The World's Most Popular Drug

Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant and for that reason it has, by far, become the world's most popular drug. Assisting in that popularity is the benefit that caffeine in most of its forms has essentially zero social stigma attached to it.

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Sources

The typical cup of coffee will contain about 150 to 200 mg of caffeine and the average cup of tea will contain about 60 mg of caffeine. Soft drinks can contain about 30 to 40 mg of caffeine per serving but energy drinks can be more potent having about 60 to 70 mg per serving (be careful because some brands will contain even more).

The most common sources for caffeine are well known but this list may have a few surprises for you:

• Coffee
• Decaffeinated coffee (yes, some decafs can have up to 20 mg per serving in them).
• Tea.
• Chocolate.
• Soft drinks (including Mountain Dew and Barq's Root Beer).
• Energy drinks.
• Ice Cream (coffee flavoured only)
• Weight loss pills
• Pain relief medication.

Little Known Facts About Caffeine

Caffeine Is An Insecticide

Caffeine is an alkaloid that the coffee plant makes to kill insects that feed on it. It is just a fluke that the molecule causes the stimulant effect in humans that we enjoy. Then again maybe it isn't a fluke because if you ingest enough caffeine it will kill you too.

Caffeine Makes Pain Medication More Effective

The pain reducing qualities of caffeine have been known and researched for a long time. In fact, caffeine is a main ingredients in many pain relievers.

Caffeine is most well known for the relief of headache pain, it contracts blood vessels in the brain relieving pressure as well as dealing directly with receptors in the brain that control pain signals.

Caffeine Cause Bowel Movements

The body detects the presence of a foreign substance that it doesn't want in it and it tries to get rid of it. In the form of a bowel movement and for the sensitive, vomiting.

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Side Effects

The most common side effects of caffeine are:

• wakefulness (the effect that we want),
• anxiety,
• irritability,
• insomnia,
• increased heart rate, heart palpitations,
• increased blood pressure.

Allergic Reactions

For a few people, allergic reactions, sometimes severe can occur such as:

• difficulty in breathing,
• chest tightness,
• swelling of the face, mouth, lips or tongue,
• rashes, hives, or itching.

Caffeine and Cancer

Many studies have been conducted that may indicate that cancer has a role in reducing the risk of cancer such as:

• oral cancer
• uterine cancer,
• prostate cancer,
• brain cancer,
• colon cancer,
• breast cancer,
• skin cancer
• and so on.

Some good news is that the World Health Organization has recently removed coffee from their list of possible carcinogens. They did note that drinking coffee at temperatures in excess of 60 Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) may increase the risk of cancer in the throat and esophagus. This is likely due to the temperature and not the caffeine.

Dependence

With the regular use of caffeine comes the inevitable dependence. It is usually not severe enough to be rated as addiction because addiction to a substance is usually characterized by activities that are detrimental to a person's well being. Although many people say that they are hooked on caffeine no one will ever engage in life destroying activities to get their 'fix'.

Terminating the use of coffee often causes both physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, sleepiness, lethargy, muscle aches and pains, brain fog and so on. These usually clear up in a few days and for most people are not severe.

Risk of Overdose

Overdosing caffeine can result in your death and an unpleasant one at that. The LD₅₀ for caffeine in humans depends on your sensitivity but it is typically in the range of 150 to 200 mg/kg of body mass. This equates to about 75 to 100 cups of coffee for a 70 kilogram adult. Fatalities have been caused by overdoses of readily available powdered caffeine supplements and even energy drinks.

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Closing Words

Caffeine is popular for good reason as it helps us to cope with the demands and schedules of this modern world. It may have some health benefits but it definitely has many drawbacks as well. Consuming caffeine is a personal choice that balances the desired effect against the drawbacks.

Sources and Further Reading

Wikipedia article
Drugs.com article
LD50 of Caffeine
Caffeine and Cancer 1
Caffeine and Cancer 2