• April 25, 2024

Caffeine is an organic chemical compound (solid alkaloid) present in many of the foods and beverages that we consume daily, whose effects may or may not be visible. The most common is to ingest it through coffee, tea and soft drinks, mainly cola.

Caffeine is considered the drug most consumed worldwide because it is socially accepted. 80% of adults consume it daily and its effects can last between four and six hours, depending on age and weight, until it is completely metabolized.

Effects and uses of caffeine

1. Causes addiction . The withdrawal syndrome of caffeine begins to be noticed after 24 hours of having stopped consuming it. The most common symptoms are mental and physical fatigue, muscle pain, concentration problems and a less alert brain. We also have changes in our mood, feeling more irritable.

2. Modify the brain. Those who get used to their body to a daily dose of caffeine, have long-term changes in their brain to adapt to that situation. It generates a state of alertness and energy for a few hours, since it does not let adenosine flow, which is responsible for generating a state of fatigue and sedation.

3. Invade bloodstream. It can be dissolved both in water and in fats and is distributed in the blood and cell membranes, so it can be present throughout the body.

4. Against skin cancer. According to researchers from Department of chemical biology at Rutgers University in New Jersey adding caffeine to a protector could help prevent and combat skin cancer by promoting the destruction of cells damaged by exposure to the UV rays of the sun.

5. Medicines . Its presence in some drugs could be the cause of cerebrovascular accident because it has a vasoconstrictor effect; that is, it tenses the walls of the blood vessels to increase the pressure of blood flow, "he explains. Nam-Kyong Choi, of the Faculty of Medicine of the National University of Seoul .

6. Cosmetics . According to the International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine (IAPAM) , caffeine in combination with biotin, vitamins and provitamins, helps the regeneration of damaged hair, improves mechanical stability and its density, so it also protects it from hair loss . Therefore it has been added to products such as hair lotions, shampoo and soaps.

7. Not suitable in pregnancy. It has the ability to transfer from mother to child, during pregnancy and lactation, so you should limit your consumption as much as it can influence the normal development of the baby.

8. Anemia. When there is a nutritional deficiency should not consume caffeine, because it interferes with the absorption of iron and may accentuate the condition even more.

9. Causes arrhythmias . Its consumption can cause an increase in heart rate (tachycardia) and blood pressure temporarily, so it should be avoided in any case of cardiovascular problems or hypertension.

10. Drinks Caffeine is present in different types of foods, mainly in beverages, whose average amount ranges from 3 mg in a cup of decaffeinated coffee, 15 mg in a chocolate bar, 45 mg in a cup of tea and 46 mg in a soft drink. 355 ml cola, up to 140 mg in a regular coffee cup.

In addition to being a powerful stimulant, caffeine also has effects on your way of sleeping and relaxing, despite the energy it transmits. Therefore, it is considered by many studies, that its consumption must be regulated, in order to prevent severe side effects.

Video Medicine: Session 4 Introduction: Caffeine Effects on the Central Nervous System (April 2024).