Saturday, April 07, 2007 / 11:23 AM
Talking about having daily dosage.
Coffee.
How many times have you heard your friends saying that Coffee is bad, Caffeine is bad for your health?
How many times when you ask them how harmful is Caffeine, you find them scrambling for words to convince you?
I love Coffee. I guess I become addicted to it without me knowing, with Coffee Bean, Starbucks and various coffee houses spouting. The aroma of Coffee just put a smile on my face - and this is not exaggerating, I simply
love it.
Bribe me with a cup of Vanilla Latte.
Caffeine is found in plants like coffee, tea and cocoa (
minimal). It is also found in numerous plants - a naturally
occurring complex
organic, where by it acts as a natural pesticide that
paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on them.
Tea usually have half as much caffeine as coffee, mostly back or
oolong tea. And to my surprise,
green tea, those we have in Japanese
restaurant contains caffeine too. I always thought only black tea have caffeine. (
Wooah)
Chocolate also contain caffeine, but worry not, it's very minimum. That's why some people can get hook to chocolate too, if consumed in excess.
Consumption of caffeine does not eliminate the need for
sleep; it only temporarily reduces the sensation of being tired - with this, it increase the capacity for mental or physical labor. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant. In moderate doses, caffeine can:
- increase alertness
- cause insomnia
- cause headaches, nervousness and dizziness
In large amounts, especially over extended periods of time, caffeine can lead to a condition known as 'caffeine-ism', causing physical and mental conditions including nervousness, irritability, anxiety (anxiety disorder), muscle twitching, insomnia (sleeping disorder), headaches and heart palpitations.
It will take about 6-8 hours for our body (young adults) to eliminate the caffeine consume, 18-22 hours for pregnant woman.
1 cup of coffee usually contained 135mg of caffeine, and to develop an reliance on coffee;overuse - we have to consume 400mg or more caffeine everyday. Long term drinking of coffee will reduce our caffeine sensitivity towards it, thus will subconsciously wanting to drink more. It acts like a drug within our body, making us to want more of it. As we grow older, our body might not be able to effectively eliminate the effect of caffeine or find the dosage satisfactory.
A friend even link the love for coffee with the love for sex - how you feel/think about coffee is akin your perspective towards sex. I find it amusing. Haha.. and yah, I stil love coffee and have not prepared to call it quit.
