Your morning cup of coffee believe it or not is a psychoactive drug, one that is not controlled by the government and is widely available around the world. Caffeine is in fact the most widely consumed psychoactive substance on the planet.
Although caffeine has no nutritional value, it is a central nervous system stimulant that affects your body in an array of different ways. The consumer of caffeine can expect to feel more energetic and alert. There has also been a number of studies which have found a link between drinking caffeine regularly and reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Those who drink caffeine regularly have a 45% lower risk of suicide than those who do not.
Caffeine can be found in your household drinks such as tea and coffee from leaves of the tea plant and coffee beans as well as fizzy drink from the kola nut. It can also be found in chocolate from the cocoa bean, an average dark chocolate bar contains approximately 25mg and a milk chocolate bar contains 10mg. You can also buy pure caffeine powder from supplement shops and is widely used in bodybuilding to give the consumer energy.
The NHS recommends that you do exceed 400mg of caffeine per day which is around four cups of coffee or five to six cups of tea a day. There has been a lot of studies carried out on the subject and research has suggested that consuming this amount of caffeine a day doesn’t have a negative impact on bone health, heart health, behaviour or on reproduction and development.
There are some severe symptoms of caffeine overdose, the NHS states that you do not exceed 400mg a day if you do you could experience confusion, hallucinations, vomiting and also death.
Too much caffeine can give you bad side effects and so can stopping drinking the stuff. If your body is used to drinking it every day you could experience withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, anxiety, irritability, drowsiness and in some cases tremors.
Caffeine can work wonders for people, but it is not a magic drink which makes all your problems disappear and there are some negative side effects of drinking it. When you drink caffeine, it increases the amount of acid in your stomach which may cause heartburn or give the drinker an upset stomach. Also, there are a number of effects that can affect women, some women may experience fertility issues and difficulty getting pregnant and consumption of caffeine during pregnancy is recommended at around 300mg or less a day due to the complications it may cause to the development of the child and possible miscarriage. Consumers should be wary of anxiety issues; not drinking it completely might be the answer to relieving your stress.