What is caffeine?

Caffeine is stimulant drug, which means it speeds up the messages travelling between the brain and the body.

It`s found in the seeds,nuts and leaves of a number of different plants, including:

1. Coffea Arabica (used for coffee)
2. Thea sinensis (used for tea)
3. Cola acuminata (used as a nut, tea or in soft drinks including cola)
4. Theobroma cacao (used in cocoa and chocolate)
5. Paulinia cupana (used as guarana in snack bars and energy drinks)

How is caffeine used?

Caffeine is used in a number of different products . The amount of caffeine in these products can vary dramatically, so it’s always best to check the label. The average amounts are listed below:

Coffees	Serving Size	Caffeine (mg)
Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee with Turbo Shot	large, 20 fl. oz.	436
Starbucks Coffee	venti, 20 fl. oz.	415
Starbucks Coffee	grande, 16 fl. oz.	330
Panera Frozen Mocha	16.5 fl. oz.	267
Starbucks Coffee	tall, 12 fl. oz.	260
Starbucks Caffí¨ Americano	grande, 16 fl. oz.	225
Panera Coffee	regular, 16.8 fl. oz.	189
Starbucks Espresso Frappuccino	venti, 24 fl. oz.	185
Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee	medium, 14 fl. oz.	178
Starbucks Caffí¨ Mocha	grande, 16 fl. oz.	175
Starbucks Iced Coffee	grande, 16 fl. oz.	165
Maxwell House Ground Coffee-100% Colombian, Dark Roast, Master Blend, or Original Roast	2 Tbs., makes 12 fl. oz.	100-160
Dunkin’ Donuts Cappuccino	large, 20 fl. oz.	151
Starbucks-Caffí¨ Latte, Cappuccino, or Caramel Macchiato	grande, 16 fl. oz.	150
Starbucks Espresso	doppio, 2 fl. oz.	150
Keurig Coffee K-Cup, all varieties	1 cup, makes 8 fl. oz.	75-150
Folgers Classic Roast Instant Coffee	2 tsp., makes 12 fl. oz.	148
Starbucks Doubleshot Energy Coffee, can	15 fl. oz.	146
Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino	venti, 24 fl. oz.	140
Starbucks VIA House Blend Instant Coffee	1 packet, makes 8 fl. oz.	135
McDonald’s Coffee	large, 16 fl. oz.	133
Maxwell House International Café, all flavors	2⅔ Tbs., makes 12-16 fl. oz.	40-130
Seattle’s Best Coffee-Iced Latte or Iced Mocha, can	9.5 fl. oz.	90
Starbucks Frappuccino Coffee, bottle	9.5 fl. oz.	90
International Delight Iced Coffee	8 fl. oz.	76
Maxwell House Lite Ground Coffee	2 Tbs., makes 12 fl. oz.	50-70
Dunkin’ Donuts, Panera, or Starbucks Decaf Coffee	16 fl. oz.	15-25
Maxwell House Decaf Ground Coffee	2 Tbs., makes 12 fl. oz.	2-10
Teas	Serving Size	Caffeine (mg)
Starbucks Tazo Awake-Brewed Tea or Tea Latte	grande, 16 fl. oz.	135
Starbucks Tazo Earl Grey-Brewed Tea or Tea Latte	grande, 16 fl. oz.	115
Starbucks Tazo Chai Tea Latte	grande, 16 fl. oz.	95
Starbucks Tazo Green Tea Latte-Iced or regular	grande, 16 fl. oz.	80
Black tea, brewed for 3 minutes	8 fl. oz.	30-80
Snapple Lemon Tea	16 fl. oz.	62
Lipton Pure Leaf Iced Tea	18.5 fl. oz.	60
Green tea, brewed for 3 minutes	8 fl. oz.	35-60
Lipton 100% Natural Lemon Iced Tea, bottle	20 fl. oz.	35
Arizona Iced Tea, black, all varieties	16 fl. oz.	30
Nestea Unsweetened Iced Tea Mix	2 tsp., makes 8 fl. oz.	20-30
Arizona Iced Tea, green, all varieties	16 fl. oz.	15
Lipton Decaffeinated Tea-black or green, brewed	8 fl. oz.	5
Herbal Tea, brewed	8 fl. oz.	0
Soft Drinks	Serving Size	Caffeine (mg)
FDA official limit for cola and pepper soft drinks	12 oz.	71 (200 parts per million)
Pepsi MAX	12 oz.	69
Mountain Zevia (Zevia)	12 oz.	55
Mountain Dew, regular or diet	12 oz.	54 (20 oz. = 90)
Diet Coke	12 oz.	47 (20 oz. = 78)
Dr Pepper or Sunkist, regular or diet	12 oz.	41 (20 oz. = 68)
Pepsi	12 oz.	38 (20 oz. = 63)
Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, or Diet Pepsi	12 oz.	35 (20 oz. = 58)
Surge	8 oz.	35 mg (20 oz. = 87.5 mg)
Coca-Cola Life	12 oz.	27 mg (20 oz. = 45 mg )
Pepsi True	7.5 oz.	24 mg (20 oz. = 64 mg)
Barq’s Root Beer, regular	12 oz.	23 (20 oz. = 38)
7-Up, Fanta, Fresca, ginger ale, or Sprite	12 oz.	0
Root beer, most brands, or Barq’s Diet Root Beer	12 oz.	0
Energy Drinks	Serving Size	Caffeine (mg)
Bang Energy Drink	16 fl. oz.	357
Redline Energy Drink	8 fl. oz.	316
Rockstar Citrus Punched	16 fl. oz.	240
5-hour Energy	1.9 fl. oz.	208
Full Throttle	16 fl. oz.	200
Frava Caffeinated Juice	16 oz.	200 mg
Monster Energy	16 fl. oz.	160
Rockstar	16 fl. oz.	160
Venom Energy Drink (Dr Pepper/Seven Up Inc.)	16 fl. oz.	160
NOS Energy Drink (Coca-Cola)	16 fl. oz.	160
AMP Energy Boost Original (PepsiCo)	16 fl. oz.	142
NoDoz Energy Shots	1.89 fl. oz.	115
Mountain Dew Kick Start	16 fl. oz.	92
ávitāe Caffeinated Water	16.9 oz.	90 mg
Red Bull	8.4 fl. oz.	80
V8 V-Fusion+Energy	8 fl. oz.	80
Ocean Spray Cran-Energy	20 fl. oz.	55
Glacéau Vitaminwater Energy	20 fl. oz.	50
Starbucks Refreshers	12 fl. oz.	50
Caffeinated Snack Foods	Serving Size	Caffeine (mg)
Crackheads	1 box, 40g	600
Crackheads Espresso Bean Candies, regular	1 package, 28 pieces	200
Wired Waffles	1 waffle	200
MiO Energy, all flavors	1 squirt, ½ tsp.	60
Crystal Light Energy	½ packet	60
Jelly Belly Extreme Sport Beans	1 package, 1 oz.	50
Jolt Gum	1 piece	45
Muscle Milk Orange Energy Chews	1.27 oz.	30 mg
Blue Diamond Almonds, Roasted Coffee Flavored	1 oz.	25
Perky Jerky	1 package, 1 oz.	10
Ice Cream & Yogurt	Serving Size	Caffeine (mg)
Bang!! Caffeinated Ice Cream	4 fl. oz.	125
Cold Stone Creamery Mocha Ice Cream	Gotta Have It, 12 fl. oz.	52
Starbucks Coffee Ice Cream	4 fl. oz.	45
TCBY Coffee Frozen Yogurt	large, 13.4 fl. oz.	42
Dannon All Natural Coffee Lowfat Yogurt	6 oz.	30
Häagen-Dazs Coffee Ice Cream	4 fl. oz.	29
Stonyfield Gotta Have Java Nonfat Frozen Yogurt	4 fl. oz.	28
Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino Ice Cream	4 fl. oz.	25
Baskin Robbins Jamoca Ice Cream	4 fl. oz.	20
Dreyer’s or Edy’s Grand Ice Cream-Coffee or Espresso Chip	4 fl. oz.	17
Breyers Coffee Ice Cream	4 fl. oz.	1
Häagen-Dazs Coffee Almond Crunch Snack Size Bar	1.8 oz.	10
Dreyer’s, Edy’s, or Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Ice Cream	4 fl. oz.	less than 1
Chocolate Candy & Chocolate Drinks	Serving Size	Caffeine (mg)
Awake Caffeinated Chocolate Bar	1.55 oz.	101
Awake Caffeinated Chocolate Bites	0.53 oz.	50
Starbucks Hot Chocolate	grande, 16 fl. oz.	25
Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Bar	1.5 oz.	20
Hershey’s-Milk Chocolate Bar	1.6 oz.	9
Hershey’s Kisses	9 pieces, 1.4 oz.	9
Hershey’s Cocoa	1 Tbs.	8
Dove Dark Chocolate Silky Smooth Promises	5 pieces, 1.4 oz.	4
Silk Chocolate Soymilk	8 fl. oz.	4
Hershey’s Chocolate Lowfat Milk, bottle	12 fl. oz.	2
Over-the-Counter Pills	Serving Size	Caffeine (mg)
Zantrex-3 weight-loss supplement	2 capsules	300
NoDoz or Vivarin	1 caplet	200
Excedrin Migraine	2 tablets	130
Midol Complete	2 caplets	120
Bayer Back & Body	2 caplets	65
Anacin	2 tablets	64

Serving sizes are based on commonly eaten portions, pharmaceutical instructions, or the amount of the leading-selling container size.

Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Effects of caffeine

The following effects may be experienced between 5 to 30 minutes after consuming caffeine, and may continue for up to 12 hours:

• Feeling more alert and active
• Restlessness, excitability and dizziness
• Anxiety and irritability
• Dehydration and needing to urinate more often
• Higher body temperature
• Faster breathing and heart rate
• Headache and lack of concentration
• Stomach pains

Children and young people who consume energy drinks containing caffeine may also suffer from sleep problems and anxiety.

Overdose

If a large amount of caffeine is consumed it could also cause an overdose. If you experience any of the following effects, call an ambulance straight away by dialling triple zero (000).

• Tremors
• Nausea and vomiting
• Very fast and irregular heart rate
• Confusion and panic attack
• Seizures

Some people consume drinks with caffeine so that they can continue working or studying at night. However, the after-effect is that they will feel tired and lethargic the next day.

Long-term effects

Regular, heavy use of caffeine (such as more than 4 cups of coffee a day) may eventually cause:

• Nervousness
• Difficulty Sleeping
• Restlessness
• Irritability and headaches
• Dizziness and ringing in the ears
• Muscle tremor
• Weakness and fatigue
• Rapid heart rate and quickened breathing rate
• Poor appetite, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea
• Increased thirst, frequent urination or increased urine volume
• Irregular heart rate or rhythm
• Low blood pressure with faintness or falls
• Seizures, confusion or delirium

Using caffeine with other drugs

The effects of taking caffeine with other drugs – including over-the-counter or prescribed medications – can be unpredictable and dangerous, and could cause:

Caffeine + alcohol: enormous strain on the body, and can mask some effects of alcohol such as falling asleep, leading to drinking more and risk taking behaviour.

Caffeine + other stimulant drugs: increase the risk of cardiovascular problems.

Withdrawal

Giving up caffeine after using it for a long time is challenging because the body has to get used to functioning without it. Withdrawal symptoms usually start within 24 hours after the last dose. The symptoms can last for around 36 hours, or even longer for people who consume a lot.

These symptoms can include:

• Headache
• Marked Fatigue or drowsiness
• Dysphoric, depressed mood or irritability
• Difficulty Concentrating
• Flu-like symptoms (nausea, vomiting or muscle pain/stiffness)

It’s possible to die from having too much caffeine, but this is extremely rare. This would usually only happen if 5–10g of caffeine (or 80 cups of strong coffee) were consumed one after the other.

In small children, caffeine poisoning can happen if a lower amount, such as around 1g of caffeine (equal to around 12 energy drinks) is consumed one after the other.

But there is not only side effects which were mentioned earlier , there are some healthy benefits too,such as:

1. Caffeine May Lower Skin Cancer Risk.

A handful of studies suggest that caffeine could potentially lower your risk for skin cancer. In an observational study (a study that shows an association but not causation) published in Cancer Research in July 2012, researchers using data from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study reported that the higher a person’s caffeine consumption, the lower their risk of developing basal cell carcinoma. Similarly, in two 2015 studies, one published in February in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and another in November in Epidemiology, researchers linked higher caffeine intake to a lower risk for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. But other factors besides caffeine could be at play, suggests the Skin Cancer Foundation. For example, it’s possible that people who drink a lot of coffee tend to work indoors and get less sun exposure than do people who drink less coffee.

2.  Caffeine Makes Working Out Easier.

Having a couple of coffees at your favorite coffee shop before you head to the gym could power up your workout, says Michael Duncan, PhD, professor of exercise science at Coventry University in the United Kingdom. In an experimental study he conducted, published in The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging in December 2014, 19 healthy older adults between ages 61 and 79 who drank the equivalent of four cups of instant coffee or two cups of filtered coffee just before exercising were better able to invest effort in their workout than folks who didn’t get a caffeine boost. They also performed better at tasks like arm curls and a six-minute walk. Even their manual dexterity improved, notes Dr. Duncan.

3.  Caffeine Can Help Control Pain

There’s a reason you can buy over-the-counter pain relievers that combine ibuprofen, acetaminophen, or aspirin with caffeine: For some people, these combinations work better than the painkiller alone. Such products are often marketed as treatments for headaches or menstrual cramps, but these aren’t the only types of pain that may be helped by a dose of caffeine.

In an analysis of four randomized, double-blind studies published in July 2015 in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, researchers found that a single dose of 200 milligrams (mg) of ibuprofen plus 100 mg of caffeine was substantially more effective than a placebo at providing postoperative and migraine pain relief over six hours.

While that particular drug combination is not commonly available in a commercial product, that dose — or a close approximation of it — can be achieved by taking 200 mg of ibuprofen along with a moderately strong cup of coffee.

4.  Caffeine May Improve Your Memory

Caffeine consumption was associated with better memory and better executive functioning (planning, organizing, and time management) in healthy older adults (average age 74) in an observational study published in July 2015 in Alzheimer’s & Dementia. The researchers, from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, found that any amount of habitual coffee consumption was helpful. Other studies performed on mice have suggested caffeine might be helpful in treating Alzheimer’s disease.

5.  Coffee, in Moderation, May Have Heart-Healthy Benefits

Studies have shown that drinking three to four cups of caffeinated coffee a day is linked to a lower risk of developing stroke and coronary artery disease, says Susanna C. Larsson, PhD, associate professor in the Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. What’s more, according to her observational study published in BMC Medicine in September 2015, drinking caffeinated coffee doesn’t appear to increase your risk of developing atrial fibrillation, the most common type of irregular heart rhythm. “Caffeine might be one of the components in coffee that reduces the risk of stroke and coronary artery disease,” says Dr. Larsson.

6.  Less Is More for Energy Drinks

“Energy ‘shot-type’ drinks can contain as much as 500 mg of caffeine per drink — about five times the amount of caffeine in a typical cup of brewed coffee,” says Lauri Wright, PhD, assistant professor of nutrition at the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “A healthy adult can safely consume two energy drinks a day, but I don’t recommend them for people 18 or under,” says Dr. Wright.

And it’s not just the megadoses of caffeine that make these drinks a poor choice for a quick pick-me-up. “Energy drinks, energy shots, and sodas are manufactured to provide energy with little nutritional benefit,” warns Rania Batayneh, MPH, a nutritionist and owner of Essential Nutrition for You, a nutrition consulting firm.

“Some energy drinks can contain as much as 70 grams of sugar — the equivalent of 17.5 teaspoons,” she says.

A study published in September 2015 in PloS One revealed that teens who downed five or more energy drinks in the past week were seven times more likely to have had a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the past year compared to teens who didn’t drink these “boosters.” Similarly, consuming energy drinks mixed with alcohol raised the likelihood of having had a TBI within the past year.

The study did not establish whether energy drink consumption predisposed teens to brain injuries or whether having a TBI somehow led teens to consume energy drinks — possibly as a coping mechanism.

Drinking energy drinks could interfere with a teen’s recovery from a TBI, says lead study author Michael Cusimano, MD, a neurosurgeon at St. Michael’s Hospital and professor of neurosurgery at the University of Toronto in Canada. “Energy drinks contain high levels of caffeine and change the chemical state of the body, which can prevent people from getting back on track after a brain injury,” Dr. Cusimano notes.

7. Caffeine May Help Lower Risk of Colon Cancer Recurrence

Colon cancer patients who regularly drink caffeinated coffee may be lowering their risk of tumor recurrence and death from the disease, suggests a study published in November 2015 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The observational study found that people with advanced (stage 3) colon cancer who drank four or more cups of caffeinated coffee a day had much lower odds of having a recurrence of the disease, or dying from it, by 52 percent compared with non-coffee drinkers. Even people who regularly drank just two or three cups a day seemed to reap some of the same benefits, although to a lesser degree.

Another observational study, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention in April 2016, compared the coffee-drinking habits of more than 9,000 adults and found that “… drinking coffee is associated with lower risk of colorectal cancer, and the more coffee consumed, the lower the risk,” according to Stephen Gruber, MD, PhD, director of the University of Southern California Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles and senior author of the study.

8.  And Also Lessen Your Risk for Oral Cancer

An observational study by the American Cancer Society, published in January 2013 in the American Journal of Epidemiology, found a strong relationship between caffeinated coffee intake and oral cancer death risk. Of the 968,432 men and women studied who were cancer-free at enrollment, 868 died due to oral cancer during the 26-year study period. Researchers found those who drank more than four cups of caffeinated coffee per day had about half the risk of death from oral cancers as those who only occasionally drank a cup. No association was found for tea drinking.

9. It helps to lose weight.

Some people believe that coffee burns the fat in our body. It should concern women who afraids that their bust size will get smaller and believe me, if to have 3 cups of coffee per day, you might need bra wish push-up)

So, you decide if you still want to have a nice cup of coffee in the mornings and even later. Just remember, It is good not to drink too much coffee, because we still getting this from some other foods and it may cause problems.

Specifically about me, I cannot live without cup of coffee, if I having not more than 2 cups per day, my day is pretty great. I remember times when I was literally, drinking 6-7 cups, I had nervousness, irritability, upset stomach, muscle tremors, I had  irregular heartbeat and could not sleep as well. I always was tired.

There are plenty of drinks without caffeine which can make you happy not less.

Information was taken from:

/www.everydayhealth.com/diet-and-nutrition-pictures/essential-facts-about-caffeine.aspx

https://adf.org.au/drug-facts/caffeine/

https://www.infoplease.com/science-health/health/caffeine-content-selected-foods-drinks-and-drugs