Caffeine - a natural stimulant: properties, dosage and sources

If you want a refreshing, stimulating drink, then stick to the rule of thumb to brew for no longer than 3 minutes.

Caffeine is used in the manufacture of medicines. You will find it in painkillers or cold preparations, for example. It acts as a supportive agent to make the medicine work more effectively.

When absorbed, caffeine rapidly enters all tissues of the body and also crosses the blood-brain, blood-placental and blood-nuclear barriers.

Coffee increases gastric juice secretion and can cause heartburn in some people.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) removed caffeine from its list of banned substances in January 2004 and moved it to a so-called monitoring programme.

Caffeine may increase the use of fat as fuel, which may affect longer glucose storage in muscle, potentially delaying the time at which muscle reaches exhaustionand.

A review of studies involving a total of 202 people found that caffeine can increase fatigue tolerance and reduce perceived exertion during exercise by up to 5.6% .

See also:

• Creatine
• Citrulline
• L-carnitine
• BCAA

Promotes the cardiovascular system

Many scientific studies highlight that moderate caffeine consumption benefits cardiovascular healthand.

Drinking 1-4 cups of coffee per day (i.e. 100-400 mg of caffeine) can reduce the risk of heart disease in men and women by 16-18% . Other studies show that drinking 2-4 cups of coffee or green tea per day is associated with a 14-20% lower risk of strokeand.

A comprehensive review of 26 scientific studies found that people who regularly consume caffeine have up to a 30% lower risk of diabetesand. The authors observed that the risk drops by 12-14% for every 200 mg of caffeine consumed.

Remember that green tea and coffee also contain many other bioactive ingredients that also contribute to this health benefit - it is not caffeine alone. That's why it's a good idea to choose natural sources of it instead of tablets or capsules with pure caffeine.

Is caffeine addictive?

Yes, caffeine is addictive. The criteria caffeinism (caffeine addiction) are described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-V)and.

A person must meet the three necessary and sufficient diagnostic criteria for caffeine use disorder :

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• persistent craving or unsuccessful efforts to reduce or control caffeine use,
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• continued caffeine intake despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical or psychological problem that was likely caused or exacerbated by caffeine,
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• withdrawal, manifested by a characteristic caffeine withdrawal syndrome; caffeine/closely related substance is taken to alleviate or avoid withdrawal symptoms.

Six additional diagnostic criteria included in other caffeine use disorders, such as hunger, intolerance and taking it in larger amounts or for longer than intended, have also been included as markers of greater severity of the problem of caffeinismand.

Symptoms include headache, fatigue, drowsiness, irritability, lowered mood and anxiety. Reactions to caffeine withdrawal vary widely between individuals and are usually not harmful. They are short-lived and self-limiting," adds magister of pharmacy.

Unlike other addictive substances, caffeine does not cause changes in the internal organs. In contrast, the recovery time from this substance lasts about two weeks. If the addiction is severe and the withdrawal attempt causes anxiety and other distressing symptoms, it is worth seeing a psychiatrist.

Tolerance to caffeine

Regular, long-term consumption of caffeine can lead to changes in brain chemistry. For example, brain cells may start to produce more adenosine receptors to compensate for those blocked by caffeineand.

In turn, more receptors require the consumption of more caffeine to achieve the same effect (e.g. stimulation). Therefore, regular coffee drinkers may build up a tolerance to it over timeand.

Is caffeine harmful?

Yes, caffeine consumed in excessive amounts (>400 mg/day) is harmful to health. its regular abuse (especially anhydrous caffeine used in dietary supplements) can lead toand:

• sleep disturbances,
.
• increased anxiety,
.
• irregular heartbeat,
.
• migraine and headache,
• pain.
• muscle tremors,
• high blood pressure,
• high blood pressure.
• high blood pressure,
.

Does caffeine leach magnesium?

It depends what we mean by leaching out. It sounds scary, doesn't it? It's as if all the magnesium in your body is about to drain out of you.

Caffeine has a diuretic effect and can flush out magnesium and other valuable components from the bodyand. Increased diuresis can last for about 3 hours after taking. The more caffeine at once, the greater the loss of minerals.

However, here it is worth noting that drinking coffee  (a great source of natural caffeine) does not leach magnesium, in fact the opposite - a little black will provide you with itand.

One cup (150 ml) of black coffee can result in a magnesium loss of about  1-2 mg, but will provide you with as much as 10-16 mgand (depending on the type of coffee and water, the brewing method).

Therefore, do not be afraid of coffee, but rather pure caffeine in dietary supplements (e.g. pre-workout or fat burners).

Caffeine content of products

See below for information on how much caffeine popular drinksand contain approximately.

160 mg

44.5 mg

In the case of coffee, it is difficult to specify, how much caffeine is realistically in it. The content depends on several factors:

• type of coffee bean,
.
• the type of water used
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• type of coffee,
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• roasting stage,
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• portion size,
.

Therefore, for health reasons, it is advisable to drink no more than 2-3 cups of coffee per day.

Caffeine dosage

Scientific studies indicate that the safe dose of caffeine for healthy adult individuals is a maximum 400 mg per dayand. The dosage depends on your goal (e.g. improving concentration or boosting before a workout) and the measure you are using (e.g. classic coffee, caffeine tablets or powder).

In practice, a healthy caffeine intake looks like this:

• if you drink coffee, it is usually 4-5 cups or 3-4 mugs of coffee per day,
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• if you drink yerba mate, 30g of dried mate per day is usually sufficient,
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• if you take dietary supplements, absolutely follow the dosage given by the manufacturer.
.

Pregnant women should limit their caffeine intake to maximum 300 mg per day. Larger amounts can lead to miscarriageand.

Caffeine overdose

Caffeine overdose occurs when we consume more than 500 mg per day and observe in ourselves symptoms of excess such as increased agitation, arrhythmia, facial flushing, muscle tremors, nervousness, dry mouth, stomach upset and insomniaand

Caffeine lethal dose

The single lethal dose of caffeine is 10-14 g (approximately 150-200 mg/kg body weight). At 10 g the first symptoms such as convulsions, vomiting and malaise appearand.

Caffeine begins to affect the body when its blood levels exceed 15 mg/l, so concentrations of 80 to 100 mg/l can be fatal to humans .

After what time does caffeine take effect?

Caffeine begins to act in the body after about 10 minutes, and reaches its maximum concentration within 15-45 minutes of ingestion. The effect of caffeine and the resulting feeling of arousal depends on the source of the caffeine and individual factors such as age, weight or health status, but can last up to 5 hours after consumptionand.

After what time does caffeine disappear from the body?

The plasma half-life of caffeine can range from 1.5 to as much as 9.5 hours in some people . This means that during this time its concentration in the blood is reduced by half. So, if you calculate correctly, it must take up to a dozen hours for this substance to disappear from the body.

Caffeine for children

According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), children should not consume more 2.5 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weightand. That is, for example, the average first-grader can consume a maximum of 75 mg of caffeine per day.

Unfortunately, there are no official guidelines for Poland, so I will use those provided by the Ministry of Health in Canada . Experts suggest maximum caffeine intake for children and adolescents:

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in general does not recommend caffeine consumption by children and adolescents, due to its potentially harmful effectsand.

Energy Act 2024

From 1 January 2024, legislation came into force in Poland banning the sale of energy drinks to people under the age of 18.

The Energy Drinks Act 2024

In the explanatory memorandum of the draft, its authors stressed that it was a response to an alarming report by the National Institute of Public Health - National Research Institute.

It shows that the consumption energol among children is:

• 2.1% in children aged 3-9 years,
.
• 35.7% in children aged 10-17 years (including 35.7% of boys and 27.4% of girls).

European data from 16 countries also raise blood pressure (even better than caffeine):

• About 19% of surveyed children aged 6-10 years and 2% of children aged 3-5 years have consumed energy drinks in the past year.
• The following are some of the results of the study.
• Children aged 3-10 years who drink energy drinks consumed an average of 0.49 litres of them per week.
• The average amount of energy drinks consumed by children aged 3-10 years was 0.49 litres per week.
• 16% of children aged 3-10 years declared that they drink an energy drink 3-5 times a week, and around 6% of those surveyed said that they consume them almost every day.
• The highest proportion of children consuming energy drinks was found in the UK (24%), Spain (26%) and the Czech Republic (40%).
• Among the children surveyed, the least energy drinkers were in Hungary (6%), Belgium (8%), and Austria (9%). In Poland it was 12%.
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• As many as 60% of children and adolescents indicated that they drink them for taste and 31% see them as a source of energy.

Note that taurine or caffeine is not only found in Monster or coffee. This compound is also found in sweets - especially look out for candy bars.

Caffeine in pregnancy

A healthy pregnant woman can take up to 300 mg of caffeine per dayand. It is important to note that caffeine can easily cross the placenta, which can increase the risk of miscarriage or low birth weight babies, so mothers-to-be should limit their intake.

Some women find it difficult to give up coffee, so a decaffeinated option may be chosen. Such coffee contains minimal amounts of caffeine, but retains other valuable antioxidants that benefit health.

Side effects of caffeine use

Excess caffeine (consumption of more than 400 mg per day) can cause side effects such asand:

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• anxiety, mood disorders,
.
• concentration problems
.
• increased agitation,
.
• arrhythmia,
.
• facial flushing,
.
• muscular tremor, dry mouth,
.
• gastrointestinal distress,
.
• insomnia,
.

Symptoms can be particularly dangerous for people with heart disease. If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms, see your doctor.

There are a number of things you should do.

What not to combine caffeine with?

Caffeine should not be combined with certain medications, dietary supplements and plantsand.

Caffeine under eyes

Cosmetics with caffeine can improve the appearance of your complexion - it's a great antioxidant, and will be especially good under fatigued eyes. This compound has excellent drainage properties, meaning it stimulates skin microcirculation.

Cosmetologist Marta Kalbarczyk scores caffeine:

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• Improves microcirculation, which contributes to the reduction of puffiness and dark circles under the eyes.
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• Prevents the dilatation of blood vessels, which is especially important for vascular or erythema-prone complexions.
• Has an anti-inflammatory effect on the skin.
• Has an anti-inflammatory effect, which has a positive impact on the alleviation of irritation.
.

Magister of Pharmacy Ilona Krzak adds: Commercially available topical caffeine preparations usually contain a concentration of 3% caffeine. For cosmetic purposes, caffeine is used as an active ingredient in anti-cellulite products; it prevents excessive fat accumulation in cells.

See also:

• Creatine
• Citrulline
• L-carnitine
• BCAA
• Protein nutrient
• NAC
• Plant protein

Summary