What is Caffeine and How Does Coffee Actually Effect Us?

If you are like me you enjoy a morning cup of coffee on a regular basis. I love the taste and the smell of coffee, but sometimes it gives me heart burn so I prefer to drink it without milk. I have always wondered why I love coffee so much, and why I have a different effect from coffee with cream or milk in it. This article is going to discuss caffeine and coffee, and how it affects us.

Coffee is the main way most people take in the chemical known as caffeine. The "roasted coffee bean" contains many things, but the best known of these substances is "caffeine", and it is a substance that is "chemically related to a uric acid" (Leokum, 19986, p.185). Caffeine is very affective as a pick me up, but the actual chemical can not be used alone. Caffeine is not found in a "free state," but is found "combined with acids" (Leokum,1986, p.185). Interestingly caffeine can only be harvested when combined with other elements so despite its strength it is nothing alone.

Caffeine combines with many things and this proves to cause caffeine to have a different effect when taking in different forms. A roasted coffee bean only contains "one percent caffeine," but it is the "strongest of the substances found in coffee" (Leokum, 1986, p.185). Caffeine is also found in chocolate and tea, but since the substances it is combined with are different it has a different impact on the user. When milk or cream is added to coffee the caffeine has a different effect as well because it "combines with the protein of milk" (Leokum, 1986, p.186). Caffeine can be a strong substance, but it depends on what other substances it is combined with.

Caffeine has many effects on the body. Coffee improves circulation in the brain because it "dilates the vessels in the brain," it "stimulates the nerve cells," and it makes the heart work harder (Leokum, 1986, 185). Caffeine is a stimulant, and it may make you focus better, but it can also cause you problems. Caffeine can cause shakiness and heartburn, but it can also help with digestion.

Caffeine is an interesting chemical that can be combined with other chemicals for different results. Caffeine is a stimulant that can help you to be more awake, but it can also keep you up at night. I believe that using caffeine in a moderate and knowledgeable way is useful to the average person, and I love having a cup of coffee in the morning.

Reference:
Leokum, A. (1986). The Big book of tell me why. New York, NY: Grosset and Dunlap.