제 2 호 The Truth about Caffeine
Kicker: LIFE(CAFFEINE)
The Truth about Caffeine
Today Did You Drink Coffee?
by Su-jeong Sim, Reporter
Today did you start the day with coffee? Or after a meal, did you drink coffee to wake up?
Most people are drinking coffee almost everyday. To modern people, coffee is essential.
People think of coffee when they talk about caffeine. That's right. People ingest caffeine through the coffee. However, not only the coffee, caffeine intake route is various. For example, carbonated drinks(coke, sprite etc),chocolate, various kinds of tea(green tea, black tea),etc.
We are inseparable from caffeine.
Therefore, I will talk about caffeine in this article.
▶What Is Caffeine?
Humans have started taking caffeine since the Stone Age. It seems that in the early days, after accidentally chewing on the seeds, bark and leaves of a plant containing caffeine, after learning that it has the effect of relieving fatigue, arousal, and exhilarating the mood, they have gradually developed into a form of concern-eating by dipping them in hot water like drinking coffee or tea today.
In 1819, German chemist Friedrich Ferdinand Runge separated relatively high purity caffeine for the first time and named it "caffeine" meaning it was a mixture contained in coffee. In the late 19th century, Hermann Emil Fischer discovered the chemical structure of caffeine. The molecular formula of caffeine is C8H10N4O2. Looking at the molecular structure of caffeine, caffeine molecules consist of 10 hydrogen atoms, 8 carbon atoms, 4 nitrogen atoms and 2 oxygen atoms, forming a total of 24 atoms.
The annual consumption of caffeine is estimated at 120,000 tons worldwide, and the most common caffeine intake route is through coffee and tea. In addition, chocolate, cola and various soft drinks using caffeine-containing plants are widely popular. Recently, caffeine infused products are also on the market for everyday items such as shampoo and soap.
▶Recommended Per Day Intake of Caffeine And Caffeine Intake for Students at Sangmyung University
- Recommended Per Day Intake of Caffeine
Let's look at the recommended per day intake of caffeine for adults, pregnant women and adolescents. The recommended amount of caffeine per day for adults is less than 400mg and the recommended amount of caffeine per day for pregnant women is less than 300mg and the recommended amount of caffeine per day for adolescents is less than 2.5 mg per 1kg.
Next, let's look at the caffeine amount by a dose of food one intake. It is 123mg for coffee, 74mg for canned coffee, 58mg for energy drinks, 23mg for 250ml of cola, 15mg for per tea bag of green tea, 16mg for 30g chocolate, and 50mg for headache medicine, etc.
If you think about coffee, which is the most frequent caffeine intake, you can drink 2or 3cups of coffee a day.
- Caffeine Intake of Students at Sangmyung University
I conducted a survey of students from Sangmyung University to find out how much caffeine they consume. According to the survey, students at Sangmyung University consume the most caffeine through coffee.In addition to coffee, they consumed chocolate, carbonated drinks, black tea, green tea, and energy drinks. The students who consume the most caffeine are those who drink coffee once or twice a day. The students who consume the least amount of caffeine are those who drink coffee every two weeks and those who drink cola once a week.
The following table is the result of the survey:
AGE | KIND | NUMBER |
20 | Cola | Twice a week |
20 | Chocolate | 10 times a month |
20 | Coffee, Energy Drink | 4 to 5 times a week |
20 | Coffee | 5 times a week |
20 | Coffee | Once a week |
20 | Coffee | Twice a week |
20 | Coffee | Once every other week |
20 | Coffee | 5 or 6 times a week |
20 | Coffee | 1 to 2 times a day |
20 | Coffee | Once a day |
21 | Coffee, Chocolate | 3 times a week |
21 | Carbonated Drink | Once a week |
22 | Coffee | For a week during the examination period |
22 | Coffee | More than 3 times a week |
22 | Coffee | 5 times a week |
22 | Coffee, Carbonated Drink | Twice a week |
22 | Black tea | Twice a week |
23 | Coffee | 3 times a week |
23 | Coffee | Once every other week |
23 | Coffee | Once a day |
▶Efficacy and Side Effects of Caffeine
I do not drink coffee well because I cannot sleep when I drink it. It's because of caffeine. However, sometimes I drink coffee to wake up. Therefore, caffeine has two sides of the same coin.
-The Efficacy of Caffeine
One or two cups of caffeine-containing coffee per day have been found to have a beneficial effect on health and clearness of the mind and body.
The effects of caffeine are as follows:
1.Reduce fatigue
2.Awakening effect
3.Prevent sleepiness
4.Promote diuretic activity
-Side Effects of Caffeine
If you take a lot of caffeine, there are side effects of caffeine. The side effects of caffeine are as follows:
1.Caffeine intoxication
2.Skin dryness and aging
3.Nourishment and water shortage, calcium deficiency
4.Psychological stress such as insomnia and hypersensitivity
5.Hands shaking
6.Heart beating fast
Caffeine is essential for us and caffeine has efficacy and side effects like two sides of the same coin. We have to prevent side effects with proper caffeine intake.
Sources:
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=1149136&cid=40942&categoryId=32822
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=1636260&cid=42752&categoryId=42754
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=4352366&cid=60228&categoryId=60228
https://m.post.naver.com/viewer/postView.nhn?volumeNo=14114709&memberNo=15468103&vType=VERTICAL
https://m.blog.naver.com/booki6708/221519590769
https://m.blog.naver.com/spiritboxer/221475893016
