What is your favorite drink that helps you fight tiredness? Coffee? A cola? Maybe a mate or green tea? Whatever it is, it probably contains caffeine. It's no secret that it wakes you up. But have you ever looked into caffeine itself and know why that is? We have - and we'll explain what makes this ingredient so effective, how it affects your body and what it is naturally found in.
1. What happens in your body when you take caffeine?
When you consume caffeine, it is absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, enters the bloodstream and takes effect within 15-30 minutes. Caffeine can pass through the blood-brain barrier (your protection against substances entering the brain) almost unhindered. It therefore reaches your brain quickly and has a major effect on the central nervous system. Caffeine therefore has an effect on our entire body. It increases blood pressure and makes the heart beat faster. It therefore increases our activity and concentration.
To understand exactly how this works, we need to look at a substance and how it works in our body. We're talking about adenosine. This is a nucleoside that consists of adenine and ribose. It inhibits the release of so-called neurotransmitters, i.e. invigorating messenger substances such as dopamine. It also regulates brain activity and signals a feeling of tiredness when nerve cells are under a lot of strain and are active.
The caffeine we consume docks onto the adenosine receptors in the nerve tissue because it has a similar chemical structure to adenosine. This interaction means that adenosine can no longer dock onto the receptors and we therefore feel less tired. This blockage triggers the release of dopamine, our happiness hormone, which makes it easier to transmit nerve impulses and thus increases our activity. Caffeine also stimulates the release of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. This constricts the blood vessels in the brain and thus has a soothing effect on mild headaches because the blood vessels expand. In addition, blood pressure rises and the heart beats faster. The result of this release is increased concentration, alertness and an increase in drive. It is good to know that caffeine stimulates bowel movements and thus your digestion.
2. Variants of Caffeine
There are two different versions, namely bound and unbound caffeine. Unbound caffeine is synthetic and is quickly absorbed into our system and therefore produces a fast effect. It is the caffeine you find in caffeine tablets and energy drinks.
The other version is bound caffeine and is plant-based. It often works more slowly and lasts longer than unbound caffeine. You can find bound caffeine in green tea, matcha or mate, for example.
We want to briefly look at green tea extract again. It has a different effect on our body. Because of its strong effect, it has been used by Buddhist monks in Asia for thousands of years. It is normally formed by plants as a defense against insects. Green tea works more slowly and less intensely, but over a longer period of time. Green tea contains a lot of caffeine and high amounts of antioxidants and catechins, such as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG, plant bitter substances). Many of these bitter substances are formed by plants as a defense against insects, microorganisms and other plants. The caffeine contained in it has a main effect on the central nervous system and thus promotes our perception, concentration, mental performance and eliminates our fatigue.
3. Is caffeine healthy and how much caffeine should I consume?
The question of whether caffeine can have a negative impact on health depends on the dose. A cappuccino has around 90 mg of caffeine. For an adult, up to 200 mg as a single dose is no problem. Up to 400 mg spread over the day should be safe. This dose can be harmful for sick people, children and pregnant women. Consumption is therefore not recommended.
4. What happens if I consume too much caffeine?
Too much caffeine has a number of effects on our well-being. These side effects can be minor discomforts, but can also have extreme effects. Indications that too high a dose has been taken can be discomforts such as stomach upset, nervousness, irritability and sweating. Over a longer period of time, extreme effects such as cardiac arrhythmia, insomnia and incontinence in men can occur. Due to such risks, caffeine should be taken in controlled amounts. With our Bright Awake, we have based our calculations on how much caffeine is healthy for an adult to start the day with increased activity without being affected by side effects.
