What is caffeine
Caffeine is a drug which comes from the leaves, beans or nuts of different plants. Caffeine is a stimulant drug. This means it speeds up the brain and nervous system.
The most common things containing caffeine are:
• coffee • tea • cocoa • chocolate • cola drinks
Effects of caffeine
Small amounts of caffeine (less than 600 mg per day) are not harmful. See the caffeine chart at the end of this fact sheet to measure how much caffeine you have.
What caffeine does to you depends on:
how much you have
your height and weight
your general health
your mood
whether you have caffeine often
whether you have caffeine on its own, with food or with other drugs
Immediate effects
Small amounts
When you have a small amount of caffeine (such as a cup of coffee)
you feel more awake
your heart beats faster
you urinate more
your body temperature rises
your digestive system produces more acid
Large amounts
If you have a large amount of caffeine, you might:
get headaches
feel restless
feel nervous
become delirious (be confused, have hallucinations or be very excited)
find it difficult to sleep
Long-term effects
If you have more than 600 mg of caffeine a day for a long time you may:
find it difficult to sleep
worry a lot
be depressed
have stomach upsets
For people who already have heart problems or anxiety disorders such as panic attacks or agoraphobia (being afraid of public places or open spaces), large amounts of caffeine may make the problems worse.
Caffeine and sleep
If you have caffeine before you go to bed, it usually
makes it harder to get to sleep
makes you sleep for a shorter time
shortens the amount of deep sleep you have
gives you more 'dream sleep' at first, but less overall. Both deep sleep and dream sleep are important for proper rest.
Caffeine and pregnancy
Having caffeine when you are pregnant is safe if you have normal amounts of caffeine. However, very large amounts of caffeine during pregnancy may lead to losing the baby, the baby being born too early or being born dead.
Doctors recommend that pregnant women have no more than two to four cups of coffee or tea (about 200 mg of caffeine) a day.
Tolerence and Dependence
Anyone can develop a 'tolerance' to caffeine. Tolerance means that you must have more of the drug to feel the same effects you used to have with lower amounts.
'Dependence' on caffeine means that it takes up a lot of your thoughts, emotions and activities.
Not all people who take caffeine are dependent.
Withdrawal
People who are dependent on caffeine may experience withdrawal symptoms if they try to stop or cut down the amount of caffeine they have. Withdrawal symptoms can include: · headaches · feeling angry or upset · tiredness
DECAF TEA - islandteashop takes great pride in bringing you these prized teas. It has only been since the 1980s that advances in production technology have resulted in the availability of good quality decaffeinated tea. The less common, more expensive carbon dioxide (CO2) method of decaffeination involves putting the tea leaves into water and adding liquid carbon dioxide. When the water and carbon dioxide are drained off, the caffeine washes off too?leaving a decaffeinated leaf. This is not only chemical free, it preserves natural flavors better, resulting in superior taste
The CO2 decaf process uses highly pressurized natural carbon dioxide. There are no residual chemicals and the process has minimal effect on the flavor and other beneficial compounds inherent in the tea. The process further leaves the leaves with minimal breakage and thus a higher grade. All our decaffeinated teas are "naturally decaffeinated", a term used to denote the highest quality process for caffeine removal, the CO2 removal process. In this method, carbon-dioxide is applied at high pressure to the leaves to remove the caffeine. Compare this to the alternative chemical processes using Methylene chloride or Ethyl acetate, and you'll see why this is called the "naturally decaffeinated" method.
Making Your Own Decaf Tea
You also may substantially reduce the caffeine content in regular tea to make your own decaf tea by steeping it for approximately 30 to 60 seconds, then dispose of the tea or serve it to someone in need of caffeine. Then, using the same tea leaves, make another cup of tea which will contain much less caffeine since most of it was dissolved in the first cup of tea. Most of the caffeine dissolves in the first 30 to 60 seconds. It actually takes at least several minutes of steeping to start extracting the beneficial substance from tea, such as polyphenols.
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