Subjects:
to enhance a person's physical or mental welfare. In fact, people use caffeine for all
of these purposes and caffeine can do all of these things, but usually in a very
limited way. The actual source of caffeine is the coffee bean, tea leaf, kola nut and
cacao pod. When isolated in pure form, caffeine is a white crystalline powder that
tastes very bitter. Despite it's less than savory flavor, caffeine is the most popular
drug in the world. Females metabolize caffeine 20-30% more quickly than males.
However, in general men seem to consume more caffeine than women and often
caffeine consumption increases for people in their early 20s and decreases for people
over the age of 65. Though caffeine is a chemical used for both medical and non-
medical reasons, most often it is used non-medically for its stimulating effect on
mood and behavior. Medically, caffeine is useful as a cardiac stimulant and also as a
mild diuretic (it increases urine production). Recreational, it is used to provide a
"boost of energy" or a feeling of heightened awareness. Some studies show that
caffeine causes physical dependence.
. . .
psychological dependence on the drug. The body might like
caffeine in the short term, especially if you are low on sleep and need to remain
active because it blocks adenosine reception so you feel alert. Normally, almost all
ingested caffeine is metabolized, the blood distributes it throughout the body. This effect is why some headache
medicines contain caffeine, for a vascular headache the caffeine will close down the
blood vessels and relieve it. Relief from these
withdrawal effects is often given as a reason for using caffeine. It has been said that the
reason so many sodas and colas contain added caffeine is to get you hooked. It
reaches maximum concentration within about an one hour. Caffeine increases dopamine levels
in the same way that amphetamines do. It's known that
depletion of glycogen from the muscles is tied in with fatigue. People who regularly consume large amounts regularly often find their
system has adapted to this amount, so that their "tolerance" to the substance
increases; the result is that they must increase their intake to have any stimulating
effect. What
is unknown is whether these findings are relevant to the use of ordinary amounts of
caffeine-containing beverages by pregnant women.
The most important long-term problem is the effect that caffeine has on sleep
patterns.
Among caffeine's many actions, it operates using the same mechanisms that
amphetamines, cocaine and heroin use to stimulate the brain. Adenosine is a naturally
occurring xanthine in the brain that is used as a neurotransmitter at some synapses. Pregnant women have been
advised to restrict caffeine intake by both Canadian and United States governments.
Essay's Topics
All research is for reference purposes only.