Coffee
What is caffeine?
Caffeine is a bitter substance that occurs naturally in more than 60 plants including:
- Coffee beans
- Tea leaves
- Kola nuts, which are used to flavor soft drink colas
- Cacao pods, which are used to make chocolate products
There is also synthetic (man-made) caffeine, which is added to some medicines, foods, and drinks. For example, some pain relievers, cold medicines, and over-the-counter medicines for alertness contain synthetic caffeine. So do energy drinks and "energy-boosting" gums and snacks.
Most people consume caffeine from drinks. The amount of caffeine in different drinks can vary a lot, but it is generally:
- An 8-ounce cup of coffee: 95-200 mg
- A 12-ounce can of cola: 35-45 mg
- An 8-ounce energy drink: 70-100 mg
- An 8-ounce cup of tea: 14-60 mg
Caffeine has many effects on your body's metabolism. It:
- Stimulates your central nervous system, which can make you feel more awake and give you a boost of energy
- Is a diuretic, meaning that it helps your body get rid of extra salt and water by urinating more
- Increases the release of acid in your stomach, sometimes leading to an upset stomach or heartburn
- May interfere with the absorption of calcium in the body
- Increases your blood pressure
Within one hour of eating or drinking caffeine, it reaches its peak level in your blood. You may continue to feel the effects of caffeine for four to six hours.
What are the side effects from too much caffeine?For most people, it is not harmful to consume up to 400mg of caffeine a day. If you do eat or drink too much caffeine, it can cause health problems, such as:
- Restlessness and shakiness
- Insomnia
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Fast heart rate
- Dehydration
- Anxiety
- Dependency, so you need to take more of it to get the same results
Some people are more sensitive to the effects of caffeine than others.
What are energy drinks, and why can they be a problem?Energy drinks are beverages that have added caffeine. The amount of caffeine in energy drinks can vary widely, and sometimes the labels on the drinks do not give you the actual amount of caffeine in them. Energy drinks may also contain sugars, vitamins, herbs, and supplements.
Companies that make energy drinks claim that the drinks can increase alertness and improve physical and mental performance. This has helped make the drinks popular with American teens and young adults. There's limited data showing that energy drinks might temporarily improve alertness and physical endurance. There is not enough evidence to show that they enhance strength or power. But what we do know is that energy drinks can be dangerous because they have large amounts of caffeine. And since they have lots of sugar, they can contribute to weight gain and worsen diabetes.
Sometimes young people mix their energy drinks with alcohol. It is dangerous to combine alcohol and caffeine. Caffeine can interfere with your ability to recognize how drunk you are, which can lead you to drink more. This also makes you more likely to make bad decisions.
Who should avoid or limit caffeine?You should check with your health care provider about whether you should limit or avoid caffeine if you:
- Are pregnant, since caffeine passes through the placenta to your baby.
- Are breastfeeding, since a small amount of caffeine that you consume is passed along to your baby.
- Have sleep disorders, including insomnia.
- Have migraines or other chronic headaches.
- Have anxiety.
- Have GERD or ulcers.
- Have arrhythmia (a problem with the rate or rhythm of your heartbeat).
- Have high blood pressure.
- Take certain medicines or supplements, including stimulants, certain antibiotics, asthma medicines, and heart medicines. Check with your health care provider about whether there might be interactions between caffeine and any medicines and supplements that you take.
- Are a child or teen. Neither should have as much caffeine as adults. Children can be especially sensitive to the effects of caffeine.
If you have been consuming caffeine on a regular basis and then suddenly stop, you may have caffeine withdrawal. Symptoms can include:
- Headaches
- Drowsiness
- Irritability
- Nausea
- Trouble concentrating
These symptoms usually go away after a couple of days.
Home Remedies for Coffee
Echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia) has local anesthetic properties to reduce the feeling of soreness of the throat. It may also stimulate the immune system. Buy and grind Echinacea angustifolia root in a coffee grinder. Mix 1/2 teaspoon of ground Echinacea into 2 ounces of warm water and gargle.
Mechanism - Echinacea angustifoliaJlaiii | August 9th, 2020
Felter's Materia Medica on Coffee
...ensively cultivated in Asia and America between the north and south latitudes of 56°. Common Name: Coffee. Principal Constituents.-The chief constituents are caffeine (C8H10N4O2. H2O); a volatile aro...... volatile aromatic oil; caffeol is also present in minute quantity and upon it depends the aroma of coffee; and caffeo-tannic acid. Preparations.1. Infusum Caffeæ, Infusion of Coffee. Dose, 2 to 8 ......atened heartfailure; sense of exhaustion; headache, with cerebral hyperemia or congestion. Action.Coffee is a decided cerebral stimulant and energizer. It also increases reflex activity of the spina...2
A dried paste, chiefly consisting of the crushed or pounded seeds of Paullinia Cupana, Kunth (Nat. Ord. Sapindaceae), yielding not less than 4 per... / ...e from dissipation. Action and Therapy.Guarana is a gentle excitant acting very much like tea and coffee. It is valuable where the brain becomes exhausted or depressed through mental overwork, or wh... / ...oculi nerve, followed by headache, has been relieved by it. In headaches the doses of 20 to 30 drops of the specific medicine should be given.2
Castor Oil. The fixed oil obtained from the seeds of Ricinus communis, Linné (Nat. Ord. Euphorbiaceae). An East Indian plant;... / ...Peppermint lozenges may be eaten immediately before and after swallowing it; it has been advised in coffee, sweet cider, ale, milk, and broth, but we do not favor the giving of nauseous medicines in c... / ...equal parts of aromatic syrup of rhubarb (or neutralizing cordial or glyconda) and castor oil may be given in doses of one to two fluidounces.2
The dried, ripe fruit and root of Petroselinum sativum, Hoffman (Nat. Ord. Umbelliferae). Native of Europe; cultivated in all moderate... / ...good quality, doses of seven to fifteen grains are capable of producing effects similar to those of coffeecerebral excitement with feeling of vigor and composure, and warmth in the stomach. Large do... / ...fail to produce any emmenagogue effects. A liquid apiol (Oleoresina Petroselini) is to be preferred, given in doses of eight to twelve minims.2
The bark of Rhamnus californica, Eschscholtz (Frangula californica, Gray), (Nat. Ord. Rhamnaceae). Sparingly in northern California and more... / ...ras, and easterly, especially in Mexico and Arizona. Common Names: California Buckthorn, California Coffee Tree. Principal Constituents.Probably similar to those of Cascara Sagrada. Preparations.1... / ...obstinate dysmenorrhea, not requiring surgical rectification. The remedy may be administered for months, provided it is used short of catharsis.2
...latulence when given alone, as in senna tea, but these effects may be mitigated by infusing it with coffee, or by the addition of cloves, ginger, peppermint, cinnamon, or other aromatic corroborants. ......icated. The physicing dose is one drachm, in hot water, cooled and sweetened; or milk, lemonade, or coffee may be used as a vehicle. It may also be given in large-sized gelatin capsules. Compound Lico...2
Physician's Materia Medica on Coffee
Alkaloid found in Coffee, Tea, Guarana. Kola and some other plants. Cerebral and cardiac stimulant, acting indirectly as a diure tic. Prescribed often for headache. especially in combination with acetanilid. Useful in adynamic conditions and in all forms of heart failure; a standard remedy in poisoning by opium and other narcotics. Dose of Caffeine or Caffeine Hydrobromide, 0.03 to 0.3 Grm. (96 to 5 grs.- or more. [Caffeine Citrated must be given in double the dose to produce the same effect].3
The seed of COFFEA ARABICA, Lin. Stimulant to the nervous system; antidote to Opium and Morphine. Active principle Caffeine, q. v.3
Physician's Therapeutics Memoranda on Coffee
For immediate relief, the smoke from mixtures of stramonium or henbane leaves with nitre and a... / ...per or tobacco; belladonna or henbane, lobelia, morphine (used with due caution); in selected cases, amyl nitrite or nitroglyce rin. Sometimes strong coffee will relieve; antipyrin may give relief or inhalations of oxygen; if of nasal origin application to nasal mu cous membrane of a six per cent. s...3
References
2) Felter, Harvey Wickes, 1922, The Eclectic Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Cincinnati, Ohio.
3) Nelson, Baker & Co., 1904, Physician's Handy Book of Materia Medica and Therapeustics, Detroit, Michigan.