First, one need to take into account that caffeine side effects don’t have the same reaction in every body. The consequences will depend on several characteristics such as:
a) Level of tolerance and caffeine sensitivity.
b) Body weight, which has bigger action on people with smaller body mass and body structure.
c) Other environmental and health conditions like: levels of stress, anxiety, smoking habits or even a history of caffeine abuse.

Caffeine side effects have a massive participation in many aspects of the user’s life. If consumed in big quantities, caffeine can definitely have an adverse aftermath. Nevertheless, not all consequences are negative. It is believed that caffeine has a clearing effect and even healing properties on the human body. Here are a few responses that our organism have when in touch with caffeine.

a) Caffeine increments attentiveness and mental speed. A caffeine user is able to perform simple brain tasks. However, when dealing with complex reasoning, mental assertiveness does not function as appropriately as desired.

b) On the other hand, fine motor coordination is reduced. Don’t expect to operate dangerous machinery when you are under the effects of caffeine. The body is acting uncontrollably and may lack the sharpness to handle critical situations.

c) Heartbeat accelerates at an exaggerated rate, hence, causing an awakening of all human body responses. The feeling may be too overwhelming for the light user.

d) Other caffeine side effects include stiffen of arterial walls. This reaction may cause hypertension on the long run, but is only a temporary damage.

e) Caffeine addiction can cause strong headaches, dizziness, confusion and even some abdominal pain, especially among drinkers experiencing caffeine withdrawal.

f) Sleep deprivation is what people love the most about caffeine, since it keeps them awake for longer periods of time on required situations. Looking this scenario from another point of view, insomnia is not what you want when you need to save those good 8 hours of sleep.

d) Probably one of the least known caffeine side effects is that caffeine evokes excessive urination. Caffeine is a mild diuretic, and as any diuretic it increases urination urges.

e) The capability of physical improvement increases as caffeine acts on the muscles. Some research has been done regarding the use of caffeinated products with athletes. Even though it is not a dramatic change, caffeine can enhance physical performance. It does, however, produce a more efficient result in relaxing sore muscles after physical activity.

Caffeine effects are always regarded distrustfully, because they carry many negative consequences. However, caffeine content is also responsible for many positive side effects, which range from an energy burst to excessive displays of happiness and social interaction.

How caffeine addiction interferes with your everyday activities? Well, as explained in other articles, caffeine content tends to create dependency among users. If you are used to zipping an energy drink late at night to stay awake and finish pending task, then you will hardly manage to do that without caffeine consumption. If you are used to drinking two or three cups of coffee before noon, and one day you have not been able to fulfill that quota, then your body will resent that lack of caffeine and it most likely provoke you some nasty withdrawal effects.

If you are not a hard caffeine drinker, but still believe that you are on your way to develop caffeine addiction, then you should pay attention to the caffeine content that many of those common products have.

Depending on the type of drink or product that you ingest, caffeine content varies a lot, but its effects are always transcendental:

Coffee:

1) A 5 oz cup of regular coffee contains between 106 and 164 mg of caffeine.

2) A regular 5 oz cup of instant coffee has between 47 and 68 mg.

3) The same amount of decaffeinated has only 2-5 mg.

4) 2 ounces of espresso coffee contain an average of 100 mg.

Tea:

1) A single cup of black tea contains between 20 and 80 mg of caffeine.

2) 5 oz of instant tea has between 22 and 36 mg.

3) On the other hand, 13 oz of iced tea possesses 67 to 76 mg.

Chocolate:

1) 6 oz of a cocoa beverage has only 2 to 8 mg of caffeine in its content.

2) 1 oz of milk chocolate has an average of 6 mg.

Soft Drinks:

1) While sodas like Club Soda, 7-Up, Root Beer, Fanta, Fresca, Ginger Ale, or Sprite contain no caffeine ingredients at all, there are some other that are rich in this component.

2) 12 oz of Coca Cola or Diet Cola have around 46 mg of caffeine, being one of the highest rates.

3) Pepsi Cola and Doctor Pepper have an average of 37 mg of caffeine in 12 oz of content.

Other related products contain the following:

1) NoDoz caffeine tablets have 200 mg of caffeine on it.

2) The pain reliever Tylenol has no caffeine, but Excedrin has an impressive 130 mg in one single tablet.

1) There has not been real evidence that caffeine effects produce cancer. There isn’t an official recommendation against heavy caffeine intake, since natural components of coffee and other drinks interact harmoniously with your organism.

2) Another fact that shows mild relationship with caffeine effects is that this substance is not a real menace for osteoporosis. It has been concluded that caffeine doesn’t affect calcium absorption. This is particularly more positive if the person in osteoporosis risk age consumes adequate amounts of calcium. How caffeine alters bone structure is not a real issue for most researches.

3) Another busted myth is that caffeine has a major role in coronary heart disease. This hypothesis has been discarded after several studies showed no evident link.

4) There are no harmful caffeine effects in cardiovascular diseases for caffeine users. Harvard University’s research has concluded that caffeine intake doesn’t contribute or increase the risk to develop coronary heart disease or stroke.

5) No real data has been gathered on how caffeine disturbs the circulatory system. Caffeine doesn’t really act on blood pressure increase. Chronic hypertension has been proven not be caused by caffeine effects. Even though there is a slight rise in blood pressure among people sensitive to caffeine, the effect is insignificant and doesn’t last long. It is advised, however, that these people discuss their caffeine habits with a doctor.

6) There is close evidence demonstrating how caffeine intake modifies memory enhancers. Caffeine does have an important impact on memory and learning. Long-term consumption of this compound might block long-term memory. Oddly enough, caffeine also stimulates brain activity, thus producing the user to pay more attention to details and enhance their short-term memory if the subject matter is related to the current train of thought.

7) Alzheimer’s disease and caffeine intake could go together like hand in a glove. Authorities like the Florida’s Bird Alzheimer’s Institute have suggested that caffeine not only could reduce the risk of developing the disease but also it could help those who already suffer such condition.

Many scientist continue their investigation on how caffeine alters the human organism, in order to better advise about its usage. So far, caffeine effects have not proven to create major disruption in our health. So we can safely argument that coffee and all other products that contain caffeine can be enjoyed without worrying too much about its side effects.

a) Headaches: On top of the list, headaches are the most common withdrawal effect caused by caffeine addiction. They can start within 12 to 24 hours after the last caffeine intake, however, the effect can disappear after a few days. In order to avoid headaches, you can either take an aspirin or pain killer, which contains caffeine, or drink a small cup of coffee. Nonetheless, the best way to avoid this caffeine withdrawal is by regularly reducing caffeine intake.

b) Irritability: One of the most uncomfortable effects of caffeine withdrawal is that the user becomes extremely irritable, causing problematic social interactions. Caffeine effects produce a reduction in serotonin levels that create uncontrollable anxiety and irritation, which may even lead to a more serious issue…

c) Depression: Depression is one of the strongest effects that a caffeine addict can suffer from. Although, it only happens in the organism of a heavy drinker. The decrease of serotonin levels in the brain generate a depressive feeling by the lack of caffeine in the organism, causing the users to respond negatively with themselves.

d) Lack of concentration: Caffeine withdrawal causes heavy fatigue and drowsiness, resulting in poor concentration at work or school, and an uncanny impossibility to perform daily tasks. The motivation to interact with your duties is utterly lost. You require an extra effort to focus on your priorities and on future assignments.

e) Insomnia: This is the reason why many people indulge themselves in heavy caffeine binge drinking; to stay up late that is. However, when you are depriving yourself from coffee and suffering the effects of caffeine withdrawal, you don’t want to experience that uneasy late night sensation.

f) Nervousness: The feeling that every drug addict undergoes is also common among caffeine users. Relentlessness, strong cravings for your daily fix, impulsive behavior… Both your body and your brain are asking for it, due to the psychological and physical dependence.

h) Nausea: Nausea happens only in extreme cases, where caffeine addiction has really taken total control of your body. The most unpleasant scenario may include vomiting and strong abdominal pain.

Tolerance for caffeine develops rapidly, specially among heavy caffeine consumers. As you increase your daily intake, caffeine withdrawal effects will have a heavier weight on your organism. An increasingly reduction in coffee or energy drinks may soften those reactions and reduce the obnoxious side effects.

1) Caffeine pregnancy can lead to serious iron deficiency anemia in both mothers and babies. Besides, the baby could suffer from malfunctioning of the body mechanism, causing a lack of appropriate iron absorption.

2) Some studies suggest that caffeine consumption during pregnancy can cause prematurity and early development of the infant.

3) There is a higher possibility for miscarriage among women who consume caffeine daily. Nonetheless, studies have not been able to point the accuracy of these results.

4) Caffeine pregnancy affects the unborn, since this substance goes through the mother’s placenta directly into the fetus, which may develop a future withdrawal effect. We need to remember that pregnant women are more sensitive to caffeine effects, since their organism takes longer to clear all caffeine content from their bodies.

5) High caffeine intake can decrease the baby’s birth weight. However, the loss has proven to be minimum.

6) Caffeine intake in breastfeeding women can mildly affect the newborn, since a small caffeine amount goes into the breast milk.

The bright side of the cloud is that there are some caffeine pregnancy effects that have not yet been proven scientifically. This gives a light of hope for those coffee lovers:

1) There is no clear association between women with heavy caffeine addiction and child birth defects.

2) Moderate caffeine consumption does not seem to throw any negative results about miscarriage or birth malformation, making caffeine pregnancy a valid state for women.

3) If we speak about fertility, the are even less factual data that proves any relationship regarding fertility and caffeine intake or caffeine addiction.

Despite the fact that caffeine pregnancy is or is not harmful to the pregnant and woman and her child, people should take certain precautions in order to save future complications:

1) Pregnant women should really decrease caffeine intake to at least 200mg (two cups) of product per day. Ideally, they ought to eliminate it completely from their diet.

2) Once the child is born and grown, parents should be cautions of the caffeine proportion that they give to their children.

a) Sugar: These drinks have lots and lots of sugar, which causes hyperactivity and anxiety. b) Taurine: Taurine aids in regulating muscle contractions and heart beat. c) Ephedrine: It stimulates the central nervous system, but it may carry some negative effects for the heart. d) Guarana: It also stimulates your body and gives a sensation of extra alertness. e) B Vitamins: These vitamins can improve muscle tone.

There are many other ingredients such as gingsen, creatine, carnitine and more.

Caffeine energy gives you an extra boost in your daily activities, it enhances your performance by increasing the amount of stamina. Some of the positive effects that caffeine energy provides are: a) When you are in a bar, the drink makes you look cooler than holding a glass of coke if you are the designated driver. b) Your tongue may glow in the dark, and it tickles! c) Your heart feels and resonates like there’s an LCD Soundsystem concert happening inside.

Now, the serious information is that caffeine energy will give you: 1) A great augmentation of your mental response and your cognitive performance, and it increases your awareness level. 2) An increase of muscular strength and improvement of your physical endurance. 3) For some users, caffeine energy provides them a stimulating state of euphoria that create sensations people don’t usually experience with other drinks.

On the other hand, caffeine energy develops some negative side effects that can even include caffeine addiction. Take a look at these effects: a) It makes you want to drive for hours when you really need to get home. b) Your friends make fun of you for your low caffeine tolerance. c) It’s not coffee!!!

Trying to be funny again here, and it’s not working, is it? But here is the real data: 1) Since caffeine acts as as a diuretic, the chances of getting dehydrated increases, specially when you mix the intake with physical activity of some kind. 2) If consumed excessively, caffeine effects produce insomnia, nervousness, irritability, abnormal heart rate, jitters, headaches and potential addiction. 3) These drinks, mixed with alcohol, are particularly dangerous. Studies have shown that the ingredients in energy drinks can dissimulate the alcoholic effects, hence causing drinkers to act as if sober. Alcohol is a depressive that is counteracted with the caffeine and taurine effects, which produces a state of confusion in your body. Some cases have reported hospitalization and serious injury.

Scientific research has proven that there isn’t much relationship between caffeine and fat reduction per se. However, confusion has led to believe that caffeine effects do play a major role in weight loss. A vast majority of diet pills contain caffeine, because this substance speeds the metabolism, hence facilitating the process. Nevertheless, the effect produced in the body by caffeine is that it acts as a diuretic. The constant release of liquid through urination causes the body to lighten up, but what the body expels is water and not fat, so caffeine diet is not a valid argument in this scenario.

There is constant discussion whether or not a caffeine diet would enhance physical performance and subsequently weight loss. As a matter of fact, caffeine content does improve physical activity and resistance. Besides, it can provoke weight loss if accompanied by a balanced diet. Nonetheless, if we take into consideration that a person who doesn’t drink coffee, exercises regularly and carries a healthy life style also tends to lose weight easily, the point is lost.

It may sound shocking, but caffeine effects suppresses appetite at the same time that it stimulates it. On the one hand, many marketing companies brag about the suppressant properties of this substance, on the other hand, studies have proven that caffeine intake stimulates the urge for food, hence, making the effort of a caffeine diet not worthy. It is true that caffeine suppresses appetite but only for a short period after ingestion. On the long run, caffeine increases cravings for sweets.

Now, if you take drinks that possess caffeine like coffee, tea or energy drinks to reduce body weight, then you are in the wrong direction my friend. Many of those beverages are rich in sugars and calories, and we all know how that contributes to our sedentary abdominal fat. A good solution, if you don’t want to gain extra pounds but still enjoy that marvelous elixir, is to find other alternatives: Caffeine-free coffee substitutes, ignore caffeine diet and all caffeine sources, and start a regular exercise program to cope with your monsters.

Caffeine pills are a valid caffeine substitute that is getting more popularity every day. The problem with this is that people is not consuming caffeine in coffee presentation for its taste and smell, they are using it as a drug that helps them overcome their routine. Likewise, tablets are cheap, more convenient to ingest, easier to measure the actual amount of caffeine you are taking, and extremely accessible.

Side effects of the pills include that you do manage to stay awake for longer hours but it keeps you from rationalizing accurately, it gives you nervousness and some people may be guilty the after day, sort of like a moral hangover for having taken the pills.

Many people don’t realize that caffeine tablets are a dangerous drug. They think of them as part of their diet plan or energetic strategy, since pills are used to activate the organism, keep the brain awake and lighten long working hours; thus, eventually your body may develop a severe caffeine addiction.

Most caffeine pills contain up to 200 mg of caffeine. That is the equivalent of one cup of regular coffee, two cups of instant coffee, three espresso shots, almost three cans of energy drinks, or 68 ounces of cola. If you thought popping up two tablets at once was no issue, think again! If you were trying to relieve fatigue, stay awake longer and pump up your body… what you might have gotten instead is a nasty episode of nervousness, gastrointestinal disorders, irritability, and a moral hangover the after day. Some people might even experience a caffeine intoxication caused by the abusive intake of these pills, which saturate the central nervous system. The results can be fatal, ranging from heart problems, seizures, intensive care or hospitalization.

Irresponsible intake of caffeine pills can lead to caffeine addiction and future withdrawal effects, once you have diminished the consumption. Therefore, if you plan on starting to consume caffeine pills, do it only occasionally and be conscious of the negative sides effects that you might develop. I’m not trying to be alarmist, all I’m saying is that caffeine pills should be taken cautiously. Education and further reading, on the other hand, is our best allied to better understand and counteract the effects of abusive substances.

We friendly tell you to sit back, relax and enjoy your daily cup of coffee. The United States Food and Drug Administration as well as the American Medical Association and many other institutions consider caffeine to be a safe drug; so there’s no need to worry about caffeine addiction. It can happen, they say, but it is nothing compared to the effects of heavier psychoactive drugs. Researchers could not find evidence that links caffeine use and significant health injury or death, due to addiction. Nonetheless, regular exercise routine, healthy diet and moderate consumption of other ‘light drugs’ (alcohol, tobacco), can definitely help a lot in preventing a heavy coffee user to suffer from caffeine addiction.

To better understand and act upon caffeine addiction, we need to know the factors that interact with a life style that is shared by millions of people, and a tradition that comes from thousands of years ago. For that particular reason, we will discuss three factors that surround the ‘caffeine maniacs’ culture.

Caffeine dependence: By definition, an addiction is an excessive dependence, be it physical or psychological. The addict persons reacts compulsively and obsessively towards a substance that allows them to interact with comfort in every day activities. A social burden exists around drug addictions. Caffeine had it easy though, since it is the most widely accepted social drug in the world. One of the negative effects of this type of addiction is the caffeine withdrawal effect, which the user experience whenever they deprive from the substance intake.

Caffeine tolerance: Tolerance happens whenever an addict or strong user becomes more resistant to the effect of the psychoactive compound. As a result, the user needs to take grater doses in order to achieve the same effect. Caffeine addiction, as many other drug addictions will depend on the person’s body weight, caffeine intake, levels of tolerance and other circumstances.

Caffeine treatment: A treatment is required for users that need to recover from their caffeine addiction. Professional recommendations suggest to start a treatment by reducing the amount of caffeine slowly. The caffeine consumer may experience strong caffeine withdrawal effects, which include, headaches, restlessness, insomnia and irritability.

Moderation is mandatory in everything we do. Caffeine effects don’t need to be so harsh on our mind and body. We can responsibly continue enjoying the wonderful elixir without suffering sickening consequences.

Even though many people are only regular coffee users, many more do possess an unbreakable bond with that precious grain. Caffeine addiction is as dangerous and has the same side effects as any other drug addiction. It is well known how caffeine affects the nervous system. Nonetheless, not many people consider the negative factors it brings about since caffeine effects do not seem to alter significantly our every day activities.

In occasions like the one described above, many people succumb to their caffeine addiction. However, when you deprive your body from coffee, caffeine effects start to act. Probably, the worst effect of all is the caffeine withdrawal effect. The withdrawal effect -thoroughly  explained in another article- attacks once your body assimilates caffeine intake. The human body is deeply vulnerable to foreign substances, and caffeine content, rich in foreign substances is heavy on the body; despite the fact that many of us indulge ourselves not in one, nor two but three or four cups of coffee a day.

To better understand why we feel this uncontrollable craving for coffee, we need to know how caffeine interacts in the human body. The reaction will depend on different factors such as consumption habits, intake frequency, body weight and tolerance levels.

* Caffeine content is absorbed by the bloodstream and acts as quickly as forty five minutes from ingestion. It is then distributed throughout the body up to the brain, hence, affecting the central nervous system.

* In high concentrations of caffeine, caffeine effects include an abnormal increase in the heart beat.

* Blood flows through the kidneys increasingly, causing constant urination and potential dehydration.

* Caffeine addiction can cause more serious problems like intense headaches, due to the fact that coffee constricts brain blood vessels.

* A higher increase of blood happens through the lungs, thus, altering the supply of air, provoking insomnia. This reflects how caffeine normally alerts the nervous system.

* There is also an increase in fatty acids, which causes the body to enhance fatty acid metabolism, and even produce minor weight loss. Please notice that caffeine is not an appetite suppressant; coffee does not have a major impact on dieting.

Find out more about caffeine addiction and erectile dysfunction following this links. There are many other symptoms caused by caffeine addiction and caffeine withdrawal, since it is very common that caffeine effects react excessively upon the human body. You can consult Your Caffeine Addiction site for further information on how caffeine interacts and alters our system.