by Lefteri Theodorakis
 Caffeine has become a way of life for many people. As the average workday increases to more than 8 hours a day people resort to less sleep and more coffee and caffeine products to stay awake and alert to handle the ever-demanding stress of life in New York. It has become also a social item as we flock each morning to McDonalds or the ever-famous Starbucks to get our fix of Joe, but is our addiction to coffee harming us?
Before we can actively bash caffeine, we have to understand how it works. The reason we take caffeine is to increase cardiovascular capacity (increase heart rate). Adenine is a chemical in the brain that is responsible for the dilation of blood vessels so you can receive more oxygen when you sleep.
Caffeine affects this by attaching to the adenosine (a-de-no-sine) receptor in the brain. Adenosine is the chemical in the brain that is responsible for making you drowsy and prepares you for sleep. Caffeine takes the place of adenosine and keeps you awake.
This chemical reaction alerts the Pituitary gland (master gland for regulating hormones) and this relapses another chemical epinephrine, which is known as the fight-or-flight response, which gets your body to release your stored sugar (glycogen), which is why you feel an energy boost, especially when you’re exhausted. This comes with a price of course. Caffeine in the body releases the chemical dopamine, which makes you happy for a short period of time.
So what’s the catch? The short-term effect of caffeine intake is increased awareness as well as increased urination (because of the increased rate of blood circulating your body, going to your kidneys).
Some of the more serious effects of high caffeine intake include cold skin, gangrene (death to a certain part of your body that turns green and rots), ischemia (blood clotting along artery walls), muscle pains, and abnormal heart rhythms such as tachycardia (abnormal high heart rate), brachycardia (abnormal low heart rate), hypertension (clogging of arteries due to build up of plague) and ulcers of the anus or stomach.
In pregnant woman drinking 4-6 cups of coffee per day or a having a high intake of caffeine has lead to increased chances of premature birth, low infant birth rate and lower fetus weight. While small intakes of caffeine during pregnancy are fine, the general recommendation for caffeine intake while trying to conceive a baby is less than 250 mg to 300 mg of caffeine per day.
One of the positive effects of caffeine is its use in treating acute asthma. It is used to treat acute asthma because it increases the size of arteries allowing more oxygen to flow through the person’s body. Caffeine can be, and is, used to help people with ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) where the person is unfocused and their thinking is sporadic and can be reduced to a relaxed, calm state.
Keep in mind that these results are a conclusion of people who intake excessive amounts of caffeine. According to a recent survey “the average adult intakes 200 mg of caffeine a day and the average child one-fourth of that amount.” Caffeine isn’t just in coffee, but is disguised in many other forms such as chocolate, soda or tea. The average soda has 50 mg to 60 mg of caffeine; a chocolate bar has 25 mg and a cup of Joe has a whopping 140 mg.
However, the American Medical Association believes “that moderate tea or coffee drinkers probably need have no concern for their health relative to their caffeine consumption provided other lifestyle habits (diet, alcohol consumption) are moderate, as well.”
If you are a caffeine junkie or a frequent visitor to Starbucks quitting can be as simple as going cold turkey but be ready for withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, feeling tired, irritation, feeling nervous, as well as having a hard time falling asleep for the next few days.
Caffeine in moderate amounts, like a cup of coffee socially or to stay awake is understandable, but in excess can have very serious detrimental side effects. Is it worth the risk for a few extra hours without sleep?
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