COFFEE COFFFEEE COFFFEEEE

It is approximated that 90% of all adults worldwide consume caffeine on a daily basis. This makes caffeine the most socially acceptable and widely used stimulant on the globe and hence a substance of interest, particularly where the effects of its consumption on health are concerned.

The studies into caffeine are numerous. NUMEROUS. *waves arms around*



Many are conflicting, which makes it hard to work out exactly the impact on health it has.

For instance, coffee consumption has been shown to decrease mineral bone density and increase the risk of fracture. However, this relationship has so far only been shown to exist in women with low calcium intake. On the other hand, tea consumption has been associated with increased mineral bone density (but not decreased fracture risk). It is postulated that this is due to the higher flavonoids present in tea.

Caffeine has also been shown to increase alertness, energy and ability to concentrate, particularly when the individual has been working late or when they are fatigued. In fact, a systematic review of 13 randomised control trials of people with shift work disorder or jet lag demonstrated that caffeine significantly improved reasoning, concept formation, memory, orientation, attention and perception (compared to placebo). In fact, caffeine was much better than placebo in preventing errors (and more effective than other interventions such as using bright light).

This also explains why coffee is the divine beverage of students.



One of the more relevant issues with caffeine consumption is related to the outfit in which is it ingested. For instance, a black tea with no sugar contains almost no calories. However, on the other end of the scale, a Gloria Jean’s White Chocolate Mocha (324mL) contains 1370kJ/328cal. 60mL of this is espresso; the other 264mL is milk and powder. For a person whose recommended energy intake is 2000cal, this equates to roughly 16% of that allowance.

At least Starbucks has gone.

Given that Australia is straining under the weight of the obesity epidemic (yes, I went there), this is probably one of the more relevant health impacts that caffeine potentially has. Caffeinated carbonated beverages, such as energy drinks and Coke, are also high kilojoule foodstuffs. So, for instance, if you’re drinking these in place of water with meals or on their own, it’s very easy for the energy intake to stack up and eventually turn into love handles.

If I were forced at bunsen burner point to summarise this summary: caffeine is your friend is you are tired, grandma can have it if she has an adequate calcium intake and you may have it in moderation if your preferred coffee has more kilojoules than your actual lunch has. Commonsense.

The Oatmeal has a fantastic poster on coffee and he is extremely funny, so there's two solid reasons to click this link.



Note: all information pertaining to caffeine was sourced from UpToDate (2011)