|
 By: Fawnia Mondey
I was about 13 years old when I had my first cup of coffee; coffee and toast with butter. At that time I was in a rebellious stage, trying new things. An act such as drinking coffee was something adults did, and I was ready to 'grow up.'
  Click To Enlarge.During The Off-Season, These Supplements Will Help You Keep A Beautiful Body.
It's hardly a coincidence that coffee and tea caught on in Europe just as the first factories were ushering in the industrial revolution. The widespread use of caffeinated drinks - replacing the ever popular beer - facilitated the great transformation of human economic endeavor from the farm to the factory. Boiling water to make coffee or tea helped decrease the incidence of disease among workers in crowded cities. And the caffeine in their systems kept them from falling asleep over the machinery. In a sense, caffeine is the drug that made the modern world possible. And the more modern our world gets, the more we seem to need it.
Without that useful jolt of coffee - or Diet Coke or Red Bull - to get us out of bed and back to work, the 24-hour society of the developed world couldn't exist. "For most of human existence, your pattern of sleeping and wakefulness was basically a matter of the sun and the season," explains Charles Czeisler, a neuroscientist and sleep expert at Harvard Medical School. "When the nature of work changed from a schedule built around the sun to an indoor job timed by a clock, humans had to adapt. The widespread use of caffeinated food and drink-in combination with the invention of electric light-allowed people to cope with a work schedule set by the clock, not by daylight or the natural sleep cycle." Scientists have developed various theories to explain caffeine's "wake-promoting" power. The consensus today focuses on the drug's interference with adenosine, a chemical in the body that acts as a natural sleeping pill.
Caffeine blocks the hypnotic effect of adenosine and keeps us from falling asleep. Since caffeine has also been shown to enhance mood and increase alertness in moderate amounts, it's a potent potion for students and scholars stuck in the lab at three in the morning.
Caffeine is used by fitness enthusiasts to get more out of their workouts. Once thought of as a 'health no-no' for athletes, caffeine is taking center stage as a legitimate aid to performance. This benefit has been recognized by the makers of sports nutrition products like energy gels (see chart below). A growing body of laboratory research supports caffeine as an effective ergogenic aid (An ergogenic aid is a substance that improves athletic performance). The most dramatic performance improvements (20-50 percent) are seen during prolonged (over two-hours) endurance exercise.
 To View Top Selling Caffeine Products Click Here.
Caffeine is also reported to benefit short-term intense exercise lasting about five minutes at maximal output. Caffeine's ability to murder sleep also makes it a drug of choice for long-distance travelers. There are as many different jet-lag remedies as there are seats on a trans-Pacific flight. But one approach, outlined in The Caffeine Advantage by Bennett Alan Weinberg and Bonnie K. Bealer, involves abstaining from caffeine for several days before traveling, then dosing yourself with small amounts of coffee or tea on the day you arrive to stay alert-preferably out in the sunshine-until your regular bedtime in your destination. "Caffeine helps people try to wrest control away from the human circadian rhythm that is hardwired in all of us," says Czeisler. But then a shadow crosses the doctor's sunny face and his tone changes sharply. "On the other hand," he says solemnly, "there is a heavy, heavy price that has been paid for all this extra wakefulness."
Without adequate sleep - the conventional eight hours out of each 24 is about right - the human body will not function at its best, physically, mentally, or emotionally, the doctor says. "As a society, we are tremendously sleep deprived." In fact, the professor goes on; there is a sort of catch-22 at the heart of the modern craving for caffeine. "The principal reason that caffeine is used around the world is to promote wakefulness," Czeisler says. "But the principal reason that people need that crutch is inadequate sleep." "Think about that: We use caffeine to make up for a sleep deficit that is largely the result of using caffeine."
If consuming caffeine in general is something many people shouldn't do, then what about women who are pregnant? Safety of caffeine consumption during pregnancy is controversial. Some studies suggest that small amounts of caffeine (less than two average cups) of coffee per day presents a slight risk to the embryo or fetus, while others do not. There is stronger evidence that larger daily amounts of caffeine during pregnancy may increase the risks of miscarriage, preterm delivery and low birth weight, but no solid proof. High caffeine intake during pregnancy should be avoided. A pregnant woman may be able to tolerate more than her fetus can. Related Articles:
Risks of even small amounts of caffeine consumption are not clear. Women trying to become pregnant may conceive sooner if they limit caffeine intake to less then two cups daily. Breastfeeding women can minimize infants' exposures to caffeine by avoiding a very high caffeine intake.
Some studies have found a link between high levels of caffeine consumption by women and delayed conception. Women who consumed more than 300 mg of caffeine per day were twice as likely to have conception delayed for a year or more.1 Another study also linked high caffeine intake to delayed conception, but only in women consuming 500 mg or more (about four cups of coffee) per day.2 Best to keep your caffeine intake below 300 mg a day.
Caffeine easily passes from mother to fetus through the placenta. A developing fetus may have higher, sustained blood levels of caffeine than its mother because of immature metabolism.3 A few studies have shown that consuming even small amounts of caffeine can affects fetal heart rate and movement patterns.3 A pregnant woman's ability to metabolize caffeine slows as pregnancy progresses, so some of its effects may increase later in pregnancy. Some studies have found that pregnant women who consumed large quantities of caffeine (five or more cups of coffee a day) were twice as likely to miscarry as those who consumed less, while fewer or no effects were seen at lower levels of caffeine consumption.4, 5 A detailed analysis of caffeine's reported effects on pregnancy outcome can be found at motherisk.org.
High caffeine consumption during pregnancy may shorten gestation and lower birth weight.6 Both effects appear modest in terms of days and ounces, but may be important to an infant already compromised by prematurity or fetal growth restriction. Such effects have not been consistently linked to moderate consumption.7 A reported link between heavy maternal caffeine intake during pregnancy and increased risk of SIDS8 (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) has not been supported by further studies.9 Breast milk can transfer caffeine from mother to baby. Very high caffeine intake by a nursing mother may make her baby irritable, with disturbed sleep cycles, but this is not known to occur from ordinary food and beverage caffeine intake, or without use of medications containing caffeine.
To cut caffeine out of your diet can be difficult. Many will experience side effects like headaches and cravings. To reduce the risks of these side effects it is recommended that you cut back slowly. For example, a coffee drinker should start with 3/4 of a cup of regular coffee and add 1/4 of decaffeinated coffee. Slowly they will increase the decaffeinated coffee until it is the entire cup. Whether you discontinue caffeine cold turkey or slowly, it will help you to achieve a healthier pregnancy. It is also helpful to have your partner discontinue caffeine with you.  Click To Enlarge.Using Caffeine Or Green Tea During A Contest Will Help You Win Your Contest. So as you prepare for pregnancy by eliminating hazards from your diet and life, remember a healthy body helps produce a healthy baby! At the age of 30, I look back at when I took my first sip. Another experience comes to mind... When my friend Karla and I made a large pot of coffee (I was 13) and drank it all to see what would happen. We were having a sleep over at her house, and I swear that I endured one of my first restless nights and morning bags under my eyes. Little did I know it that I was feeling what many grown-ups feel daily; fatigue from lack of sleep. Oh, to be 13 and that kid again.
Information provided by T. R. Reid for National Geographic, March of Dimes, and Mother Risk Organization.
References
Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here! Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
Related Articles
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sign in for more FREE features and tools!
|
|
Give Us Feedback:
Report A ProblemSite Feedback |
Follow Us:
|
Bodybuilding.com Newsletter
Receive exciting features, |
