Caffeinated beverages are everywhere. You may not be able to work without a coffee in the morning or after the lunch break, or you need to consume your favorite beverages all day long to keep you concentrated and energetic.
You may have heard that too much caffeine isn’t good for your health, and some people ARE suffering from caffeine use disorder, a condition where your body is unable to reduce caffeine consumption even you already have other conditions that may be impacted by caffeine.
However, caffeine also does us good in many ways. It can help us concentrate, be active, and fight obesity. Research is revealing other effectiveness on what a proper amount of caffeine can help with multiple diseases, including heart, kidney and mental-related diseases.
This post will help you know some daily effects of coffee in our life.
Preventing skin cancer cause by sun exposure when exercising
Isn’t it surprising, that caffeine should have some relationship with skin cancer? Research showed the combined effects of exercise plus caffeine consumption may lower the risk of skin cancer and inflammation related to other obesity-linked cancers.
Science behind
The researchers applied the combination of caffeine and exercise to mouse model, and found that the combination treatment can decrease sunlight-caused skin cancer formation.
A dose of caffeine and exercised with a running wheel on mice showed 62% fewer skin tumors and 85% shrink in the volume of tumors, compared with the mice that did not consume caffeine or exercise.
The results also showed that the tumor can be reduced by 27% with only caffeine or exercise alone.
Researchers believe that the findings can be extrapolated to humans for our benefits as well.
Coffee helps fight against obesity
You may have heard that black coffee can help lose weight. This is mainly about the fat-fighting defenses in our body called “brown fat”.
Science behind
“Brown fat” is actually called brown adipose tissue (BAT), one of two types of fat found in mammals including, of course, humans. Brown fat can generate body heat by burning calories, while white fat is a result of storing excess calories.
Previously people thought only babies and hibernating mammals have brown fat, but recent study showed that adults can have brown fat too. You can more likely find brown fat in people with a lower body mass index (BMI).
Researchers found that something like a cup of coffee can have a direct effect on our brown fat functions, which can be used to reduce obesity, a major health concern and a cause of many medical conditions.
Caffeine makes you anxious
A new post by Pennsylvania State University recently published to reveal the relationship between anxiety and caffeine consumption.
“Caffeine is not the enemy, but I encourage people to know healthy limits and consume it strategically because it is activating and can mimic or exacerbate the symptoms of anxiety.” Said Dr. Julie Radico, a clinical psychologist with Penn State Health.
Caffeine can cause problems for those with general anxiety disorder. Consuming a large amount of caffeine (over 400mg) in a short time can lead to other side effects including racing heart, nausea or abdominal pain.
Although the amount of recommended caffeine consumption varies from person to person, the general recommendation is based on body weight.
Caffeine use disorder: a widespread health problem
Caffeine doesn’t only exist in coffee. You can also find it in soda, tea, chocolate, and energy beverages. You are consuming more caffeine than you could realize every day.
In the article “Caffeine Use Disorder: A Comprehensive Review and Research Agenda” coauthored by professors from American University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Vermont, the physical and psychological symptoms experienced by habitual caffeine users in previous studies were reviewed.
The American Psychiatric Association has officially recognized Caffeine Use Disorder as a health concern.
Considering how widespread the dependence of caffeine is, one of the coauthor claimed that labeling caffeine amount on the products containing caffeine may help people control their caffeine consumption.
