This entry was posted on Friday, September 7th, 2007 at 7:55 am and is filed under Food nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Your mom says not to drink soda at night because the caffeine will keep you awake. And she says she “needs her caffeine” in the morning when she’s reaching for her cup of coffee. So what is caffeine, anyway?
Caffeine Is a Common Chemical
Caffeine (say: ka-feen) is a natural chemical found in tea leaves, coffee beans, cacao (the stuff used to make chocolate), and cola nuts (the plant that gives cola soda its flavor). Caffeine has been in foods that humans eat and drink for hundreds of years. Today, caffeine is found in many common foods and drinks, such as coffee, tea, hot cocoa, soda, chocolate, and some medicines.
When humans drink or eat caffeine, it acts as a stimulant (say: stim-yuh-lunt). Stimulants may make us feel more awake and alert. Many people drink liquids with caffeine because they think it helps them to wake up and feel sharper. But no one needs caffeinated (say: ka-fuh-nay-ted) drinks, especially kids. The best drinks for kids are water and milk, which don’t contain caffeine.
Caffeine can cause your heart to pump faster and your breathing to quicken. Caffeine is also a diuretic (say: dye-yuh-reh-tik). This means that caffeinated drinks or foods cause you to urinate (pee) more often than normal.
Caffeine is also a drug that can be addictive. It’s not as scary or as bad for you as other addictive drugs like cocaine or heroin or even nicotine, but people who drink caffeine every day will usually need to drink that amount of caffeine just to feel normal. And if caffeine users don’t get their regular daily dose, look out! People who are used to caffeine and don’t get it can develop headaches, stomachaches, and feel sleepy or grumpy all day long.
Tags:coffee beans Food nutrition natural chemical