Effects of Coffee and Caffeine
For many, coffee does not represent a simple habit, but a moment of profound pleasure; for this reason, when doctors impose it, it is so difficult to give up the beloved cup.
Safe Amount of Caffeine
The available data on the health of this drink and the related medical opinions are conflicting. Unlike other substances (cocaine, heroin, alcohol, etc.), a good coffee has never led anyone to commit crimes, prostitute themselves or request medical assistance. However, if taken in high doses, this drink is not entirely free from side effects.
With some exceptions, doses of less than 300 mg of caffeine per day appear to be compatible with the health of most adults.
The safe dose of caffeine in a daily diet is therefore 300 mg (the same content, roughly, in three cups of espresso or in 6 cups of tea).
This limit can also be reached by ingesting 10 cans of cola, 8 cups of hot chocolate or 400 grams of extra dark chocolate.
For this reason, the synergistic and cumulative effect of the various foods must always be taken into consideration and, together with it, the contribution of some caffeine-based drugs, such as certain analgesics, fat burners and anorectics.
In children, in principle, the daily dose of caffeine should not exceed 100 mg, a limit that can easily be crossed with a cola-like drink and a piece of dark chocolate.
Tolerance
It should be noted that with habitual use a certain tolerance towards coffee is established.
This explains why, in subjects who do little use of this drink, the intake of 200-250 mg of caffeine is often sufficient to trigger ailments such as insomnia, headache, anxiety, irritability and hot flashes.
Effects of Caffeine
Stimulates gastric, salivary and biliary secretion; therefore it has a mildly digestive effect.
Especially if taken on an empty stomach, it can cause heartburn and acidity of the stomach, esophagitis and gastroesophageal reflux.
In small doses it slows the heart rate, causes coronary dilation and bronchodilation; it can improve allergic and asthmatic conditions.
It has an anxious effect and causes tremors, insomnia and excitability.
Useful adjuvant in the therapy of obesity (anorectic and thermogenic effect); mild diuretic properties.
* The negative effects worsen when coffee is combined with other psychoactive drugs such as alcohol or tobacco.
When to Avoid Coffee
The use of traditional coffee must be limited, or in any case replaced with decaffeinated coffee, in case of:
- peptic ulcer
- dyspepsia
- hypersecretive gastritis
- reflux disease
- hypercholesterolemia
- ischemic heart disease
- arterial hypertension and cardiac arrhythmias
- abuse of alcohol, smoking or other psychoactive substances
- pregnancy (no more than two cups a day)
- fibrocystic mastopathy
Curiosity
- the lethal dose of caffeine for man is about 100 grams; although such dosages are practically impossible to achieve immediately, a chronic over-intake of coffee is associated with the side effects described above;
- a cup of bitter coffee contains about 2 calories;
- a cup of bitter coffee macchiato with milk contains 10;
- a coffee with a teaspoon of sugar provides about 20 calories;
- the caffeine content of the coffee varies according to the preparation methods (it is lower in the soluble, intermediate in the espresso, high in the traditional moka and maximum in the unfiltered coffee or obtained with gravimetric percolation (Neapolitan);
- the caffeine content of coffee varies according to the quality of the raw material (among the best known species it is minimal in Coffea humboltiana, intermediate in Coffea arabica and maximum in Robust coffee);
- an athlete tests positive for doping controls when the concentration of caffeine in his urine exceeds 0.012 mg / ml (= 12 mcg / ml). It is not easy to establish exactly what dose of intake is capable of exceeding this threshold. Generally it is recommended not to have more than 6-8 cups of espresso or two three cups of traditional coffee, in the three hours before the competition.
