About caffeine ~ Nutritionist's Column Vol.51

Coffee or tea are great for when you want to take a break, and energy drinks are great when you're tired or working hard.
This time I would like to write about the caffeine contained in these drinks.

Caffeine is extracted and added to medicines and is also used as a food additive.
It is a food ingredient found mainly in coffee beans, tea leaves, cocoa beans, etc., and is a type of compound called an alkaloid.
In other words, processed products made from these foods, such as coffee, Japanese tea, oolong tea, black tea, matcha, cocoa, and chocolate, naturally contain caffeine.

When you ingest caffeine, it dilates blood vessels and increases blood circulation, which promotes a diuretic effect and increases neurotransmitters, elevating your mood, preventing drowsiness, and increasing your basal metabolic rate.

On the other hand, common acute effects of caffeine include dizziness, increased heart rate, agitation, anxiety, and decreased sleep quality due to stimulation of the central nervous system.
It may also irritate the digestive system, resulting in diarrhea and nausea.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that caffeine does not pose dangerous adverse health effects for healthy adults at up to 400 mg per day (about 4-5 cups of coffee).
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) considers 5.7mg of caffeine per kg of body weight per day to be safe for healthy adults.
The recommended amount of caffeine for a person weighing 60 kg is 342 mg (2.5 cups of ground coffee).
*Lower amounts are recommended for pregnant women.

Caffeine is a powerful compound that has a strong effect on the body, so you should be careful when consuming it.
Below we will introduce the benefits (actions) and disadvantages (side effects) that caffeine brings to the body.

The benefits of caffeine

■ Increase concentration and improve work ability
It suppresses drowsiness and clears the head.
It is recommended to take it in the morning when you want to wake up your body and concentrate.

■ Eliminates swelling, detoxifies, and reduces fatigue. Caffeine's diuretic effect helps eliminate waste products, which can help relieve swelling.
It is also said that consuming caffeine before exercise makes you less likely to feel tired even after long periods of exercise.

■Caffeine improves blood circulation, stimulates metabolism, and increases fat burning.
When blood flow improves, body temperature rises and basal metabolism increases.
Research suggests that consuming caffeine may boost your metabolism.
It is also said that exercise promotes fat utilization and increases fat burning effects.

The disadvantages of caffeine

■ Risk of caffeine addiction and decreased sleep quality If you continue to consume caffeine as a regular habit, you may become addicted without even realizing it.
Furthermore, if you consume a large amount of food or drink that contains a lot of caffeine in a short period of time, your body may not be able to metabolize the caffeine quickly enough, and symptoms of poisoning may appear suddenly.
Symptoms include restlessness, anxiety, trembling hands and legs, headache, nausea, diarrhea, and insomnia.
Its stimulating effect makes it difficult to fall asleep, makes it difficult to fall asleep, and makes sleep shallow, while its diuretic effect increases the number of times you go to the bathroom during the night, which reduces the quality of your sleep.
Also, be careful when drinking it with alcohol, as you may become dehydrated without realizing it.

■Risk of anemia and chills due to excessive intake It is said that excessive caffeine intake inhibits the absorption of iron, which increases the risk of anemia.
Also, while small amounts of caffeine can improve blood circulation and warm the body, excessive caffeine intake can disrupt the balance of the autonomic nervous system, causing poor blood circulation and leading to chills.

■ Stomach stimulant: Caffeine has the effect of promoting the secretion of gastric acid, so if you take it when you are hungry or have a weak stomach, it can cause stomach pain.

For the reasons above, the following people should be careful about consuming caffeine:

■ Pregnant and breastfeeding women: Caffeine has the effect of constricting blood vessels, so consuming too much caffeine during pregnancy can cause abdominal bloating and increase the risk of miscarriage or premature birth.
In addition, when blood vessels constrict, the amount of oxygen and nutrients carried to the baby through the blood decreases, which may result in a low birth weight baby or hypoxia.

Caffeine ingested through breast milk may also have harmful effects.
For this reason, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that pregnant women limit their caffeine intake to 200mg to 300mg per day (about two mugs).
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) states that habitual caffeine intake of less than 200 mg per day for pregnant and breastfeeding women does not pose a health risk to the unborn baby.

The standards vary slightly depending on the research content of each institution, but it is not absolutely forbidden, and consuming too much is generally not recommended.
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding and love drinking coffee or tea, it is best to limit the amount you drink and avoid drinking it before bedtime.
Another good option is to choose decaffeinated drinks or enjoy non-caffeinated barley tea or herbal tea.

■ Children: Young children, whose digestive and metabolic functions are not yet fully developed, are more susceptible to the effects of caffeine than adults. Therefore, excessive intake can interfere with the sleep necessary for growth and the diuretic effect can increase, making children more susceptible to dehydration, so care must be taken.

Health Canada (HC) states that "children aged 4 to 6 years should have a maximum of 45 mg/day, children aged 7 to 9 years should have a maximum of 62.5 mg/day, and children aged 10 to 12 years should have a maximum of 85 mg/day (equivalent to one or two 355 ml cans of cola)."
Additionally, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children limit their intake of stimulants, including caffeine.
If your child really loves coffee, try diluting it with plenty of milk, giving them decaffeinated coffee, or not letting them drink it after the evening so it doesn't interfere with their bedtime.

■ Elderly people: It is said that elderly people are more susceptible to the effects of caffeine because the decline in internal organ function caused by aging weakens their ability to break down and excrete caffeine.
Therefore, it is important to be aware of the effects of coffee on elderly people, such as symptoms such as insomnia and frequent urination.
It is important to avoid caffeine after dinner, and since some medications contain caffeine, it is also important to check how much is included.

In our diet, we tend to consume too much caffeine without even realizing it through coffee, green tea, roasted green tea, cocoa, cola, and other sources.
It's important to be aware of your intake and not consume too much caffeine. Especially when it comes to coffee, there are now many products available that are "decaf," "caffeine-free," and "non-caffeinated." Energy drinks with zero caffeine are also on sale.

By controlling your caffeine intake and making sure to consume the right amount, you can expect to improve concentration, recover from fatigue, and experience a relaxing effect.

Buy Golden Warrior, our new caffeine-free protein blend, here .

Click here to purchase GRØN products, a domestically produced plant-based protein.

https://gron-jp.myshopify.com/collections/all

——————————————————
Nutritionist, Food Education Instructor, Food 6th Industrialization Producer Level 4
Ayako Ishihara

A nutritional advisor in the healthcare field and an agribusiness professional.
She is involved in a variety of activities specializing in the fields of beauty and health, including giving lectures to Miss World Japan candidates.

With the philosophy of "enriching the mind and body through food and realizing a vibrant society where people and communities are connected," he founded i-Field Co., Ltd. in 2013 and serves as its representative.
He is a core member of the food team for "DINING OUT," which opens outdoor restaurants in various regions, and also participates in fashion brand projects.
She is also involved in the promotion of local ingredients, product development and production specializing in "health" and "beauty," branding, concept design, food hygiene, sales promotion, training planning and management, etc. She is in charge of nutritional supervision for GRØN's product development, proposing ways to incorporate them more effectively into consumer health.

——————————————————