Source 1: The Ups and Downs of Caffeine By Joe Smith

Source 1: The Ups and Downs of Caffeine By Joe Smith The coffee break is a widely acknowledged part of the workday around the world. For many years, the English have enjoyed teatime in the afternoon. On a sweltering day, an ice-cold glass of cola can be refreshing. And who doesn t love a slice of chocolate cake on a special occasion? People often consume these foods and drinks simply for pleasure, but they may experience unexpected results. That is because coffee, tea, cola, and chocolate contain a chemical called caffeine that is produced in plants as well as artificially. Taken in moderation, caffeine is widely believed to be safe for many adults. However, caffeine may lead to various health problems if it is consumed in large amounts. The use of caffeine became common around the world during the Age of Exploration. When European explorers traveled to Mexico, Africa, and Asia, they found that people had been consuming foods and drinks containing caffeine for many years. Tea, for instance, originally came from China. It had been used as a medicine for thousands of years before it became an everyday drink. Coffee was consumed in Ethiopia and the Middle East as early as the 15th century. Chocolate came from the jungles of Mexico as well as from the West Indies. When explorers and traders brought these items back to Europe, they became popular around the continent. Coffeehouses began to flourish in both Europe and North America as early as the 1600s. Over time, caffeine was added to new products, such as soft drinks, sports drinks, and energy drinks. Today, many people use these products, in addition to tea and coffee, to help them feel more awake and alert. Limited amounts of caffeine can have desirable effects on people s state of mind. Consuming caffeine can lead to increased alertness and attention because caffeine stimulates, or excites, the central nervous system. It can also slightly increase a person s heart rate, and the resulting increase in blood flow can lessen drowsiness. Caffeine is often reported to lead to a temporary increase in one s sense of wellbeing. Consuming moderate amounts of caffeine can also have other positive effects on adults. Caffeine has been shown to constrict, or narrow, blood vessels, which can help reduce pain. For this reason, it is often used in medications to help improve the products performance. Caffeine may even play a role in heart health. Studies show that caffeine reduces inflammation, which can help to prevent some types of heart disease. And caffeine contains antioxidants, which are substances that have protective effects on the heart and on the body as a whole. In addition to its benefits, caffeine can produce a wide range of negative effects, especially when it is consumed in high amounts. Perhaps the most obvious risk posed by too much caffeine is a lack of sleep. Caffeine is known to block a chemical that signals the body s need for sleep. High caffeine consumption even in the middle of the afternoon can make it difficult to fall asleep at bedtime. A lack of sleep can lead to exhaustion during the day, which then prompts the intake of more caffeine to fight the

fatigue. Tiredness can lead to high levels of stress, nervousness, and irritability. High levels of caffeine can also make people feel jittery and dizzy. Too much caffeine has been shown to lead to mild dehydration, or lack of fluids. Dehydration can cause the body s systems to perform less efficiently; it can contribute to tiredness and headaches, among other problems. A more serious result of drinking caffeinated beverage is a decrease in bone density. The body loses calcium as a result of caffeine. Low levels of calcium can lead to osteoporosis, in which the bones become weaker and can break easily. Caffeine has been shown to worsen certain heart problems as well. Children and teenagers are especially at risk for the negative effects of caffeine because in most cases, these effects are produced by small amounts of caffeine. Not many children drink coffee, but many consume sweetened soft drinks, which can lead to health problems such as obesity. In addition, the calories in soft drinks are empty, or lacking in nutritional value. Filling up on empty calories prevents young people from consuming healthful foods that contain essential vitamins and minerals. While it is generally believed that healthy adults can safely consume 200-300 mg of caffeine daily, teens should drink no more than 100 mg, and children should not drink any. Health concerns aside, many people consume products containing caffeine. Researchers continue to study the effects of caffeine to see if it can be used in the prevention or treatment of certain diseases. For example, studies are exploring whether caffeine can protect human brain cells, which can lower one s risk of developing a serious condition called Parkinson s disease. Although important benefits of caffeine may be discovered, they are not yet confirmed. The safest path to increased alertness and energy is to develop healthy habits, such as eating balanced meals, exercising, and getting plenty of rest.

Source 2: Caffeine and Children from KidsHealth.com Most parents wouldn't dream of giving their kids a mug of coffee, but might routinely serve soft drinks containing caffeine. Foods and drinks with caffeine are everywhere, but it's wise to keep caffeine consumption to a minimum, especially in younger kids. The United States hasn't developed guidelines for caffeine intake and kids, but Canadian guidelines recommend that preschoolers get no more than 45 milligrams of caffeine a day. That's equivalent to the average amount of caffeine found in a single 12- ounce (355-milliliter) can of soda. How Caffeine Affects Kids A stimulant that affects kids and adults similarly, caffeine is naturally produced in the leaves and seeds of many plants. Caffeine is also made artificially and added to certain foods. Caffeine is defined as a drug because it stimulates the central nervous system. At lower levels, it can make people feel more alert and energetic. In both kids and adults, too much caffeine can cause: jitteriness and nervousness upset stomach headaches difficulty concentrating difficulty sleeping increased heart rate increased blood pressure Especially in young kids, it doesn't take a lot of caffeine to produce these effects. Here are some other reasons to limit kids' caffeine consumption: Kids often drink caffeine contained in regular soft drinks. Kids who consume one or more 12- ounce (355-milliliter) sweetened soft drink per day are 60% more likely to be obese. Caffeinated beverages often contain empty calories (calories that don't provide any nutrients), and kids who fill up on them don't get the vitamins and minerals they need from healthy sources, putting them at risk for nutritional deficiencies. In particular, kids who drink too much soda (usually starting between the third and eighth grades) may miss getting the calcium they need from milk to build strong bones and teeth. Drinking too many sweetened caffeinated drinks could lead to dental cavities (or caries) from the high sugar content and the erosion of tooth enamel from acidity. How can sodas cause that much damage to kids' teeth? Consider this: One 12-ounce (355-milliliter) nondiet, carbonated soft drink contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar (49 milliliters), as well as 150 calories. Caffeine is a diuretic that causes the body to eliminate water (through urinating), which may contribute to dehydration. Whether the amount of caffeine in beverages is enough to actually cause dehydration is not clear, however. It may depend on whether the person drinking the beverage is used to caffeine and how much caffeine was consumed that day. To be on the safe side, it's wise to avoid excessive caffeine consumption in hot weather, when kids need to replace water lost through sweating. Abruptly stopping caffeine may cause withdrawal symptoms (headaches, muscle aches, temporary depression, and irritability), especially for those who are used to consuming a lot of it.

Caffeine can make heart problems or nervous disorders worse, and some kids might not know that they're at risk. One thing that caffeine doesn't do is stunt growth. Although scientists once worried that caffeine could hurt growth, this isn't supported by research. Source 3: Interesting Facts About Caffeine By Cari Nierenberg People may not think of caffeine as the most popular mood-altering drug in the world, even those who use it daily, by drinking coffee, tea, sodas or energy drinks as part of their routine. Yet many of us depend on regular doses of 1,3,7 trimethylxanthine, the chemical name for a bitter white powder known as caffeine, to help wake us up, keep us alert and get us through the daily grind. Whether it's brewed from a K-Cup, sipped in sweet tea, savored in chocolate or downed in cola, caffeine is a mild stimulant to the central nervous system that has become a regular fixture in everyday life. Here are some interesting facts about caffeine to mull over: 1. Caffeine withdrawal is a real condition. In the latest version of the psychology handbook "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-5), caffeine withdrawal is listed as a mental health condition. The text describes the effects seen in some people who abruptly stop or dramatically cut back on their daily use of caffeine. For example, withdrawal side effects, which may start 12 to 24 hours after stopping or drastically curbing caffeine, include a throbbing headache, fatigue, irritability, depressed mood and difficulty concentrating, according to the book. In people diagnosed with the condition, these symptoms are typically severe enough to interfere with a person's ability to function properly at work or in social situations, the mental health manual suggests. People who regularly consume caffeine wake up every morning in caffeine withdrawal. But they might not think of it that way, he added. Instead, people typically consider morning grumpiness, fuzzy thinking and sleepiness as signs of not yet having their coffee. Cutting back gradually on caffeine over the course of a week may help to avoid a withdrawal effects, such as headache. 2. People aren't truly "addicted" to caffeine. People who consume caffeine every day are most likely dependent on the chemical, and it does produce symptoms of dependence. But addiction is not the best way to describe it. Caffeine use is socially acceptable, and because people who consume it in large amounts aren't thought of as acting like addicts, society doesn't put its overuse in the same category as that of other drugs. Caffeine is not highly addictive, said Dr. Peter Martin, a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and the director of the Institute for Coffee Studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Generally, people's

need for caffeine is a different order of magnitude compared with an addiction to opioid drugs or cocaine, Martin said. "Caffeine has minor-league side effects compared with real addictive drugs," he said. A person might say, "I'm addicted to coffee," to describe their habitual need for caffeine, but Martin, who is a specialist in addiction psychiatry, said he would ask that individual, "When was the last time you robbed a bank to get money to buy coffee?" 3. Caffeine can be found in unusual places. These days, consumers might notice caffeine in some unexpected places. People can purchase caffeineinfused bottled water, jelly beans, breath mints, peanut butter and chewing gum. There are even caffeinated bath soaps that supposedly help wake people up in the morning. Although caffeine can be absorbed through the skin, it's doubtful this soap will improve alertness during the day. The beauty industry has jumped aboard the caffeine bandwagon, by adding it to everything from eye cream and lotions to body scrubs and shaving cream. Whether products containing the ingredient work better than their noncaffeinated counterparts is questionable. In addition, drug makers have added caffeine to headache medications, such as Excedrin and Anacin, because it may enhance the effectiveness of pain medications and bring faster relief, according to headache specialists. It's even in the menstrual pain reliever Midol Complete. In addition, caffeine is in some weight-loss products and dietary supplements. It may be listed on the label as guarana, kola nut, yerba mate, green tea extract or green coffee bean extract, according to the National Institutes of Health.