The Truth About Coffee

Does Coffee Really Work?

While walking to my classes each morning most everyone I pass has one thing in common. They all hold some kind of coffee in their hand. Whether it is from Starbucks, Au Bon Pain, or even the commons most college students have their much needed coffee in hand for surviving their morning. Everyone I know who drinks coffee says they could not live without it. My Mom has gotten to the point where she needs my Dad to actually bring her a cup of coffee in the morning to drink before she gets out of bed. I personally have never drank coffee and have always wondered how effective drinking coffee in the morning really is. Does it really energize you? Do you become addicted to it? Because I’m pretty sure everyone I know that drinks coffee is also addicted to it. When I typed in the question, does coffee really give you energy?, on google I was given many links to articles about the effectiveness of coffee. I found one that matched up perfectly with my question that talks about if caffeine really gives you energy, click here for article

What I found

Hansen, a wellness coach that specializes in treatment of adrenal fatigue, explains the science behind why coffee becomes less and less energizing the more often you drink it. Basically, when drinking coffee there’s a signal sent to your brain that makes your adrenal glands create adrenaline and cortisol. If you’re not an addictive coffee drinker and only have coffee every now and then these two stress hormones will be activated and cause you to feel energized by the coffee you drank. On the other hand, if you are drinking coffee every day and multiple cups of it you are not going to feel this from just a cup of coffee. Your adrenal glands are not going to have the response they would if you drank coffee less often. There was research done where people were given no caffeine, 300 mg and 600 mg over a week. To no surprise when those that were given no caffeine that week were finally given a dose of caffeine their body produced large amounts of cortisol. But, when the people who were given doses of caffeine were given more their body had no response to the caffeine.

What Does This Mean?

Caffeine is clearly addictive and when people are drinking multiple cups every day they are dependent on the stimulant. When all this coffee is consumed it takes so much of it to not feel the fatigue that is happening to coffee addicts bodies. Those who are drinking many cups of coffee each day, and are dependent on this coffee to get them through the day should cut back on their intake. If you are able to have a cup of coffee just a few times a week, your body will feel the effects of it you will not have to drink three or four cups just to stay awake.

 

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9 thoughts on “The Truth About Coffee

  1. Isobel Danielle Hoang

    I thought this was interesting because like you, I am not an avid coffee/caffeine consumer. I only drink coffee or caffeine drinks when I’m super exhausted. So like you, I don’t really understand the effects of coffee or why people feel the need to drink it every day in order to function. What I thought was interested was that people with coffee and caffeine addictions when they do not get their drink of choice- they experience withdrawal, like a drug addict would. According to One Medical Group,people with coffee/caffeine addictions experience headaches, are tired, cannot focus, and have flu like symptoms when they do not get their needed amount of coffee/caffeine.

  2. Alexandra Kaminsky

    This is an interesting post. I’m used to reading articles about how coffee wakes you up, enhances creativity, and keeps you more alert. Now that I’m seeing this post, it makes me wonder why all the coffee drinkers in the world believe that it wakes them up and keeps them more alert if science is proving otherwise. Like you said, the coffee is a stimulant, making coffee drinkers want more and more, so I guess that is a good enough reason for me. However, check out this article, it has some interesting information on why coffee can be beneficial as well.

  3. Maura Katherine Maguire

    Wow this post really intrigued me. I am one of the people you talked about obsessed with coffee. I cannot go a day without it (iced caramel) and find myself feeling sick when I don’t. I am not sure if it keeps me awake or really done anything for me I have just become used to it and your blog has explained so much. I think coffee is really like my drug and I have become immune to the caffeine. While I don’t think I could ever give up my addiction this blog was very interesting and I really liked it.

  4. Evan Michael Wentzel

    Being a somewhat regular coffee drinker, this post was pretty interesting to me. It’s easy to forget that caffeine is a drug and people do get somewhat addicted to it, but I didn’t realize that you can build up a strong tolerance to it too. Definitely makes me think more about my coffee habits.

  5. dms6679

    This post was so interesting for me to read, as I usually consume about three cups of coffee a day! At this point, I do feel as though my caffeine intake is somewhat pointless as I rarely feel revitalized after finishing a cup. After reading this post, and the sources, I definitely will try to cut back on my daily intake!

  6. Daniele Patrice Loney

    As a college student, I can totally relate to this post. I could actually talk about coffee forever because it may be my favorite thing in the world… honestly. I’m sitting here drinking a fresh cup of coffee as I write.
    However, I always limit myself to one cup per day (unless i’m at starbucks– in that case, you better believe I’m ordering a venti) simply because I don’t want my body to become addicted, and when I need an extra wake-me-up, I want to be able to rely on my favorite drink to do so!
    What’s more concerning to me, rather than a caffeine addiction, are the series of unfortunate health habits that develop as a result of drinking coffee frequently.
    Typically, people put creamer and sugar in their coffee. Especially at Starbucks, Tim Hortons, and Dunkin Donuts, their sweetened drinks have insane amounts of sugar and syrups in them. Even though being addicted to caffeine and needing more and more of it to satisfy your craving isn’t the best thing, the health problems that can be obtained by consuming too much sugar are far worse in my opinion. Diabetes, headaches, obesity… the list goes on and on!
    For those of you who say “i make my coffee at home and only use creamer,” let me ask you: is your creamer flavored? Is in non-fat? because if so, check the grams of sugar! As americans, almost everything we eat in a day has enough sugar to go over the daily amount that our bodies are meant to take in.
    In conclusion, if you ARE going to be a crazy coffee drinker like I am, do your research and think twice about what you order or put in your drink… it’ll pay off in the long run!
    -Daniele Loney

  7. jpb5864

    I am addicted to coffee so this post really opened my eyes! I usually drink 2-3 cups of coffee a day but now since drinking so much of it I am probably immune to it. I think I am going to cut down to 1 cups a day or even not drinking it at all! Thank you for this post!
    -Jacqueline Brocco

  8. rlw5445

    Kate I am just like you. I have yet to jump on the coffee bandwagon and honestly I am a little baffled by the hype. People will spend hundreds of dollars a week on those precious Starbucks drinks and I do not understand it. Whenever I am walking through the Hub, no matter the time there is a constant line wrapped around the store and I just wonder to myself “Why?”. What makes Starbucks so desirable over other brands? Why is it that people are willing to spend 30 minutes in line for an overpriced drink? After some research on the Starbucks phenomenon I discovered this article from the Taipei Times. They indulge on the brands incredible success and accredits it not to superior quality products but in fact the identity that the brand has created for itself. Its a symbol of good fortune, with a willingness to spend more than they should on an average priced drink. Its a culture that allows people to talk in another language with discussions on ventis and half-caffs. I will probably never join the Starbucks bandwagon, but if you wish to learn more about this viewpoint on the phenomenon visit this website http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2007/02/04/2003347654 .

  9. Kyle Thomas Finnerty

    This post was interesting to me because like so many others my parents are avid coffee drinkers, yet I am not at all. In fact I’ve probably only had 2 cups of coffee in my entire life. However, now that I am in college and constantly finding myself needing more energy, I have been considering giving it a try. It seems like based on this research that I would be best served to only drink coffee when I truly need a burst of energy to get homework done or maybe get to an early class. Check out some positives of coffee!

    http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/what-to-drink/6-surprising-health-benefits-of-coffee

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