The famous line used by so many adults in my life - and I am sure yours as well. Personally, I do not drink coffee after noticing how many people are so dependent on it and cannot live without their morning cup but over 1 billion people in the world drink coffee daily! There are so many myths about coffee and false information spreading around, so how does drinking coffee every morning really affect you?
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| The Morning Cup in Question |
First off, what does coffee even do to you? Caffeine is a stimulant, which means that it causes an increase in your brain activity and nervous system. Considered a drug, caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine to the adenosine A1 receptor, which enhances release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. As we know, many people drink coffee in the morning because they need caffeine to wake them up. There are 95mg of caffeine in a single cup of coffee - which is not a horrible amount. Healthy adults should not surpass 400mg of caffeine a day, yet teens should stick to less than 100mg a day. Caffeine is well absorbed by your body and the short-term side effects (usually appear 5-30 minutes after consumption) of caffeine help you feel refreshed, boost your energy, as well as improve your physical and mental performance.
Good news or bad news? Why am I even asking this question? The bad news is, drinking coffee will increase your serotonin and dopamine levels which is a good temporary fix however once you stop drinking it, you can go into withdrawal. This is why many people are reliant on caffeine and "addicted" to coffee. Since your brain was so used to the high levels of serotonin and dopamine, your brain will act like there is a deficiency once you stop drinking coffee. It can take almost two weeks of a caffeine-free diet for your brain to go back to its normal state! Drinking coffee can also increase blood pressure, and even mildly increase cholesterol levels.
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| Dramatized Image Made of Coffee Beans |
Well onto the good news! Luckily, most of these negative effects are temporary and NOT life-threatening (contrary to what the image above depicts). Even better news - there may even be some benefits to drinking a cup of coffee every morning! Moderate coffee intake has actually been linked to a lower likelihood of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver and endometrial cancers, Parkinson's disease, and even depression!
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| You Once You Realize Coffee Isn't as Bad as You Think |
Now why are there so many negative rumors about coffee? Well, early research linked coffee to diseases ranging from heart attacks to asthma, however, many of the people in these studies also smoked cigarettes which have led people to believe that the negative effects from smoking came from coffee.
This was really interesting to read about! I always heard people talk about how coffee is a drug, but I didn't know that it actually does act like a drug, and has so many different side effects and can cause actual withdrawals. But it's also cool to read about how there are some good side effects too!
ReplyDeleteThis was really interesting to read about both sides! I only drink caffeinated tea but my mom and sister sure love their coffee, so it was cool to see both sides!
ReplyDeleteIt was really cool to learn about the science behind coffee and hormones, and why my mom has a headache without her morning coffee :) Thanks for debunking some myths and sharing this info!
ReplyDeleteI love this topic. As a rare coffee drinker myself, I always would try and stray away from it because I thought it was bad for me. This post did an amazing job of explaining both sides: the positives and negatives of caffeine. Love how you added in some humor :)
ReplyDeleteSuper well-rounded post! I don't really drink coffee that much, but a lot of people I know drink it basically every day. It was cool to read about what drinking coffee actually does to you and why people become so reliant on it!
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