Sunday, September 5, 2010

CAFFEINE: FRIEND AND FOE OF MAN


In coffee beans, tea and mate leaves, but also in guarana and kola nuts contain caffeine, a bitter-tasting substance with a stimulating effect. So for us coffee drinkers of the day begin with the highest pleasure and the most joyful encouragement, whether we have brought the coffee by the bed partner or our colleagues in the office with the smell of coffee welcome. We have the feeling now to be fit for the day. At least for some hours, for a meeting, seminar or a longer phone call could abfordern us the next dose.

We are dependent on the caffeine?

A dependence on coffee is developing at high doses within 6 to 15 days. Withdrawal symptoms such as headache, lethargy, anxiety, nausea and vomiting occur every 12 to 24 hours without caffeine. After about a week weaning away the withdrawal feelings.

What happens when the coffee was drunk?

By the incomparable fragrance and taste of the drink is first triggered the well-being. This enters the stimulant effect of caffeine must pass via the blood to its site of action in the brain. This takes about 30 to 60 minutes. In the liver, the caffeine is eventually degraded. About 0.5 to 1.5 percent of caffeine is excreted unchanged in the urine.

The effects of caffeine last for about 4 hours and personal with big fluctuations. Smoking stimulates the degradation, liver damage; extend, for example, by alcohol abuse, the effect. In pregnant women, the effect extended for several hours, but falls within one month after giving birth again to the standard value. The fetus and newborn is much more caffeine and more sustainable than in adults. Oral contraceptives ("the pill") reduce the degradation of caffeine, barbiturates (now rarely used sleeping pills) speed it up.

General effect.

The often feared increase in blood pressure occurs only in people who rarely drink coffee.

* Caffeine has a diuretic effect.
* Caffeine relaxes the smooth muscles in addition to the vessels in particular also the muscles of the bronchi.
* Caffeine affects the cardiovascular system, such as increasing the heart muscle power.


Effect in drugs.

The brain-stimulating effect of caffeine is used in various combination products:

* Painkillers: Pain breaks down, animated caffeine.
* Vitamin supplements to promote healing after surgery and childbirth: the general depression to be repealed by the caffeine.
* In migraine drugs are used, the vasodilator effect of caffeine.
* For travel sickness: The real drug while fighting the nausea, but it makes tired, so caffeine is added.
* Adrenaline-like substances and thyroid hormones are increased in their heart-accelerating effect.


Caffeine abuse

Considering with caffeinated stimulants not follow the instructions on the package can at higher doses than 15 mg / kg occur body weight, nausea, vomiting, restlessness, tremors, insomnia, headaches, rapid breathing, and anxiety and panic attacks, in extreme cases, even heart-rhythm disorders to seizures and coma. In certain diseases such as heart or thyroid function should be avoided caffeine.


In normal two to three cups of coffee a day (pharmaceutical dose 3 to 4 mg / kg body weight) caffeine is generally well tolerated. The caffeine in black tea is similar in its wake-causing effects, but in contrast to the coffee not exciting. The effect starts later, but keeps longer. Cola drinks contain much less caffeine than coffee. The guarana nut contains three times as much caffeine as coffee, and the South American maté drink is because of his exciting but also relaxing and, above all, appetite suppressing effect even in our popular.

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