Caffeine & It’s Adverse Health Effects
March 25, 2008 by Liz Harper
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When I read Kel’s article about the caffeine I decided I wanted to write a post about adverse health effects of caffeine. So I quickly set to work, reading and researching. (i.e. trying to come up with heaps of evidence to support my dislike for caffeine).
I consulted books such as “The Great American Detox Diet
As you probably already know, caffeine is a natural substance found in the leaves or seeds or fruits of some plants. It is present in coffee, tea, chocolate, energy drinks, some soft drinks and some medications. The caffeine stimulates our central nervous system and that acts on our brains like adrenalin, increasing alertness, heart rate, respiration, basal metabolic rate and the production of stomach acids and urine. Even though it doesn’t get stored by the body (it is metabolized by the liver and excreted in urine), the effects of caffeine can last for up to 6hrs.
As Kel mentioned, excess caffeine can cause nausea, dizziness, headaches, muscle tension, sleep disturbances and irregular heartbeats. The latter is probably why the heart foundation only suggests 1-2 cups of caffeinated drinks per day and has a statement on a page in their site saying “Too much caffeine can cause problems if you tend to get abnormal heart rhythms and it can raise your heart rate and blood pressure.”
Extremely high doses (>750mg) can also cause anxiety attacks, ringing in the ears, diarrhea, vomiting and even convulsions. And as Kel’s article points out, consuming ridiculous amounts of caffeine can be fatal.
Alex Jamieson talks about caffeine addiction in her book, “The Great American Detox Diet”. She says “caffeine works on the same part of the brain as amphetamines, cocaine and heroin.” But the International Food Information Council says that “moderate caffeine consumption is safe and should not be classified with addictive drugs of abuse. Often, people who say they are “addicted” to caffeine tend to use the term loosely, like saying they are “addicted” to running or television.” They go on to say that “When regular caffeine consumption is stopped abruptly, some individuals may experience mild symptoms such as headache, fatigue and drowsiness.”
Despite my own opposition to caffeine, when I read those symptoms, I couldn’t help but notice that those symptoms are also experienced when suffering from mild dehydration. This then made me wonder whether people who stop caffeine consumption and feel these symptoms haven’t replaced their cup of coffee with a drink of water. But on the other hand, if they had replaced their water intake and were experiencing these types of withdrawals, then isn’t that the body’s response to overcoming addiction? So I pressed on with my reading…
According to Alex, caffeine makes the pituitary gland trigger our adrenal glands to produce adrenalin. This makes our hearts race and more blood pumps to the muscles. “Our blood pressure rises, our stomach function slows and the liver works to release sugar into our bloodstreams so we’ll have the energy needed to respond.”1 Alex goes on to say that “caffeine also increases dopamine levels in our brains (creating feelings of pleasure) and the caffeine also interferes with adenosine (the chemical that helps us to sleep). She goes on to say that evidence from recent studies has linked caffeine use with insulin resistance, adrenal exhaustion, liver and kidney problems, thyroid issues and a sugar craving cycle that seems unbreakable.
Even casual consumption of caffeinated beverages has been shown to increase the risk of heart disease”. 1 She also suggests that women in particular should especially be cautious because of calcium depletion leading to osteoporosis. Other risks due to caffeine consumption include: raised oestrogen levels (leading to increased risk of breast cancer), arthritis and stroke. Not to mention the chemicals resulting from all the unregulated pesticides that are sprayed on the crops in foreign countries.
But this info conflicted somewhat with what I was reading on the IFIC’s Fact Sheet: Caffeine and Health (www.ific.org/publications/factsheets/caffeinefs.cfm) On this fact sheet it continually said that moderate consumption of caffeine doesn’t cause or worsen osteoporosis; does not increase risk of heart disease nor does it cause chronic hypertension; doesn’t cause or worsen fibrocystic breast disease nor is it linked to breast cancer. So I thought I would look further.
According to a natural health website I read, there’s a book by Stephen Chemiske, called Caffeine Blues that talks about “Careful research conducted by the department of psychiatry and behavioual sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine shows that low to moderate caffeine intake (as little as one 14 ounce mug per day) can quickly produce withdrawal symptoms.” This would definitely seem to support Alex’s claims in her book.
Another study by Keijzers has shown that caffeine can decrease insulin sensitivity in humans which is a factor in type 2 diabetes. Keijzers GB, De Galan, Tack CJ, Smits P: Caffeine can decrease insulin sensitivity in humans. Diabetes Care 25:364–369, 2002[Abstract/Free Full Text] This also seems to support Alex’s book.
So with all this contradicting evidence… how do you decide?
Personally, I think it comes back to this…before we “tampered” with our bodies, I think we already had inbuilt mechanisms to tell us which foods we should/shouldn’t consume. This ultimately came down to taste. I think foods were created as bitter to either discourage us from eating them at all, or to at least slow down our consumption. But unfortunately, years of abuse on our palates and masking bitterness with excess sugar, and then training our bodies to “Like” a taste has interfered with our body’s own means of communicating what is best for our continued good health.
I think there is enough evidence to suggest that caffeine does interfere with our body’s balance (creating the rollercoaster effect)… and personally I’d prefer a body that is balanced in every aspect and functioning to its full capacity.
So perhaps try a cup of hot water next time you crave a coffee or at the very least green tea or herbal tea? See how your body feels without it!
Need to know more about caffeine?
High Dosage Of Daily Caffeine Linked To Increased Risk Of Miscarriage
Kick The Caffeine Habit and Improve Sporting Performance
Caffeine + Sugar Snacks = Big Ideas
Caffeine Addiction
The Caffeine Click Test
I hate read articles telling me that I shouldn’t drink so much caffinated coffee. Actually, I am kidding. Many times I have two cups of coffee in the day, but frequently, I will have more. It doesn’t seem to have an adverse effects on me. Perhaps I should stick to my two cups….
Coffee is my favorite but your article is also valuable. so now i will have to think about having more caffinated coffees
I used to drink a LOT of caffeine, but I began to get rather bad anxiety. It’s now been roughly 3 months without any caffeine (no coke, tea, redbull, coffee etc) and I feel a lot better.
Though I do miss my morning coffee