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Caffeine is a drug that most Americans take, in one form or another, several times a day. It takes the form of coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, most soft drinks, some aspirin, weight-loss aids, and anti-histamines. Its effects include chronic fatigue, heart disease, depression, nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, headaches, nausea, heartburn, indigestion, low blood sugar, and stomach ulcers. Caffeine causes the locus cerules, the nerve center in the brain, to overreact, causing anxiety and panic. Cancer found in the pancreas and in the bladder have both been attributed to the use of caffeine.
High levels of caffeine in pregnant women have been known to complicate delivery, cause miscarriages, and fetal deaths. Babies born to women who drank many cups of coffee, have been born with missing fingers and toes, and other birth defects. This is caused by the caffeine crossing the placenta into the unborn baby, who is unable to metabolize and excrete the caffeine brought into his system. The caffeine then accumulates causing heart and nervous system damage.
Heart disease and vascular disorders are one of the top killers in the United States. Caffeine causes heart palpitations, premature heart beats, and low and high blood pressure. Drinking coffee causes an increased risk of heart attacks, and among diabetics, a more acute case of diabetes.
Coffee is called an amphetamine; it raises the body's blood-sugar levels, heart rate, and blood pressure. But these rises consume energy, and when this "high" wears off, the body feels more tired and run down than before the coffee intake. So, if you drink one or two cups of coffee, you'll feel alert for about half an hour, but afterwards you'll feel worse than before. One effect that coffee has on the body is its ability to impair sleep. For the first couple of hours of sleep, the body's metabolism is busy getting rid of the caffeine levels in the body, so that it can rest. This working of the body against the caffeine impairs the quality and quantity of your sleep. The long term effect of coffee is that it tears down the body. It is harmful to the liver, heart, nervous system, and kidneys, and it deteriorates the lining of the stomach.
More than half of the soft drinks sold in the United States contain caffeine, and it is one of the favorite thirst quenchers around. It is also one of the top junk foods consumed. Studies performed on children have shown that caffeine intake causes them to experience restlessness, nervousness, nausea, insomnia, headaches, some cases of asthma, and an inability to learn. Side effects on adults include nervousness, insomnia, heart disorders, intestinal disorders, peptic ulcers, abdominal cramping, and cancer. (Also present in soft drinks is a chemical called trihalomethane, which is thought to cause cancer.)
Caffeine is often put into cold and allergy remedies to circumvent the sleepy effect that antihistamines produce, and in asthma drugs which are used to relax the bronchial muscles. It is also put into many aspirins and painkillers. Caffeine present in these pills have the capacity to produce greater harm than the caffeine present in coffee or soft drinks.
