Let us speak about caffeine. Is it damaging or not? Is it high blood pressure or enhanced mental awareness? Elevated cancer threat or decreased asthma symptoms and signs? Much more heart disease or enhanced productivity? How do the damaging results of caffeine stack up against the perceived rewards? This may appear to step on lots of toes so I am going to include a number of references to scientific publications – these are not my concepts.
I have been reading quite a few stories in the news just lately about the “rewards” of caffeine. Nevertheless, the research and information on the dangers of and the numerous damaging effects of caffeine are quite well known. Here are some details about the results of caffeine.
Caffeine’s short-term effects happen very rapidly and endure about four hrs. These may include balance difficulties, a racing heart, sleeplessness, constant tiredness, finger tremor and a sense of anxiety with the severity of symptoms and signs related to the form of beverage and quantity consumed.
Over time, as few as 1 cup of coffee per day is most likely to raise blood cholesterol and blood pressure, and cause the heart to race or have extra beats. One to five cups of coffee a day increases the risk of heart attack by 60 percent over those who have none, and six or more cups a day increases the risk by 120 percent!
“Two cups of coffee may raise blood pressure to levels equal to one cigarette, but it keeps it there for 1-two hrs, vs. just 15 minutes for smoking.” (American Journal of Medicine, 73:348-353, 1982)
Coffee and tea, because of their content of tannic and other acids, block the uptake of iron. Caffeine also damages the pancreas making diabetes or hypoglycemia a lot worse.
“Coffee increases production of digestive juices even though relaxing the esophageal muscles, and hence leading heartburn and diaphragm ache.” (Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, p 1093)
The range of human miseries and the damaging results of caffeine (high blood pressure being just one) appears endless:
- irritability
- fever
- flushing
- palpitation
- sleeplessness
A lack of caffeine causes many of those addicted to it to have significant headaches.
Here is something amazing:
“The lethal dose of caffeine is ten g or about 70 cups of normal coffee. A lot of men and women are taking one-tenth of a lethal dose every day!” (Journal of Family Practice 4(6)1183, 1977)
The explanation for why heavy coffee drinkers are not dropping dead is that their bodies speed up metabolism to clean the poison out of their systems so they won’t die from it. And, naturally, that is the reason – the increased metabolism – for some of the supposed health results of caffeine that we are reading about. However, if you use your “engine” at an increased speed it will wear quicker just as running your auto at high rpms will do. You never truly have more power (there’s no additional gasoline in the tank) you are just running with the pedal to the metal.
And coffee has a damaging synergistic effect in that it increases cravings triggering damaging alcohol and tobacco habits to grow to be almost unbreakable. Some have called it “bad-habit glue.”
“A dose of 500-600 mg (5-6 six-ounce cups) of caffeine a day presents a significant health risk.” (British Journal of Addiction 78:251-258, 1988)
Though it is considerably difficult to conquer the habit of drinking caffeinated drinks, it really is worth the effort! It won’t be too long before you feel and function a lot better.
For more details about caffeine visit caffeine
