Caffeine use may pose health risks

  Photo Illustration by MANDY CHAPMAN Many UCLA students
rely on pills and coffee to help them stay awake while studying,
despite warnings by health experts that over-consumption of
caffeine may cause potential health problems.

By Robert Salonga
Daily Bruin Staff

Caffeine may be the drug of choice for many looking to stay up
and cram for an exam, but over-consumption could lead to adverse
health effects.

And with rising popularity of a caffeine culture, via the three
coffee houses on campus and nationwide chains like Starbucks,
over-consumption is prominent among college students.

“If I’m staying up throughout the night, I’ll
have coffee, but sometimes when I pull all-nighters, I resort to
caffeine pills,” said Christina Beede, a second-year
political science student.

Considered safe from a medical standpoint, caffeine consumption
not only heightens the concentration of it in one’s system,
but it also displaces adenosine, a chemical which would normally
slow down brain activity. This results in reduced fatigue.

But Eleanor Axe, an associate physician at the Arthur Ashe
Student Health and Wellness Center, said caffeine, which is a
stimulant, may cause stomach pain. Continued overuse can lead to
inflammation of the stomach lining and cause rapid or irregular
heartbeats.

Caffeine is also a diuretic, prompting one to urinate more often
than usual. Those who consume caffeine on a daily basis must
compensate by drinking more than the recommended eight cups of
water per day.

“People don’t drink enough water to begin
with,” said Sheri Albert, a registered dietitian for the Ashe
Center. “Any student who consumes caffeine must drink extra
water.”

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest,
Americans achieve three-quarters of their caffeine intake through
coffee alone.

Albert said many reach the daily allowance of 200 to 300
milligrams of caffeine without realizing it, and that effects vary
depending on the individual.

“Everyone’s tolerance is different,” she said,
“Some people can drink a lot of coffee and suffer harmful
effects, and others wouldn’t be fazed by it.”

An 8-ounce cup of instant coffee contains 100 mg of caffeine.
Drinking up to three cups, depending on individual tolerance, is
still considered safe.

But the medium-sized coffee drink at Starbucks packs 550 mg of
caffeine into a single serving.

Because commercial coffee drinks tend to have higher amounts of
caffeine, those who drink more than one per day tend to experience
increased effects.

In addition to coffee, many students say they use caffeine pills
such as No-Doz and Vivarin, concentrated capsules containing the
recommended daily allowance of caffeine in a single dose.

Beede said if students choose to use caffeine pills, they should
take small doses to decrease side effects, which include tension
headaches, hyperactivity and irritability. She also said students
cannot rely on products like these as substitutes for sleep.

“After a week, you’ll crash and sleep for a day and
a half,” Beede said. “You have a lower academic
performance as well.”

According to Axe, over-stimulation can cause impaired
thinking.

Other effects of caffeine on the body include slight calcium
loss in the bones, which is minor if either milk is added to coffee
or if the loss is compensated through vitamin supplements. The
recommended daily allowance for calcium is 1,000 mg per day.

Students should also be cautious of combining caffeine with
other energy drinks, weight loss supplements or fat burner
products. Albert said many of these products are disguised as
herbal blends but possess large concentrations of caffeine.

Many of these products contain ephedra, commonly known as Ma
Huang, an Asian herb used for weight loss that when abused can lead
to side effects similar to those induced by amphetamines, including
elevated blood pressure, muscle disturbances, insomnia, dry mouth,
heart palpitations, nervousness and even death due to heart
failure.

Caffeine abuse can be disastrous, but experts say careful
consumption can make side effects a minor concern.

“The important things are to know your limit, stay
hydrated, take calcium, and avoid combining it with ephedra,”
Albert said. “It’s a powerful drug and should be used
in moderation.”