Caffeine Benefits – Positive effects of caffeine on our health

Introduction

It is essential to mention the difference between natural caffeine and pure, mostly extracted or chemically produced caffeine . The properties of natural caffeine has mostly positive benefits. Extracted, pure caffeine, on the other hand, can quickly lead to side effects . In this article, we want to focus specifically on the general health benefits and effects of caffeine.

You will find numerous other links in the article, both to studies and other articles in our blog, which will help you to understand the complex topic of caffeine.

Contents

1. effect of caffeine
2. Caffeine Health Benefits
   1. Physical Benefits of Caffeine
      
      1. Reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes
      2. Up to 25% lower risk of stroke
      3. Up to 49% lower risk of cancer
      4. Lower risk of getting kidney stones
      5. Up to 21% lower risk of skin cancer
      6. Protection against cataracts
      7. Reduced risk of Alzheimer's
      8. Reduced risk of Parkinson's
      9. Increased performance in sports
      10. Improved/increased metabolism
      11. Lose weight
   2. Mental benefits of caffeine
      1. motivation
      2. Increased brain function
      3. memory performance
      4. Improving long-term memory
3. Conclusion

1. Effect of caffeine

You can find a really detailed description of the effects of caffeine in our main caffeine article " Caffeine Effects, Overdose, Withdrawal, Pregnancy & More ". For more in-depth information, we therefore recommend that you read up there as well.

Generally speaking, caffeine is an alkaloid that can cross the blood-brain barrier and then, by blocking adenosine receptors, causes less of the sleep hormone melatonin to be produced. Accordingly, we do not get tired as quickly after consuming a caffeinated beverage like Guayusa .

Additionally, caffeine appears to slightly increase dopamine production, or at least decrease the efflux of dopamine from the brain, making us feel happier.

2. Caffeine Health Benefits

In our main article we have already discussed many advantages, which we would now like to examine in detail. Finally, we hope to have given you a good overview that you can use to better evaluate both the advantages of caffeine for your health and the disadvantages .

We'll start with the physical health benefits of caffeine and end with the mental, psychological benefits.

2.1. Physical Benefits of Caffeine

Reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes

In a study with more than 1.6 million subjects over 4 years, a connection between the consumption of coffee and diabetes was found.

Anyone who increased their consumption by an average of one cup over the observation period of 4 years and thus drank 3 or more cups of coffee a day had an up to 11% lower risk of diabetes.

This health benefit is primarily attributed to the caffeine, but also to the other ingredients.

Up to 25% lower risk of stroke

A 10-year study looked at the benefits of caffeine consumption on stroke risk.

It was found that little or no consumption leads to an increased risk of stroke.

Up to 49% lower risk of cancer

A significant health benefit was found to be associated between caffeine consumption and throat cancer in nearly one million women and men.

Anyone who drank about 4 cups of coffee on average had a 49% lower risk of developing throat cancer.

Other reduced cancer risks are said to be:

• prostate cancer
• breast cancer
• uterine cancer

Lower risk of getting kidney stones

This study, which examined caffeine consumption and the benefits on the kidneys over a period of 8 years , also found that participants with a significantly higher consumption were less affected by kidney stones.

Up to 21% lower risk of skin cancer

Both oral ingestion of caffeinated beverages and direct application of caffeine-rich creams have been shown in trials to be less of a cancer risk than a caffeine benefit.

Scientists were able to determine that caffeine protects the skin from damage caused by ultraviolet light.

And the consumption of 3 or more cups of coffee per day led to a better protection of the skin against cancer, which can be triggered by sun rays. The caffeine advantage was clearly noticeable at 21% .

Protection against cataracts

In vitro studies of UV exposure to lenses have shown that caffeine has a protective benefit. Thus, cataracts caused by UV exposure could be reduced by consuming caffeine.

Reduced risk of Alzheimer's

According to studies, lifelong consumption of caffeinated beverages is said to reduce the likelihood of Alzheimer's. This caffeine health benefit can be as high as 65% .

Reduced risk of Parkinson's

Another benefit is a lower risk of Parkinson's disease after the age of 65 if caffeinated beverages have been consumed regularly through middle age.

Increased performance in sports

The fact that caffeine has an advantage in sports is now undisputed ! However, the optimal dose is important. With a body weight of 75kg, an amount of 225mg to 450mg is recommended to achieve maximum performance increase. That is about 3 mg to 6 mg per kg of body weight.

At higher doses z. B. 9 mg per KG body weight, there were side effects.

Improved/increased metabolism

The metabolism is also stimulated by up to 13%. However, either an unhealthy amount of caffeine must be consumed at once, namely 680 mg according to the study , or caffeine must be consumed continuously for years.

Lose weight

Caffeine can also promote weight loss and avoid weight gain. If you want to lose weight successfully, you can also consume caffeine to stimulate your metabolism and increase the likelihood of success .

2.2 Mental benefits of caffeine

After all the physical health benefits of caffeine, let's finally get to its mental properties.

motivation

The increase or accumulation of dopamine in the brain makes us generally feel happier and happier. This in turn can mean that we are generally more motivated, want to set goals and pursue them purposefully!

Increased brain function

Brain functions involve many tasks, including:

• Mood
• reaction time
• alertness
• Attention
• ability to learn
• general mental abilities

All of these brain functions are positively influenced by caffeine. Caffeine is therefore definitely a functional food and a great active ingredient for biohackers .

memory performance

How great the benefits of caffeine are for our brain has been and is still being examined in studies over and over again. The results are clearly in the positive direction and almost without exception show better brain function in terms of memory , storage capacity and the speed of learning new things as well as the ability to solve challenging tests.

These tests are often particularly meaningful in the older generation 60+ and 70+ and prove a significantly increased function of the brain.

Improving long-term memory

Due to the high caffeine content, a cup of Guayusa tea can ensure that what you have just learned is saved for longer. At least that's the conclusion reached by the researchers at Johns Hopkins University

3. Conclusion

In our opinion, the many health benefits of caffeine, both mental and physical, outweigh the disadvantages , as these often only occur with pre-existing conditions or excessive consumption.

It is also particularly important to note the difference between pure and natural caffeine. Side effects can occur much more quickly with pure extracts or synthesized caffeine, since there are no antagonists or other positive active ingredients such as theobromine , theophylline , antioxidants or even L-theanine . You can find a comparison between natural and pure caffeine powder here .

Caffeine can also not replace a balanced diet , but serves as a support.

We hope that we have given you an objective impression with this article and we are of course happy if you try Guayusa tea or find out more in our blog.