As a nation of coffee lovers, many Americans embrace caffeine addiction with open arms. The beginning of America’s love affair with coffee is often traced back to the British tax upon tea during the colonial period. After the Boston Tea Party and nation-wide protests against tea, colonists began to turn away from tea as a favored beverage and moved toward coffee.
As we now have coffee shops upon every corner, this modern love of the cup o’ joe has obviously survived and infiltrated every major city in America. The constant pressure to go-go-go and our driving need to cram more into our lives seems to have made caffeine consumption unavoidable for surviving in the nine to five of daily life in the United States. However, as many of us drink coffee, we are unaware of its impact on our physical body, even when it’s purchased at health nutrition stores. Caffeine is believed to drain many essential vitamins from the body, negatively impact sleep, and even cause emotional agitation and anxiety.
Extensive and heavy use of caffeine in any form lowers levels of qualitybrand vitamins C, D, and B. While essential for immune health, vitamin C also keeps our actual physical selves intact, gluing together cells and preventing us from losing our teeth or bleeding out from our mucous membranes. Vitamin D is essential to good bone health and absorption of calcium. Vitamin B helps metabolize proteins and is necessary for the production of red blood cells, effectively preventing neurological crises and staving off anemia.
Additionally, those who choose to drink heavily caffeinated beverages may benefit from adding a supplement to their diet, in addition to eating more foods that supply these nutrients. Vitamin C is easily found in citrus fruits and tomatoes. B vitamins are commonly absorbed by eating fish or meat, but can also be found in bananas, whole-grain cereals, fresh legumes, and dairy. Vitamin D is found in many types of meat, but is most effectively made by the body through limited exposure to the sun.
Alternatively, some people are turning back to tea, whose anti-oxidant riches have lured many into health food stores to peruse the aisles for green and white varieties. Studies have shown that white tea is the most beneficial of teas, having the lowest amount of caffeine and the highest amount of anti-oxidants. Rather than experiencing the agitated “high” of coffee, followed by the harsh caffeine “crash” in the afternoon, white tea drinkers enjoy a sustained alertness during the day.
Pregnant women are advised to avoid caffeine altogether. One study indicates that regular caffeine use during pregnancy increases the likelihood of miscarriage. Prolonged use of caffeine in any form can also cause dependency. In order to avoid unpleasant symptoms of withdrawal such as headaches and depressed mood, gradual decrease of caffeinated beverages is advised.
Regardless of the amount of caffeine one consumes, being aware of the connection of vitamins and health is important to maintaining nutritional balance and good health. Caffeine in moderation is the best choice; it is recommended t
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