Cutting Back on Caffeine, Not Coffee, Here’s How

By: Yassmine ElSayed

CAIRO, Jan. 27 (SEE) - It might not be an exaggeration to regard drinking coffee in the morning as the most shared daily habit for human beings on earth.

According to the International Coffee Organization, approximately 1.6 billion cups of coffee are consumed worldwide every day.

The main ingredient in coffee is caffeine - a compound that naturally derives from over 60 different plant sources, including coffee beans, tea leaves, cacao seeds and cola nut seeds.

Caffeine acts as a stimulant by activating the central nervous system. It can combat tiredness and improve concentration and focus.

According to the University of Michigan Health Service, the stimulating effects of caffeine can start as early as 15 minutes after consumption and last up to 6 hours.

Other than coffee, caffeine is commonly consumed through tea, soft drinks - particularly energy drinks - and chocolate. It is also found in some prescription and non-prescription drugs, such as cold, allergy and pain medication.

Medical News Today reported on a study suggesting that consuming three cups of coffee a day may reduce the risk of liver cancer by 50%, while another study suggests that drinking four cups a day could halve the risk of mouth and throat cancer.

Caffeine consumption has also been associated with positive effects on the brain.

Last year, a study from the Harvard School of Public Health suggested that drinking between two and four cups of coffee a day may reduce suicide risk in adults, while more recent research found that ingesting 200 mg of caffeine each day may boost long-term memory.

Other studies have also suggested that caffeine intake may protect against type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, cardiovascular disease and stroke.

At the same time, many of us forget that caffeine is a psychoactive substance - a drug that crosses the blood-brain barrier to stimulate the central nervous system. Accordingly its consumption has to be controlled.

The Mayo Clinic state that consuming more than 500-600 mg of caffeine a day may lead to insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, irritability, an upset stomach, a fast heartbeat and even muscle tremors. In addition, Medical News Today reported on a study suggesting that consuming 300 mg of caffeine a day during pregnancy may increase the risk of low birth weight babies, while other research suggests that drinking four cups of coffee a day may increase the risk of early death.

Below, ‘SEE’ brings you what experts say on cutting back on caffeine consumption. Here’s all you need to do:

1. Keep a caffeine diary. It can inform you of how much caffeine you are consuming, and it may be more or less than what you may think. In a study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, people reduced their caffeine intake from an average of 600 milligrams per day to 50 milligrams during a six-week period.

2. Know all of the sources of caffeine in your diet. Remember, caffeine is found in coffee, tea, soft drinks, energy drinks and shots, as well as cocoa and chocolate. It's also present in fortified snack foods, some energy bars and even some pain medications, including some forms of Excedrin and Midol.

3. If you drink coffee, gradually cut back on the number of cups per day. If you're drinking four cups of coffee per day, you may reduce it by one cup per week. You might also substitute one cup with decaf, or blend in some decaf with each cup.

4. Try coffee alternatives, such as green or black tea. Tea can still give you a boost but has less caffeine than coffee. An 8-ounce cup of black tea contains about 47 milligrams of caffeine, and green tea has about 25 milligrams per cup, compared with 75 to 165 milligrams in an 8-ounce cup of brewed coffee.

5. Anticipate when caffeine cravings may occur. As part of the counseling component in the Johns Hopkins study, inpiduals identify situations or moods in which they are most likely to crave caffeine, especially during the first few weeks of modifying caffeine use, and having a plan for when cravings occur, like taking a five-minute relaxation break involving deep breathing exercises.