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Caffeine's Surprising Health Benefits

By Stacey Colino

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You love it. You crave it. You can’t start your day without it -- your morning cup of coffee or tea, that is. In fact, in a recent Live Right Live Well poll, 79 percent of you said you would rather give up sweets and alcohol than caffeine.

Good news! Despite previous concerns to the contrary, “caffeine consumption up to 300 mg [or about two cups of coffee] per day has been shown to have no harmful effects,” says Stanley Segall, Ph.D., professor emeritus of nutrition and food sciences at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Even better, recent research has revealed that caffeine provides “a number of beneficial effects on a laundry list of conditions,” says Segall.

On the Positive Side...
When it comes to immediate, short-term benefits, caffeine can increase mental focus and alertness, improve some aspects of working memory (such as the ability to process visual information quickly and to recall words and numbers) and cure a headache (which is why many headache remedies contain caffeine). In addition, research suggests that a jolt of caffeine can temporarily enhance athletic performance, especially when it comes to stamina and endurance. Explains Segall: “Caffeine helps keep muscle- and heart rate-stimulating compounds active longer, so you can go longer without feeling fatigued.”

As for long-term benefits, researchers have found that consuming caffeine on a regular basis may help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer and liver disease. What’s more, studies suggest that regular caffeine consumption may guard against Parkinson’s disease, age-related cognitive decline and possibly even Alzheimer’s. This may be due to the fact that caffeine appears to protect brain cells containing the neurotransmitter dopamine, an important brain chemical that affects cognition (thinking abilities), mood, attention, learning and motor activity, among other aspects of brain function, says Joy Dubost, Ph.D., a food scientist at Pennsylvania State University and a spokesperson for the Institute for Food Technologists.   

On the Downside...
Caffeine is not without its drawbacks. We all know that overdoing it can leave us feeling jittery and keep us awake at night. Too much caffeine can also elevate blood pressure and exaggerate your body’s normal responses to everyday stress, according to research conducted at Duke University Medical Center, in Durham, N.C. If you have high blood pressure or anxiety to begin with, you may want to limit or avoid caffeine altogether since it may cause spikes in blood pressure or increase feelings of stress.

Caffeine may also raise the risk of miscarriage. In a recent study conducted at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif., researchers confirmed that the more caffeine a pregnant woman consumes, the higher her risk of miscarriage. While there’s no consensus yet on how much caffeine is safe during pregnancy, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends avoiding or limiting caffeine intake if you’re pregnant. And if you’re having difficulty conceiving, experts advise keeping caffeine consumption to “less than 300 mg per day,” says Dubost.

The Bottom Line
So what does all this mean in real life? For those of us who are healthy and not pregnant, caffeine is not the bugaboo that some have painted it. On the contrary, it appears to offer significant health benefits when consumed in moderation.

For the sake of overall health and well-being, stick with a limit of 300 milligrams of caffeine per day. An 8-ounce serving of coffee contains about 150 mg of caffeine, while the same size serving of tea has 40 to 120 mg. A 12-ounce serving of cola has 35 to 54 mg, as do some non-cola soft drinks, such as Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper and Sunkist Orange Soda. Meanwhile, coffee-flavored ice cream has between 50 and 84 mg of caffeine, and a 1.5-ounce serving of dark chocolate has 31 mg.

As for energy drinks, they’re another matter entirely. These beverages contain anywhere from 50 to 500 mg per drink, according to Roland Griffiths, Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. What’s more, beverage manufacturers are not required to list the amount of caffeine they contain on the label. “The FDA requires warning labels on over-the-counter products that contain stimulants, but there are no such warning labels on these energy drinks. So it’s really ‘consumer beware,’” says Griffiths.

Finally, if you’re trying to boost alertness or athletic performance, keep in mind that there’s a 30- to 60-minute induction period, so time your cup of java or tea accordingly, advises Segall. Then feel free to enjoy the kick you get from caffeine. Not only can it give you a short-term edge, it may help you live longer and healthier as well!

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