Drinking an early morning mug of coffee, enjoying iced tea with your lunch or drinking a cold Coke for an afternoon pick-me-up are all enjoyed world-wide. Because the mild stimulant effect of caffeine lasts only a few hours, people in need of a 'lift' often take drink after drink of these caffeinated beverages.
Nevertheless, Caffeine has still been condemned outright by "health-conscious" advocates because it has no nutritional value, isn't required for any physiological function, and is widely overused by the exhausted and stressed. Consequently, many coffee drinkers worry that their early morning cuppa' will cause health problems. However, be aware that coffee and other caffeinated beverages in moderation are not health demons at all!
Caffeine is one of the best-researched substances in food science. Considerable scientific evidence reveals that, in moderation, it actually has no adverse health effects.'Moderation' means 1 to 2 mugs (10 to 20 ounces) of brewed coffee per day, or 3 to 6 12-ounce glasses of iced tea.
Despite little harm being directly associated with coffee or other caffeinated beverages, coffee drinkers in general do tend to do other 'unhealthy' things. Research reveals that they're more likely to smoke, exercise little, and consume fatty meats.
By comparison, tea devotees tend to take more exercise and eat more fresh fruit.
Caffeine has long been 'suspected' as a factor in female fibrocystic breast disease. However to date, no actual research can clinically support this 'suspicion' and in America their Medical Association has actually said there's no association between caffeine consumption and fibrocystic breast disease, benign tumours, breast tenderness, or breast cancer. In fact, no direct connection to any form of cancer. Also bear in mind that caffeine is not an important risk factor for osteoporosis in women who drink at least one glass of milk per day, which balances their calcium 'books'. However, when caffeinated beverages replace milk, low calcium intakes may well cause problems with bone health.
It's worth knowing too, that a woman who intends to start a family should be acutely aware that consuming over 300 milligrams of caffeine a day might well increase the time it takes to get pregnant, including elevating the risk of miscarriage or a low-birth-weight baby. UK and US medical sources recommend that pregnant women should avoid caffeine-containing foods or consume them sparingly, because caffeine can cross the placenta and is certainly a stimulant to the unborn child. It's also transferred into breast milk too, so breastfeeding women should also avoid it.
In addition, if you're prone to anaemia, note that the polyphenols in tea and coffee can interfere with your iron absorption. The best approach here is to drink caffeinated beverages an hour before a meal, rather than after it.
Some individuals become very dependent on caffeine, going through withdrawal symptoms like headaches, fatigue or drowsiness if they stop. Nevertheless, these problems only last a few days and can be avoided completely by gradual caffeine reduction, instead of 'emergency stopping'.
Because caffeine enhances performance in many exercising people, it's been banned by the 'International Olympic Committee.Ironically though, the level at which caffeine is banned, far and above exceeds the amount needed to actually enhance performance! Those 'illegal' levels are usually achieved with actual caffeine supplements, because a 150-pound athlete would need to drink 3 to 4 large cups of coffee within an hour before their race or performance time to reach the upper acceptable limit. Just 1.5 to 3 milligrams of caffeine per pound of body weight (225 to 450 milligrams for a 150-pound man) is enough for an energy boosting effect. That's only a 10-ounce cup of coffee!
Caffeine enthusiasts get much less exercise enhancing effect than people who only drink it occasionally, so for the maximal 'lift' for your race, training or squash session, the trick may well be to use caffeine strategically at certain points to allow for harder training, and then discontinue it to avoid developing a tolerance.
If you do drink lots of caffeine though, keep your water intake up. It's a diuretic and you need to ensure your fluid balance is at the right level.
