For a long time, there has been big controversy surrounding whether coffee is good or bad for you and if the effects are worth drinking it. There has been multiple scientists throughout the last few years who have researched and conducted experiments to see why people are able to drink multiple cups of coffee and have little to no effects and it actually be good for them while others experience headaches and become very hyper by just one cup. Some scientists claim that drinking coffee causes multiple symptoms that are not good for our body. A few recent articles on the effects of coffee including, "Caffeine Self-administration, Withdrawal, and Adverse Effects Among Coffee Drinkers." By John R. Hughes, "Effects of Caffeine on Human Behavior." By A. Smith, and "Why is Coffee Good For You? Here Are 7 Reasons" by Kris Gunnars, give insight and research to why these things happen to different people and why drinking coffee is actually good for you. In my paper, I will state the facts from the research I have gathered and show that drinking coffee is actually good for you, I will also show that in fact coffee has a very positive effect on our body, and as long as you do not drink tons of cups a day your body will be healthier than ever.

First, you should know exactly what caffeine is. Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid, a term used for substances produced as end products of nitrogen metabolism in some plants. Caffeine belongs to the family of heterocyclic compounds known as purines and is a member of a group of naturally occurring substances called methylxanthines. It has the systematic name 3,7-dihydro-1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione, also known as 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, and 1,3,7-trimethyl-2,6-dioxopurine. The chemical formula is C8H10N4O2. Caffeine has a molar mass of 194.19 grams (6.85 ounces). It is soluble in water and many organic solvents, has a melting point of 235-238  C and it appears in pure form as white crystals. Caffeine can be prepared by extraction from natural sources or synthesis from uric acid. Caffeine occurs naturally in the leaves, seeds or fruit of more than 60 plant species, including: (1) Coffee beans  --  seed; (2) Tea leaves - leaves, bud; (3) Kola nuts  --  seed; (4) Cacao beans  --  seed; (5) Guarana  --  seed; (6) Yerba mate  --  leaf; (7) Yoco  --  bark (Nichols) All of these sources of caffeine are found throughout the world and all the chemicals that caffeine is composed of is broken down once it enters our body.

As our body is moving throughout the day, a neurochemical called adenosine builds up in your body. The nervous system uses special receptors to monitor your body's adenosine levels. As the day wears on, more and more adenosine passes through those receptors and it makes you sleepy. It's one of the reasons you get tired at night. Caffeine is the same size and shape as adenosine, so when you consume caffeine, your adenosine receptors cannot tell the difference between the adenosine and caffeine. "Caffeine molecules bind to these receptor cells but have no active effect on the nervous system. However by doing so they take the place of adenosine molecules that could make a difference" (Smith). So when these molecules are blocked, neurotransmitters like dopamine and glutamine increase giving you a jolt of energy. That is why when you drink a bunch of cups of coffee, after the caffeine molecules die off and all the Adenosine receptors are unclogged, all the adenosine that was produced and waiting rush in and you experience a hard crash from all the molecules being activated at once.  

As we drink more caffeine, we become addicted. The reason we become addicted stems from the way the drug affects the human brain, producing the alert feeling that caffeine drinkers crave. Soon after you drink something containing caffeine, it's absorbed through the small intestine and dissolved into the bloodstream. Because the chemical is both water- and fat-soluble (meaning that it can dissolve in water-based solutions -- think blood -- as well as fat-based substances, such as our cell membranes), it's able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain (Stromberg). As stated above, caffeine resembles a molecule that's naturally present in our brain called adenosine. Caffeine blocks adenosine out from attaching to receptors in your brain. Also, like stated above, some of the brain's own natural stimulants (such as dopamine) work more effectively when the adenosine receptors are blocked, and all the surplus adenosine floating around in the brain cues the adrenal glands to secrete adrenaline, another stimulant. For this reason, caffeine isn't technically a stimulant on its own, says Stephen R. Braun, the author or Buzzed: the Science and Lore of Caffeine and Alcohol, but a stimulant enabler: a substance that lets our natural stimulants run wild. Ingesting caffeine, he writes, is akin to "putting a block of wood under one of the brain's primary brake pedals." This block stays in place for anywhere from four to six hours, depending on the person's age, size and other factors, until the caffeine is eventually metabolized by the body. In people who take advantage of this process on a daily basis, the brain's chemistry and physical characteristics actually change over time as a result. The most notable change is that brain cells grow more adenosine receptors, which is the brain's attempt to maintain equilibrium in the face of a constant onslaught of caffeine, with its adenosine receptors so regularly plugged. This explains why regular coffee drinkers build up a tolerance over time. Because you have more adenosine receptors, it takes more caffeine to block a significant proportion of them and achieve the desired effect (Stromberg,). This also explains why suddenly giving up caffeine entirely can trigger a range of withdrawal effects.

Quitting coffee, after drinking multiple cups a day, can have a noticeable effect on you. Caffeine withdrawal has been widely studied because it is meant to provide crucial evidence on whether caffeine is addictive or leads to some kind of dependence. The most frequent outcome measure has been reporting of headache, but mood has been examined in other studies. An experiment was ran by John R. Hughes, MD; Stephen T. Higgins, PhD; Warren K. Bickel, PhD; William K. Hunt, PhD; James W. Fenwick, PhD; Suzy B. Gulliver, PhD; Gina C. Mireault to discover what withdrawals coffee drinkers experienced after undergoing trials of drinking multiple cups a day and then stopping. Each trial consisted first of a randomized crossover period of 1 day of decaffeinated coffee and 1 day of caffeinated coffee (100 mg) to assess withdrawal and adverse effects of caffeine. Next, subjects were given 2 days of concurrent access to the two coffees. Withdrawal symptoms were headaches, drowsiness, and fatigue (Hughes). Along with withdrawal symptoms, there are also side effects of drinking coffee according to a few articles. WebMD states that "Coffee is safe for most adults. Drinking more than 6 cups/day might cause "caffeinism" with symptoms such as anxiety or agitation. People who drink a lot of coffee every day may need to drink more coffee to get the same effects. They may also become "dependent" on coffee to the point that they develop withdrawal symptoms if they suddenly stop drinking it." Coffee containing caffeine can cause insomnia, nervousness and restlessness, stomach upset, nausea and vomiting, increased heart and breathing rate, and other side effects (WebMD). "The most frequent outcome measure has been reporting of headache, but mood has been examined in other studies. Ratcliff-Crain et al. (1989) reported that caffeine deprivation led to increased reporting of stress by heavy coffee drinkers. This has recently been confirmed by Schuh and Griffiths (1997), who found that caffeine withdrawal was associated with feelings of fatigue and decreased feelings of alertness. Indeed, Silverman et al. (1992) found that about 10% of volunteers with a moderate daily intake (235 mg per day) reported increased depression and anxiety when caffeine was withdrawn" (Smith). 

Without doing there research, many people believe that coffee is bad for them for daily consumption. According to my research, studies have found some negative effects of drinking coffee and side effects. According to an article titled, "Ten Reasons to Quit Your Coffee!" by Dr. Mark Hyman, "The caffeine in coffee increases catecholamines, your stress hormones.  The stress response elicits cortisol and increases insulin.  Insulin increases inflammation and this makes you feel lousy" (Hyman).  This would be increasingly bad for people who have diabetes or higher blood sugars than normal. Also, he states that, "5-HIA, an organic acid and component of the neurotransmitter serotonin ( the happy chemical) seen in the urine tends to be elevated in coffee drinkers which means they may be at risk for lower levels of serotonin synthesis in the brain.  Serotonin is necessary for normal sleep, bowel function, mood, and energy levels.  It is a vicious cycle as caffeine can disrupt sleep and promote anxiety and depression" (Hyman). Lower levels of serotonin can cause you to be very agitated after it wears off, and if you drink coffee at night, it might not wear off until late at night so you will be tired in the morning and repeat the same process of consuming like the day before. "Much of the research on caffeine and sleep has been concerned with removing unwanted sleepiness either when the person is working at night or when they are sleep deprived. The fact that caffeine can remove sleepiness means that it can, of course, interfere with normal sleep. However, patterns of consumption suggest that individuals usually control their caffeine intake to prevent interference with sleep. If large amounts of caffeine are consumed shortly before trying to sleep, then it will undoubtedly disturb sleep" (Smith). Another factor for your health is the type of coffee beans you ground and drink. "High consumption of unfiltered coffee (boiled or espresso) has been associated with mild elevations in cholesterol levels" (Hensrud). Also, the speed at which your body breaks down and metabolizes caffeine may affect your health risk. "Scientists have identified at least one part of the human genome that controls whether a person metabolizes caffeine slowly or quickly -- and those who are slow metabolizers may be at higher risk of hypertension and heart attacks the more coffee they drink" (Cha). Drinking large portions of coffee have significant levels of effects on your body. "In the present study, several subjects who consumed 400 to 500 mg of caffeine during the withdrawal and adverse effects period reliably reported stomachache, sweating, talkativeness, tinnitus, and tremulousness. Thus, consistent with previous reviews, 14 our data suggest that adverse effects can occur at intakes equivalent to four 6-oz cups of brewed coffee per day" (Hughes). As stated in the experiment conducted, the results were from drinking 400 to 500 mg of caffeine. These effects are only possible from high doses and are unlikely to occur in a normal person's daily consumption.

Even though quite a few articles have stated coffee has a negative effect on us, numerous articles and experiments prove otherwise. An article written by Donald Hensrud, titled "Is coffee good or bad for me", states that "Recent studies have generally found no connection between coffee and an increased risk of cancer or heart disease. In fact, most studies find an association between coffee consumption and decreased overall mortality and possibly cardiovascular mortality". Also, studies that were conducted in the late 1900's didn't take in account of outside factors that could contribute to their findings like "smoking and physical inactivity". Studies have also shown that coffee may have health benefits, including protecting against Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes and liver disease, including liver cancer. It also appears to improve cognitive function and decrease the risk of depression (Hensrud). Caffeine, when consumed, is a very good fat burner. "Caffeine, partly due to its stimulant effect on the central nervous system, both raises metabolism and increases the oxidation of fatty acids". This would big significantly higher in obese individuals and caffeine would burn more fat when consumed than others (Gunnars). Coffee also protects from one of the major diseases in the world, affecting around 300 million people, type II diabetes. This disease is characterized by high blood glucose levels due to insulin resistance or an inability to produce insulin. "In observational studies, coffee has been repeatedly associated with a lower risk of diabetes. The reduction in risk ranges from 23% all the way up to 67%. A massive review article looked at 18 studies with a total of 457.922 participants. Each additional cup of coffee per day lowered the risk of diabetes by 7%. The more coffee people drank, the lower their risk" (Gunnars). Because of all the controversy and scientists conducting experiments on whether or not caffeine is good for you, the government decided to test out the effects themselves and set guidelines. "Earlier this year, the federal advisory committee that helps write the Dietary Guidelines for Americans weighed in on coffee for the first time and concluded that drinking up to five cups a day can be part of a "healthy lifestyle." The group wrote that "strong and consistent evidence shows that consumption of coffee within the moderate range...is not associated with increased risk of major chronic diseases" (Cha). Because all of the experiments that showed negative effects consisted of the participators consuming more than the amount of 5 cups a day, it is safe to assume that as long as you drink a moderate amount, you shouldn't encounter any unhealthy effects. Another positive effect, according to David Heber, a Dir. Of Center for Human Nutrition is that "coffee contains anti-oxidant's which fights the damaging effects of oxygen in our body. Coffee also contains polyphenols because coffee is made from the coffee bean" (Is Coffee Good For You?). The function of antioxidants is that when cells start dying antioxidants terminate the cells before they start killing other cells, and with the addition of caffeine it adds more antioxidants into the body to terminate those dying cells. "One of the most popular misconceptions about caffeine is it causes insomnia. The body is able to absorb caffeine quickly since it's processed mainly through the liver and has a short half-life. This means it takes about five to seven hours to eliminate half of it from the body, and by 10 hours, 75 percent of it is gone. Drinking two cups of coffee in the morning won't interfere with a good night's sleep" (Borreli).  This is good news for people who like to drink coffee in the morning to wake them up and get them going, but also need their sleep at night after a long day.

In conclusion, my research has provided me with good insight on whether or not caffeine is good or bad for you and if my stance on it being good held true. The negative articles stated negative effects and withdrawals that are possible, but they only happen when your intake is above 500 mg's or roughly 5 cups of coffee. So, according to the government and a bunch of scientists around the world who conducted trials on the effects of caffeine, it is in fact healthy for us to drink coffee. It protects us from a bunch of diseases like type II diabetes or heart diseases, it increases our metabolism and burns excess fat, it wakes us up in the rough mornings, and caffeine even makes us more alert and productive in the times that we need to be. So, when you need to write that 8 page paper the night before, whip out that expresso machine and make yourself a nice cup of coffee to stimulate the brain and get thoughts flowing. 

