Caffeine is Helps Weight Loss and is healthy. Caffeine is America’s drug- almost 90% of Americans ingest caffeine in one way or another.
Caffeine is Healthy
There is no doubt of its effects on mental alertness and well being, but what about the
long term. Is there a sustained, lifetime, benefit or harm from drinking coffee regularly?
Does drinking caffeine loaded beverages have heart or blood pressure problems.
Does caffeine help or hinder weight loss?
More than half of all American adults consume more than 300 milligrams (mg) of caffeine every day, making it America’s most popular drug. Caffeine is a natural component of chocolate, coffee and tea, and is used as an added energy boost in most colas and energy drinks. It’s also found in diet pills and some over-the-counter pain relievers and medicines. But coffee is the main source of caffeine for most people.
Fifty six percent of Americans drink coffee everyday- three cups each, more than 336 million cups a day. Coffee is the second most important commodity after oil. This data from the National Coffee Association reveals that more than 112 million Americans drink coffee every day. Nearly 60% is consumed with breakfast. It’s not the taste that drives the coffee sales it’s the drug. Caffeine is the drug and coffee is the delivery vehicle.
Bennet Weinberg has written two books on coffee the most recent “The Caffeine Advantage.” Weinberg says caffeine is the world’s most popular drug. “If coffee didn’t contain any caffeine, would it be the popular beverage … the dominant beverage that it is in our culture?’” asks Weinberg. “Well there’s no question it would not be. You know, it can’t be a coincidence that all the most popular drinks on earth, which taste quite different from each other, all contain caffeine.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration list caffeine as a “multiple purpose generally recognized as safe food substance”.
Hormonal Basis of Caffeine Interaction with the Body
Adrenaline, which acts as a chemical messenger between cells, was the first hormone to be identified. Intense fear, anger or stress mobilizes adrenaline from the adrenal gland providing us with energy, increase our blood flow, respiration and heart rate. As it stimulates the brain, it shuts down less vital functions such as digestion, and salivation.
Caffeine works by stimulating adrenaline levels all over the body. Two cups of coffee contain 250 mg. of caffeine enough to triple adrenaline in the blood. A single eight-ounce cup of regular brewed coffee has about 150 mg of caffeine. Espresso has about double the caffeine of regular coffee. Tea has about one-third, at 50 mg or less per cup. A 340ml can of soda (cola) has about the same caffeine as a cup of tea, a little less than 50 mg. Chocolates contain caffeine, ranging from 5 to 35 mg per ounce.
Caffeine Fools Our Brains
Our brain thinks caffeine looks like adenosine. Caffeine, therefore, binds to the adenosine receptors which has the effect of blocking the slow down effects of adenosine. That’s why a shot of coffee late in the afternoon gives us energy, the normal rise in adenosine as the result of working all day is blocked at the cellular level. Nerve cells begin to fire when adenosine is blocked. Thinking there must be an emergency somewhere, the adrenal gland makes adrenaline and all of the side effects of caffeine occur.
Side Effects of Too Much Caffeine:
Eyes: blurred vision
Brain: Alertness, thirst, anxiety, irritability, insomnia,
Sense of balance: dizzy
Mouth: dry
Skin: pallor, cold sweats, flushing
Heart: rapid heartbeat, slight blood pressure rise
System: low blood sugar
Stomach: nausea, ache
Muscle: slight tremor
Respiratory: fruit-like breath odour
Urinary: increased urination, mild diuretic effect
Bowels: loose bowels
How Caffeine’s Helps Weight Loss and is Healthy
Since coffee is the main source of caffeine worldwide, the safety of caffeine has been obtained from numerous coffee studies:
Appetite suppression:
Caffeine may reduce appetite for a short time. But there’s not enough evidence to show that long-term consumption aids weight loss.
Calorie burning: Caffeine may help burn fat. But this is not significant so you will not see it on a scale. You need to be careful not to confuse studies on rats in a laboratory and humans. Just because metabolism may increase in lab animals, this data cannot be transferred to humans.
Water loss: Caffeine acts as a mild diuretic, the mild water loss may temporarily decrease your body weight