Bursting the Caffeine Myths

Caffeine is considered the most commonly used psychoactive drug in the world. Approximately 80 percent of the world's population consumes it on a daily basis either in the form of black and oolong tea, coffee, chocolates or cola soft drinks.

Most women are aware about the temporary stimulating effects of caffeine, but do we really know well its effects on our health? Themedguru.com attempts to burst the health myths associated with caffeine among women.

Physiological Effects Myth

Caffeine when consumed in moderate quantities has been found to be a mild central nervous system stimulant. Moderate quantity refers to about 300 mg of caffeine per day, which comes to about 3 cups of coffee or around 60 ounces of caffeinated cola. It seldom gets accumulated in the body, since it takes around 3 hours for your body to fully metabolize and eliminate it. Hence, the psychological effects of caffeine are usually temporary.

Temporary effects of caffeine on your nervous system might include
• giving you a mood boost
• calming the body and making you feel alert and
• making you feel good

However, these effects depend greatly on ones capacity towards caffeine, which may differ with age and the frequency of caffeine consumption. For example, a person who consumes caffeine on a regular basis may drink several cups of coffee in a few hours without being affected, whereas a person who isn’t a regular coffee drinker may feel some stimulant effect after just one serving.

Infertility Myth

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Harvard University, in 1990 investigated the linkage, if any, between the length of time to conceive and consumption of caffeinated beverages and found that caffeine consumption was not a risk factor for infertility.
The research was conducted on about more than 2,800 women who had recently given birth and 1,800 women with the medical diagnosis of primary infertility. The results were compiled only after interviewing each woman, in both the groups, with respect to her caffeine consumption, medical history and lifestyle habits.

Unsafe for Pregnant Women Myth

Heavy doses of caffeine are often deemed to be unsafe during pregnancy. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend pregnant women to limit their caffeine consumption to the equivalent of 1 to 2 cups of coffee. It is hence recommended that pregnant women, especially the ones addicted to coffee, discuss this issue with health care providers.
However, caffeine consumption in moderation is not linked to any complication during pregnancy.

Miscarriage Myth

Research conducted by a team from the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development on 431 women, concluded that there was no causal relationship between caffeine consumption of up to 300 mg per day and adverse pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage.

The researchers had closely observed these women and their caffeine intake since birth. They had also taken into consideration statistics with respect to nausea, smoking, alcohol use and maternal age.

Birth Defects and Birth weight Myth
A seven-year study published in 1991, examined 1,500 women on their caffeine usage during pregnancy and subsequent child development. It reported that caffeine consumption, equivalent to about 11/2 - 2 cups of coffee per day had no effect on birth weight, birth length or head circumference. Follow-up examinations at ages - eight months, four years, and seven years also revealed the same results on a child’s motor development or intelligence.

In fact, most studies over the last decade have refuted the argument of caffeine being responsible for causing birth defects. FDA too has concluded that caffeine does not adversely affect reproduction in humans. However, as with other dietary habits, the agency continues to advise pregnant women to consume caffeine in moderation.

Fibrocystic Breast Myth

Both the NCI and the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Council on Scientific Affairs have stated have denied any association between caffeine intake and fibrocystic breast changes. A study conducted by the National Cancerdefine Institute (NCI) involving more than 3,000 women in 1986 also found no relationship between caffeine intake and benign tumors, fibrocystic breast changes or breast tenderness.

Breast Cancer Myth

There were three separate studies undertaken to understand if there is any connection between coffee consumption and breast cancer development. These studies were conducted separately in Israel, the United States and France.
Each one of these studies had paid due consideration to dietary intake, medical and reproductive history and frequency of coffee intake and all the three studies failed to establish any association between coffee consumption and breast cancer. On the other hand, in a research conducted by NCI in 1986, they in fact found that coffee drinkers had a slightly lower incidence of breast cancer.

Ovarian Cancer Myth

So far, no scientific study in any part of the world establishes any causal relationship between caffeine consumption and cancer. As a result, both the American Cancer Society and the National Academy of Sciences’ National Research Council rebut the argument of any relationship between the two.

Osteoporosis Myth

Contrary to the popular belief that caffeine might result into osteoporosis in menopausal women, caffeine was found to temporarily raise the level of calcium in our body. However, the bad news is, you cannot take to drinking coffee in order to make good the calcium loss. This is so because adequate calcium consumption tends to offset the potential effect of caffeine on bone density.

Hence, the only possible way of insuring healthy and strong bones is to consume sufficient amount of food rich in calcium, especially during adolescent years.