Caffeine has existed in society for centuries, taking the form of everything from powder to liquids. Humans have been consuming caffeine on a daily basis since its discovery in the bronze age, but these days it is in practically everything we consume. According to the Center for Disease Control 70 percent of people aged two to 19 living in America reported that they consume caffeine on a daily basis.
The attempts at fearmongering from anti-caffeine addicts have gone to a point where the general public firmly believes that caffeine has nothing but negative impacts on the human body.
There have been interpretations of studies plastered over the internet all contrasting each other. These studies, which were initially supposed to give society a caffeine intake limit, now are used as fearmongering tactics.
Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance that has been used and abused since the Ethiopians discovered it. Where any possible confusion about caffeine could be coming from is the very blurry line between use and abuse. Most health organizations agree that five milligrams per one pound of body weight is the healthy limit for caffeine intake, anything more than that would be considered abuse.
As an avid caffeine consumer myself, even though I stay below the healthy limit, I still get told that I need help and that I should quit.
Caffeine at a healthy level can have more benefits than downsides as long as the person ingesting it does not have a caffeine sensitivity. The substance is often prescribed by doctors as either a migraine medicine or an ADHD medicine. That is right, at low levels it can have the same effect on the brain as entry-level medication to help with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
So is caffeine inherently bad? Not even close, but like anything, when it is abused, it causes harm. Unfortunately, it is easy to abuse these days, especially because of increasingly sweeter and more soda-like energy drinks. However, nobody should ever feel guilty for drinking a Monster or a Red Bull in the morning just to get them through the day.
