Can caffeine be harmful or beneficial to you?

Caffeine is considered to be one of the most widely used drug in the world. What is it exactly you ask? Plain and simple, caffeine is an alkaloid. Where can it be found? Caffeine is usually derived from cola nuts, cacao beans, tea, and other plants.

Caffeine is considered to be a miracle drug to many people in the world. The reason for this is because of its abilities as a stimulant. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, heart and respiratory system. Caffeine has the ability to keep a person alert, increases mental focus and cocentration, and keeps a person awake.

Because of it's effects on human performance, caffeine can be a very addictive stimulant. Often with many people, a physical and psychological dependence can usually result. This is common.

The average american can usually consume about 2 to 3 cups of coffee in as little as a day. Depending on the type of coffee, a regular size cup of coffee can contain about 175 grams worth of caffeine. Caffeine sources also include energy pills and energy drinks. These sources can also usually have 100-200 grams of caffeine per serving. Moderate caffeine consumption should be in the range of 250-300 grams of caffeine per day.

In the health and fitness world, caffeine plays a big role as a stimulant supplement. Because of increased energy, caffeine has the ability to get more out of your workouts. Caffeine has a greater effect during endurance exercises which can usually last from 1-2 hours. Caffeine has also been used as a weightloss aid, due to increased metabolism and high energy that it delivers to the human body.

Just like anything else, consuming too much caffeine can result in negative side-effects. Side-effects include trouble sleeping, muscle twitching, confusion, in and out of consciousness, increased urination, increased thirst, fever, trouble breathing, vomiting, diarrhea, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, headaches, hallucinations, dizziness, convulsions, and sometimes ultimately death depending on the dosage consumed.

It had also been shown that caffeine contains a drug similar to heroine or cocaine in stimulating the brain. This is maybe the reason why it is addictive to those who consumed it.

consuming too much caffeine can result in negative side-effects. quite agree this sentence.
when i drink coffee in the evening, i can't sleep till 3:00 am, so i have to burn the night oil. lol

Caffeinated drink such as tea and coffee do provide some fluid, but they are not as beneficial as they act as a diuretic, increasing urine production and water loss. It is not recommended that we drink more than six cups of coffee or tea a day.

the biggest side effect/downside of caffeine consumption in women is the depletion of calcium ... especially since women are more prone to developing osteoporosis, it is doubly important to either take calcium supplements or to avoid caffeine intake ...