Somnath Das
I, like many college students, have developed quite the addiction to my daily Starbucks. Walking in, I’m not shy in telling the baristas that I am, again, ordering my “usual” — a venti iced coffee with sugar-free caramel syrup and milk. However, like any substance, caffeine could possibly have some long-term side effects. What are both the short-term and long-term effects of caffeine consumption? Namely, what does research have to say about caffeine and its addiction?
Caffeine is one of the most consumed psychoactive substances in the world. Surprisingly, people consume caffeine by ways other than coffee: cocoa nuts, colas and even concentrated caffeine pills are also popular. Older adults consume more coffee than college students, with the Food and Drug Administration reporting that adults ages 50-59 consumed the most caffeine among any age group. Males in this age group consumed roughly 300 mg/day in 2005, which is the equivalent of two to three cups of coffee daily. While this quantity may not seem like a high consumption to college students in the middle of midterm season, it’s important to understand that such a high daily dose of caffeine could have long-term health effects outside the realm of dependence.
The biological mechanism of caffeine is rather interesting — as opposed to “activating” metabolic processes in the human body, caffeine actually works as an inhibitor of an enzyme called phosphodiesterase. In the body, phosphodiesterase is an enzyme that cleaves a messenger in our cells called cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), shutting down communication signals. By inhibiting the enzyme that inhibits communication, you create an “enemy of my enemy is my friend” situation, in which you end up increasing communication. This effect leads to the “buzz” caused by caffeine.
Caffeine has been connected to some adverse effects, most of them lying outside the biological pathway mentioned above. One of the biggest health concerns is that it dehydrates the body. Current research, however, suggests that this effect is more myth than fact — caffeine has not necessarily been proven to actively cause the secretion of fluid from the body. That being said, relying on a cup of coffee to hydrate yourself still remains inferior to a cup of water.
A more significant body of research has been focused on the addictive effects of caffeine. Two types of dependence have been assessed: physical and psychological. Physical addiction generally describes when the body generally needs caffeine to optimally function, but not for normal psychological function. This type of addiction can be best understood through withdrawal: if one notices that they haven’t drank coffee all day and are feeling fatigued, but not really thinking about drinking coffee as if it’s urgent, then they may have developed a physical addiction. This type of addiction should draw some concern for coffee drinkers. A physical dependence on coffee, as with any substance, isn’t exactly considered healthy. Generally, physical addictions disappear over time, with the most prominent symptom being a headache.
The growing body of literature has seemed to focus on the psychological implications of caffeine addiction, specifically clinical syndromes of caffeine dependence. However, despite some evidence that caffeine addiction is a psychological syndrome, scientists are still unsure whether the body of evidence is sufficient to really justify caffeine’s inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), a resource that psychiatrists use to diagnose psychiatric illness. Therefore, even though substances like alcohol have been clinically proven to produce addiction (i.e. alcoholism), the same effects haven’t been found in caffeine.
In summary, a cup of coffee every now and then or even daily isn’t unhealthy by any means. In fact, coffee consumption has been linked to some health benefits, such as increased antioxidants and less likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes. That being said, the physical dependence aspect caffeine has on people should draw some concern, and coffee’s health benefits only kick in if you drink it without added sugars and milk.
So maybe your coffee craze isn’t so bad after all. In moderation, coffee is wonderful and can be enjoyed in many different ways. Black coffee’s health benefits too have a lot to offer the curious connoisseur. Drink healthy, drink happy.
Somnath Das is a College sophomore from Warner Robins, Georgia. His column appears in every Tuesday issue of the Wheel.
