Caffeine is a substance that is commonly found in many beverages like tea, coffee and aerated drinks, as well as processed foods like chocolate and certain flavors of frozen yogurt or ice cream. Simply put, even though it is present in several items that we eat and drink, caffeine is nothing but a serious drug that people can easily get addicted to, through the regular consumption of foods that have a high caffeine content. It is a stimulant that is highly addictive and people who ingest high amounts of caffeine on a regular basis suffer from caffeine addiction without even realizing it for a while. This addiction becomes evident when they fail to get their required dose of caffeine, leading to withdrawal symptoms that are normally associated with the addiction of drugs. Caffeine content in some beverages and foods
Given below is a list of beverages, along with the amount of caffeine they contain:
Coffee:
2 ounces of double espresso: 45 mg – 100 mg
8 ounces of instant coffee: 70 mg
8 ounces of brewed coffee: 60 mg – 120 mg
8 ounces of decaf coffee: 1 mg – 5 mg
Tea:
8 ounces of black tea: 45 mg
8 ounces of white tea: 15 mg
8 ounces of green tea: 20 mg
Sodas:
12 ounces of cola (leading brands): 34 mg – 38 mg
12 ounces of root beer: 22 mg
Foods:
1 ounce of milk chocolate: 6 mg
1 ounce of dark chocolate: 20 mg
8 ounces of coffee fudge frozen yogurt: 85 mg
The caffeine content present in sodas and coffee is much higher, as compared to tea. Decaf coffee has the lowest caffeine content amongst the other types of coffee, while the caffeine content in white tea is the lowest amongst the teas.
Even a beverage like chocolate milk contains about 4 mg of caffeine in 8 ounces.
Side Effects of Caffeine
Apart from addition and withdrawal problems, regular caffeine consumption can lead to other problems. Consuming caffeine could have side effects on a person too. The more common caffeine side effects include:
Emotional fatigue: Caffeine can keep the body awake, because of which the body cannot get adequate rest when required. When the body does not get the rest that it needs, it leads to physical exhaustion as well as emotional fatigue.
Dehydration: Although coffee and colas are liquids, they can cause dehydration, because of the diuretic properties present in caffeine.
Panic attacks: Caffeine has been known to trigger off the “fight or flight” mechanism in the human body, which is what causes panic attacks. After heavy and regular doses of caffeine this mechanism gets reduced to panic attacks.
Aggravated PMS symptoms in women: Women who either drink a lot of coffee or sodas experience PMS more acutely, as the bloated feeling, the stomach cramps and the headaches become more intense, because of caffeine consumption.
Some interesting caffeine facts:
An average person living in the United States consumes approximately 280 mg of caffeine every single day.
Up to 90% of the people consume at least some amount of caffeine each day.
The amount of caffeine that can lead to addictions and later withdrawal symptoms is as little as 100 mg.
Caffeine effects can be severe enough to cause a person to lose the ability to function normally. 13% of the people that are affected by caffeine addiction face this problem.
There are some people who consume as high as 600 mg of caffeine each day, causing them to suffer from caffeinism, which is a syndrome that has been characterized by sleep disorders, anxiety and restlessness.
Chronic and heavy consumption of caffeine can even lead to depression in a person.