A tall white latte, extra foam, no hallucinations. Please.

yunaan | January 17, 2009 | 0 Comments

Caffeine is much loved for its ability to quickly increase alertness, boost energy, and improve mood. I love a strong black cup of coffee; no sugar no milk, with my greasy English fry-up in the morning after a long night of hard partying or pulling an all-nighter. This may be very well for those of us who not only love but need our daily cuppa to get us started in the mornings, however, do take this little treat in moderation as too much caffeine in our bodies can be dangerous.

National Geographic News reported, on the 14th of January 2009, that too much caffeine may cause hallucinations, hearing of imaginary voices and even sense the presence of deceased people. An equivalent of 7 cups a day can cause up to 3 times more hallucinatory experiences than a single cup. Researchers speculated that the drug may cause such experiences by making worse the physiological effects of stress. On average, a single cup of coffee (about 207 ml) or a single shot of espresso (about 30 ml) can be expected to contain the following amounts of caffeine. Said espresso shot can contain up to 60mg of caffeine (or 2mg for every ml).

As with many of life’s greatest pleasures, there is much controversy involved. Many people are able to tolerate unlimited amounts of coffee but for most people, moderation is key and coffee can be enjoyed without dire consequences. The secret is quantity and quality.

Some advantages in your daily cup:-

1. It increases intellectual activity when fatigued or bored.

2. It speeds up fat metabolism – maintaining brain activity and reducing hunger.

3. Caffeine prevents crystallization of cholesterol and reduces risk of development of gallstones.

4. Coffee has a protective effect against cirrhosis of the liver.

And of course, disadvantages are:-

1. It interferes with adenosine, a brain chemical that normally has a calming effect.

2. It decreases quality of sleep.

3. Coffee hampers the absorption of essential minerals and vitamins such as magnesium, zinc, iron, potassium, and B’s.

4. Caffeine aggravates stress in people who drink it every day

So without too much science-y stuff (because all that is boring), it’s up to one to weigh up the pros and cons in drinking coffee. Anybody for a cuppa?

Author: Shirin Loh

Tags: caffeine, coffee, dangers, energy, student diet