CAFFEINE - The Big Picture on Caffeine

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                              "Table of Contents"
1.  How much caffeine is safe for adults?...................................2
2.  Is caffeine safe for children?..........................................4
3.  Is caffeine use harmful?................................................6
4.  Why do people use caffeine?.............................................8












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                     How much caffeine is safe for adults?

The answer to this question depends upon how you define optimal functioning.
For more "holistic" information on this question see, "Why do people use
caffeine?"  and " Is caffeine use harmful?"  included in this section.  For
more information from the medical point of view, read on.

Many of the studies of large doses of caffeine have been done on experimental
animals.  Research data on the effects of comparable large doses in humans is
sparse, although it suggests that moderate intake of caffeine (up to about 600
mg per day or 5 to 6 cups of coffee) is relatively harmless for most people.
An FDA panel that reviewed caffeine-containing  over-the-counter stimulants
found that caffeine was safe as a stimulant at doses of 100-200 mg (1-2 NoDoz
or 1 Vivarian tablet), when taken no more often than every 3-4 hours.



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How much caffeine is safe for adults?

People vary widely in how much they are stimulated by caffeine.  Some are so
sensitive to caffeine that even a single cup of coffee can result in a toxic
reaction, and others, with certain health conditions such as ulcers or
irregular heart beats, may be advised by their doctors to abstain completely
from caffeine.  For more information see "Are any health problems aggravated by
caffeine?" in the section, Caffeine's Physical Effects.









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                        Is caffeine safe for children?

Most American children ingest considerable amounts of caffeine from soft
drinks.  If a child drinks caffeinated soda two or more times per day, he or
she could be ingesting over 100 mg of caffeine (the equivalent of a cup of
coffee or a NoDoz tablet).  Because caffeine's physical effects are dependent
in part on body weight, a 12 ounce cola drink will have a greater effect on a
four year old child than on an adult.  Studies have shown that the amount of
caffeine many children are consuming is near the level known to cause central
nervous system effects (stimulation, nervousness, anxiety) in adults.







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Is caffeine safe for children?

Early studies suggested that caffeine "caused" hyperactivity in children.
Follow-up research, however, indicated more strongly that already hyperactive
children tend to select caffeine-containing beverages over caffeine-free
drinks.  Whether high levels of caffeine, consumed from infancy through
adolescence, can impair normal development remains unanswered.  The nutritional
concern is that children may be choosing soda drinks over milk, thus getting
extra calories at the expense of needed nutrients.








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                           Is caffeine use harmful?

The answer to this question depends upon how you define optimal functioning.
After reading the medical research on caffeine, one might conclude that
caffeine isn't so bad for our health.  The biological or medical problems from
caffeine use affect relatively few people, but caffeine's influence on psycho-
spiritual health may affect many.  A psycho-spiritual concern can be
illustrated by one students' comment, "I could never do all of the things that
I have to do without coffee."  But, why would someone feel they are not doing
enough?  The American work ethic says that the more we do (achieve) the better
we are.  It also says that if we do things for others we will be loved.  But,
if the doing is not sincere, then we are only earning conditional love out of
guilt.  These attitudes can produce stress especially for externally-directed
people who act according to societies' and others' standards in order to feel
good about themselves.


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Is caffeine use harmful?

If we feel we aren't doing enough or aren't loved enough, we might unwittingly
create a lifestyle that includes coffee, tea, soda, and/or chocolate, to help
us live up to this ethic.  If we are inner-directed we can be content with our
accomplishments and not feel compelled to use a substance to help us do more or
be loved more.  Using artificial stimulants might temporarily help us escape
from the common human fears of having limitations, experiencing
meaninglessness, and disapproval from God, society, or self; but they don't
allow us to grow by dealing directly with our own feelings and desires.  In
addition, if we don't learn to deal with our feelings, when the next generation
comes along, what do we have to offer-the coffee cup?  With these ideas in
mind, might caffeine use keep us from experiencing (holistic) optimal
functioning?



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                          Why do people use caffeine?

Caffeine seems to be the perfect drug to fit the American work ethic because it
suspends the effects of boredom and fatigue.  But, many people are never free
from caffeine long enough to know how much tension in their lives is simply the
aftereffects of caffeine use.  These aftereffects, i.e. fatigue, irritability,
restlessness, anxiety, sluggishness; refer to the "rebound" that occurs as a
reaction to the withdrawal of caffeines' stimulating effects.  One can of soda
may seem relatively harmless, but repeated caffeine use can create mood swings
that allow stresses to build up, almost imperceptibly, possibly causing
irritability during the day, restlessness at night, and fatigue in the
morning--when another dose of caffeine is needed in order to wake us up, and
the cycle has begun again.  But, might it not be better to figure out why we
are bored or tired in the first place versus making it go away?  If using
caffeine becomes a pattern in which we never examine those feelings and try to
remedy them naturally, we might perpetuate an unhealthy cycle that could keep
us from growing.  How long can we burn the candle at both ends?
