC. Coffee was reportedly discovered many years later by an Ethiopian shepherd who noticed the extra energy it gives to his goats that were feeding on the coffee plant.
Caffeinated soft drinks appeared on the market in the late nineteenth century, and energy drinks quickly followed suit. Nowadays, 80% of the world's population consumes a product containing caffeine daily, and this figure reaches 90% for adults in North America.
How does caffiene work?
Once ingested, the substance is rapidly absorbed from the intestine into the bloodstream. From there, it travels to the liver and is broken down into compounds that can affect the functions of various organs. However, the main effect of caffeine is on the brain. It works by blocking the effects of adenosine, which is a neurotransmitter that relaxes the brain and makes you feel tired
Caffeine
This natural stimulant might also increase blood adrenaline levels and increase the brain activity of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine. This combination stimulates the brain and boosts alertness and focus.
Since it affects your brain, caffeine is often referred to as a psychoactive drug. Additionally, caffeine tends to have effects quickly. For example, the amount in one cup of coffee may take less than 20 minutes to reach the bloodstream and about 1 hour to reach full effectiveness.
Does caffeine have harmful effects on human health?
Caffeine side effects
Caffeine consumption is generally considered safe even if it is consumed as a daily habit more than once. Side effects associated with overeating include:
Anxiety
Insomnia
Shivering
Arrhythmia
Difficulty sleeping
Migraine
Hypertension
It has negative effects on pregnant women if it is consumed too much, and it may increase the chances of miscarriage.
But all of these side effects are related to eating too much. The US European Department of Agriculture for Food Safety (EFSA) considers that the safe daily dose of caffeine is 400 mg, as most studies agree, and is equivalent to about 2-4 cups of coffee per day.
Related articles: How much caffeine is in the cups of international coffee companies?
Do not believe myths about caffeine, and the truth is!
Caffeine is a chemical structure
Myth 1: caffeine is an energy source
Fact: It is often not true!
Carbohydrates, proteins and fats are large units that provide energy for the body. Caffeine, on the other hand, makes you feel more relaxed, and it does this by reducing the effects of adenosine in your system. When the neurotransmitter adenosine, which is produced when your body breaks down food, binds to specialized receptors, it makes you groggy.
Caffeine blocks these receptors by binding to them instead of the neurotransmitter, so the adenosine doesn't send you sleepy signals. This means that the way drinks like coffee, black tea, and energy drinks affect your body is not by giving you energy directly, but by preventing certain neurotransmitters from binding to receptors in the body that cause drowsiness!
Myth 2: You should have caffeine right before exercise
Fact: It depends on when exactly you consume the source of caffeine
You won't get a lot of support if you drink a cup of espresso right before training, says Jonathan Dick, a fitness coach at Tier X, and head coach and dietitian in Kensington, London.
It may take up to 30 minutes to feel the effects. To use a stimulant as a performance enhancer, be sure to get 200 milligrams of caffeine one hour before a workout.
In one study by the University of Illinois, cyclists who scheduled their dose in this way described their training as less stress and painful than another group who took a placebo.
Myth 3: coffee is the best known source of caffeine
Truth: It is mostly wrong!
If you want to get a dose of caffeine before an intense workout or for a specific circumstance, the best option is to take it in an anhydrous buffer form, such as taking it in the form of powdered powder or capsules, as cyclists did in the study mentioned above.
In fact, caffeine anhydrous is an over-the-counter dietary supplement. However, it is best that you consult a doctor or dietitian to find out the dose that will not harm your body. As for drinking coffee in the morning or before a workout in hopes of getting a big caffeine boost, that won't happen!
Related articles: Drinks contain more caffeine than Red Bull
Myth 4: coffee dehydrates the body
Fact: Studies have proven it to be a false myth
Several studies have found that caffeine has a diuretic effect, which means that your need to urinate increases after drinking coffee or energy drinks. However, to become dehydrated, you need to drink an excessive amount of caffeine-rich fluids to lose enough body fluids to become dehydrated!
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