March 01, 2022

Some Things to Know About Caffeine

By Philippe Jolicoeur
Some Things to Know About Caffeine
Some Things to Know About Caffeine

One of the distinguishing qualities about Coffee is the fact that it is one of the world’s most popular sources of caffeine. A regular cup of Coffee contains about 90 mg of Caffeine, whereas a cup of Instant Coffee contains about 60 mg. But what is Instant Coffee, what does it do to our bodies and what can it teach us?

How Long Does Caffeine Last?
It takes about 20 minutes after coffee enters the body to begin feeling its effects and somewhere around an hour for caffeine to be absorbed into the body completely. At this point the caffeine will be at peak level in the blood, and the user will be feeling the full effects of the substance. After that, it takes the body between 3-5 hours to eliminate half of the substance, and up to 8-12 hours to completely process it out of one’s system.

Your Brain Likes Caffeine
Caffeine has been found to help the brain by decreasing fatigue and improving mood and concentration. It has also been found to have a long term effect of delaying the progression of degenerative diseases like Altzheimers and Parkinsons. Interestingly, caffeine has a very similar structure to adenosine, a neurotransmitter that lives in our brains. This resemblance makes it easy for caffeine to bind to the adenosine receptors in our brain cells, which is what allows for our brains to react to it.The typical function of adenosine binding to its receptors in our brain is to create drowsiness and calm us down by slowing down cell activity ; however, something about the way that caffeine reacts with these receptors creates a different effect. When caffeine takes the place of adenosine, it blocks the sleep inducing effects of adenosine and speeds up cell activity. This is what causes us to feel more energetic and awake.

The Caffeine in Coffee Shaped the World as We Know It
According to writer Michael Pollen’s book Caffeine: How coffee and tea created the modern world, the age of reason , the enlightenment, and the industrial revolution were all directly impacted by the beginning of widespread coffee usage. Before the advent of Coffee in the west, alcohol was the most popular drink ,more popular than water, even, because the fermentation made it a safer drinking choice. The arrival of coffee and its popular adoption in the 17th century led to a pronounced shift in the disposition of the population, and a large push towards rational thinking. This shift allowed for breakthroughs in science and reason, as well as in the productivity of the working class.

Too Much Caffeine Can Be Bad For You
Most of the research about caffeine says that , in moderation, the benefits of caffeine usage outweigh the risks. In moderation are the keywords here! Caffeine amplifies the stress response in the body, which raises blood pressure and heart rate, as well as increases the production of stress hormones. It has been found that too much caffeine usage can exaggerate the effects of stress, as well as worsen symptoms of anxiety and depression. Too much caffeine use has also been found to cause headaches, as well as potentially causing insomnia, because caffeine directly affects your body’s sleep mechanisms. With this in mind, our 1936 Instant Coffee is a great choice to take a more controlled amount of caffeine with your coffee, due to our lower caffeine content. It’s important to remember that caffeine is a drug, and to use it responsibly is to make sure it is working for you and not against you.

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