Many people start their morning — and even afternoon — with one big coffee cup or a cold soda. Why? Only because they want an energy-boosting caffeine. However, it is important to know how much of intake is good? Here’re some tips that will help you to assess your everyday dose.

What’s Caffeine, and is it very Good or Bad?

Every day, many people generally rely on the caffeine for their wake-up boost. Actually, this natural drink is one highly used ingredients of the entire world. Caffeine often is talked about for the negative effects on anxiety and sleep. But, studies report it has many health benefits. Let us see caffeine good or bad effects on our health.

What is Caffeine?

It is one natural stimulant that is commonly found in coffee, tea, and cacao plants. Caffeine works by stimulating your central nervous system and brain, and helping you to be alert and prevent any onset of sleepiness and tiredness. Nowadays, around 80% of the population in the world consumes the caffeinated product daily, and the number increases to 90% for the adults.

Not only in Beverages

Caffeine naturally exists in tea, coffee, and cocoa thus you must expect to find this in chocolate and coffee containing foods. The manufacturers often add this to their energy drinks, soft drinks, and candies and gum — as the stimulant or energy booster. Some cold drugs, appetite suppressants and pain relievers have got added caffeine in it.

How it Works?

When consumed, caffeine will be absorbed fast from the gut in your bloodstream. Right from there, it goes to the liver and gets broken down in several compounds that will affect function of different organs in your body. This being said, main caffeine side effects is on our brain.

• They function by blocking out the adenosine effects that is the neurotransmitter that helps to relax your brain and make you tired. Generally, levels of adenosine build up over a day, and making you more and more tired as well as causing you to sleep.
• Caffeine also helps you to stay awake just by connecting to the adenosine receptors in your brain without activating it. This block down the adenosine effects, and leading to the reduced tiredness.
• It might increase the blood adrenaline levels & increase activity of brain of neurotransmitters dopamine & norepinephrine.
• This combination stimulates your brain and promotes the state of alertness, focus and arousal. As it affects brain, caffeine often is referred as the psychoactive drug.

Caffeine exerts its effects rather quickly.

For example, an amount found in a cup of coffee will take 20 mins to reach to the bloodstream and around 1 hour to reach to its full effectiveness.

Foods and Beverages Having Caffeine

Caffeine is found naturally in nuts, seeds, and leaves of some plants. The natural sources then are harvested & processed to make caffeinated foods or beverages. Here’re amounts of the caffeine expected per 8oz of popular beverages:

• Coffee: 102 to 200 mg.
• Espresso: 240 to 720 mg.
• Yerba mate: 65 to 130 mg.
• Brewed tea: 40 to 120 mg.
• Energy drinks: 50 to 160 mg.
• Decaffeinated coffee: 3 to 12 mg.
• Soft drinks: 20 to 40 mg.
• Chocolate milk: 2 to 7 mg.
• Cocoa beverage: 2 to 7 mg.