Coffee, we refer to the drink, is notoriously the most important and widespread source of caffeine for consumers in Western countries. It is prepared with the fruit of Coffea arabica (and related species), a plant which is also indicated by the same word. It is said that Paleolithic man had already discovered the main plants containing caffeine and used it to make drinks.
We do not know if this belief corresponds to truth, but it is certain that at the base of the huge spread of coffee (and other beverages containing caffeine), there was an ancient belief, confirmed later by centuries of experience, that it is performing a stimulatory activity and anti-hypnotic able to elevate mood and combat fatigue and sleepiness.
Caffeine consumption in the United States was estimated, on average, about 170-200 mg of caffeine "per capita" per day, corresponding to just under three cups of coffee "Italian style".
About 90% of this comes from caffeine consumption of coffee and only the remaining percentage comes from the tea, chocolate and cola-flavored drink (in which caffeine is added, in part, during processing).
Faced with these statistics (which as usual we get the English language literature) spontaneously arises the question of what effects caffeine can have on the human body. In other words: drink lots of coffee can be bad?The coffee, therefore, can sometimes be a medical problem when you consider that, especially in Italy, a fair percentage of the population consumes the drink in such quantities as to cause side effects often on various organs and systems and, also, to interreagire with various drug therapies.
If we want to refer briefly to the toxicology of coffee (which is that due to caffeine, or trimethylxanthine contained in this drink) we refer to the course and unwanted side reactions that can occur in healthy humans after ingestion of excessive of the beverage, which corresponds to plasma concentrations greater than 30 micrograms per ml of plasma. In such cases you may have harmful effects on the cardiovascular and central nervous system on the apparatus, consisting of insomnia, excitation, anxiety, muscle tremors, tachycardia, extrasystoles, and sometimes polypnea. Furthermore, the essential oils present in the coffee can give up to cause gastrointestinal irritation, in some cases, diarrhea. We recall, finally, that even in subjects that are not excessive consumption of coffee, but who are predisposed, may develop after some time, a dependence or addiction to the drink.
But the cup of coffee falls to the point, now, in habits "food" of the Europeans (especially Italians) and also the Americans for which there is little talk of a dependency in the sense of a compulsive consumption of the drink. On the other hand, the sense of wellbeing, improved intellectual and anti-fatigue effect that is attributable to mental and physical stress coffees are so positive and entrenched that few would know by now to give up. This does not mean that the abuse of coffee can lead to a number of disorders that are usually described by the term "caffeinismo" and include, as we said, irritability, insomnia, heart palpitations and sometimes cramps muscle.
The maximum dose should not be exceeded in the course of 24 hours in healthy subjects is about 5-600 mg, corresponding more or less, to 7 cups of coffee, with many exceptions dependent on the different sensitivity of each individual against the caffeine. It is known then (and it should be noted in conclusion) that there are some medical conditions in which the use of coffee should be, where appropriate, restricted or abolished as in the cases of patients suffering from gastritis, peptic ulcer, enteritis and colitis, hypertension , hyperthyroidism, or because of having some cardiac arrhythmias. The same raccomandazionie it seems appropriate to ask, in order to avoid or limit intake of coffee, even in those patients who have sleep disturbance, anxiety and panic disorders.
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