9 Popular Myths About Caffeine
Every day millions of Americans consume caffeine in some for or another. It's been estimated that over 90% of us get a dose of caffeine every day in this country. Sometimes, it seems as if caffeine is hard to avoid. Caffeine is naturally found in chocolate, coffee and tea and is also added to almost all carbonated soft drinks. Oh, by the way, those miracle energy drinks? Caffeine.
Not too surprisingly, some myths and misconceptions about caffeine have worked their way into mainstream knowledge. People just accept as fact many ideas which turn out to be false.
Here's just a few of them:
Myth: If you're pregnant you should avoid caffeine. It's perfectly safe for pregnant women to continue getting their caffeine in moderation. Don't overdo it and drinking your morning coffee or tea is perfectly healthy for both you and your baby.
Myth: Drinking coffee or tea leads to caffeine addiction. This is probably the most common misconception about caffeine. You may look forward to the morning joe and you may really like the taste but you just don't get addicted. Addiction means that if you tried to stop you would have severe symptoms of withdrawal. There is no evidence that caffeine use has any of the physical symptoms that are associated with drug abuse.
Myth: Caffeine is especially bad for children. Not so. Children have about the same ability to metabolize caffeine as adults. Kids usually get their caffeine from sodas and there's no evidence that moderate intake has any detectable effects on activity levels or crankiness.
Myth: If you're worried about your heart, stay away from caffeine. Scientists have determined that the average dose of caffeine has no correlation to an increase in the risk of heart disease, blood pressure or cholesterol levels.
Myth: Caffeine is linked to problems with bones, joints and increase in the incidence of osteoporosis. The known risk factors associated with osteoporosis are not enough vitamin D, insufficient calcium, smoking, menopause and not enough exercise. Caffeine has no known effect on bone density or the incidence of osteoporosis.
Myth: Caffeine makes you feel stressed out. Caffeine doesn't any direct effect on feelings of anxiety or nervousnous. Because caffeine is a stimulant, we might feel some of the symptoms that mimic stress even though we're not actually feeling stressful emotions. While caffeine doesn't actually produce stress caffeine does, however, block the effect of adenosine which is a natural inhibitor of nervous activity. This can hamper your bodys ability to deal with stressful situations.
Myth: Stay away from caffeine to stay hydrated. Caffeine does not cause dehydration. While caffeine is a mild diuretic the amount of water consumed with caffeine compensates for the diuretic effect. Not as good as drinking pure water, drinking coffee or tea will help you stay hydrated.
Myth: Better quality coffee means more caffeine. Actually, the opposite is true. The amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee depends on several factors. Where the coffee was grown, how it was ground, how it was prepared and how big the serving size are what determines how much caffeine you're getting. The more expensive beans generally have less caffeine than the cheaper varieties.
Myth: Drink decaffeinated coffee and you'll completely avoid caffeine. In the United States coffee has to be 97% caffeine free to be called decaffeinated. However, regular coffee is already 95% caffeine free. Most of the caffeine in coffee is removed by decaffeination but there is still a tiny amount remaining. The down side of drinking decaf is that the process usually used to remove the caffeine also removes many other chemicals that are essential to the taste of coffee. This explains why it's so hard to find a good tasting cup of decaf.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies caffeine among the popular food and drinks that are recognized to be safe. As with anything else, moderation is always the key. In fact, drinking two to four cups of coffee a day won't do you any harm and can be a help for the body because of caffeines natural stimulus effect. So, don't overdo it and you can still wake up and smell the coffee.
Questions and Answers
Are coffee and tea which contain caffeine ok to drink as part of a Candida Diet?
Premium Sugar Sticks for Coffee give convenience of the individual sugar portions that means simple storage, and less of mess & no wastage – thus very handy for entertaining in home, taking away while on the holiday, and for office! Sugar sticks are the hygienic and professional as well as mess free method of supplying to your customers with the full service.
A few years ago I visited Argentina to attend a scientific meeting and to see friends who had lived near me in the states many years earlier. I was invited to their home for dinner and was told to arrive around 10:30 PM. Dinner was served at 11 PM, and I did not get back to my hotel until a few hours later. I soon learned that eating that late at night was the norm. No one would think of starting dinner before 10 -- at the earliest.
Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance that has been savored by people for thousands of years. It is the most widely consumed, food or drug in the world.
Many of us drink a lot of coffee. Is all that coffee really bad for us? Should we be trying to drink less coffee? Or is coffee really good for us? Should we be drinking more coffee?
A simple way of bringing down the running costs of an office is by negotiating office coffee machine rental.
One of the commonest sights these days are people buying various things from vending machines.
Different people rent coffee vending machine or lease a coffee machine for different reasons. Whatever your need, whatever the kind of model you require, make sure the feature which is definitely there is ease of operation.
An individual would normally associate a cold drink vending machine with delicious drinks and the can vending machine with other kinds of refreshments.
As a coffee lover I am always keen to learn more things about coffee, and ultimately find the best coffee in the world. So, if you have been off the store bought coffee for a while you will appreciate the understanding of real coffee.
Peanuts are one of the top foods identified by the Center For Disease Control in its list of the top 8 allergies in the United States. These 8 food groups account for 90% of the allergic reaction to food in America. Over 3 million people have been identified as allergic to peanuts and an allergic reaction to peanuts the most common cause of food related death.
Bed bugs are something that everyone thinks is a thing of the past but lately they have been making a resurgence in hotels and homes across the country.
Prostate cancer is one of the major health problems for men who are over 50. There are almost a quarter of a million new cases diagnosed in the United States every year.
If you have arthritis, or know someone who does, you know how painful and debilitating the disease can be. The best way to deal with arthritis varies depending on how bad the disease is, where it hurts and how much of an impact it has on your daily life.
Buying the right stroller will make your day easier. Here's how.
Discuss this Article
