Introduction
Caffeine is good for you. There's just as much truth in that as much as the reasons for the War in Iraq. Yes, the dreaded WMDs that they intended to launch at you, possibly using a catapault (or a hundred people holding it up to the sky) from the old days. You really don't know what to make of it with conflicting reports stemming from everywhere these days.
And of course, coffee and cigarettes go hand in hand like Thelma and Louise. Wait till you go off that cliff, seriously buzzed! And so with coffee around, who needs amphetamines anymore!
And while people go about drinking a zillion cups of coffee a day just to stay awake at the boring office meeting where that client just can't seem to shut up despite not making any sense either, one should realize that a line has been crossed. Nothing exceeds like excess and its cuts both ways. But before we study the effects of caffeine on our body, let's learn some basic facts about caffeine.
Caffeine
Apart from being the most widely used legal psychoactive substance consumed in the form of tea and coffee, it also works as a natural pesticide that kills insects that feed on the plants. (Any reason why I put these two facts together?)
While it does not affect the the mental functions of human but restores alertness by temporarily warding off drowsiness, the USDA considers it to be a safe product to consume.
Of course, the leaves of the tea bush and the bean of the coffee plant are its most common sources apart from various foods and drinks derived from the Kola nut. The Yerba Mate, Guarana berries and the Yaupon Holly are also sources. Most of the popular energy and soft drinks also contain caffeine.
Perhaps a look at 'How Caffeine works in the body' could shed some light on how too much of anything can turn out to be an issue!
How Caffeine is metabolized
Yes, the magic does happen when caffeine is metabolized (or broken down) in the liver by the Cytochrome P450 oxidase enzyme system into three different products that have their own unique effects on the body. (And has it taken me sometime to 'metabolize' these chemical names!)
1. Paraxanthine (84 %)
It is the chief metabolite of caffeine (look at the percentage above) and increases lipolysis (breakdown of triglycerides into free fatty acids) thus increasing the levels of fatty acids and glycerol in the blood plasma, and acts as a psychoactive central nervous system stimulant that is less potent than caffeine itself.
2. Theobromine (12 %)
This substance increases urine volume as well as blood vessel dilation.
3. Theophylline (4 %)
This by-product relaxes the smooth muscles of the bronchi i and is also used as a treatment for asthma.
All three compounds are dimethylxanthines, which act as nonselective adenosine receptor antagonists, or block these neurotransmitters that slow down cell activity (during sleep especially!) leading to the release of adrenaline and thus one shakes out of their drowsiness.
And while the body develops a tolerance to the drug due to the one's addiction to caffeine, there comes a time when the body becomes oversensitive to adenosine leading to headaches in its mildest form while caffeine intoxication leads to gastrointestinal complaints, diuresis, flushed face, excitement, insomnia, nervousness, and restlessness.
And there's more…
In Closing
On the other hand, some reports say that caffeine prepare fat for burning and suggest that one should drink a cup of coffee before exercise apart from other positives. All this might be true but the bottom line is that one must control the number of cups of coffee to at least 3-4.
And this is why Matt Dillon said: Everything should be done in moderation; even moderation itself!
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