Caffeine Tea and coffee ...myth and facts

A lot of our most popular drinks contain the stimulant caffeine. Caffeine causes the central nervous system to operate at a faster rate. But what causes this “jolt”?

Andenosine is a compound found in your body, whose job is to slow down the central nervous system. As the day progresses, its levels increase, causing you to become sleepy. It does this by plugging into receptors, which eventually causes shutdown and sleep. Caffeine acts as a Andenosine impersonator, and causes the central nervous to operate at a faster rate. In fact, the receptors prefer the caffeine to Andenosine, thus making the caffeine “jolt” something a lot of us can, and do depend on.

Caffeine is known to enhance our mood, while acting as a stimulus to the heart and nervous system. There is no evidence of any long term rise in blood pressure, but there is a short term rise. Caffeine increases our ability to focus and concentrate, but again this is short term increase, and leaves us needing our next “jolt”.

So, how do we know what is too much? It differs from drink to drink, depending on caffeine content, and we have listed some recommendations and guidelines for some of the most popular “caffeine drinks and foods.

Caffeine – How much is too much?

Coffee – Caffeine content - Instant cup - 61-70

Brewed cup – 97-125

Recommended – 3 cups a day

Tea – Caffeine content – cup – 15 – 75

Recommended – 6 cups a day

Cocoa – Caffeine content – cup – 10 – 17

Chocolate bar – Caffeine content – 6-70

Can of Cola – (12oz. can) – 43-65

References: BBC – Human Nutrition Research, Dallas News – Sept 8, 2009, Men’s Health (magazine) – Sept. 2009

Contra Costa Times – August 2009 Coffee Science.org