I run to the toilet as soon as I drink coffee. Who can tell the difference between coffee and enema?

What is your main reason for drinking coffee?

Is it really for the sake of coffee savour, or for refreshing or constipation ?

To be honest, most Chinese people started drinking coffee, an imported product, mainly for two reasons: some were attracted by its refreshing effect on the brain, and some regarded coffee as a "constipation terminator."

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Does coffee make you alert or sleepy?

It depends on when you drink it.

The mechanism by which caffeine refreshes you is the "microphone-grabbing link". The CP in your brain that makes you sleepy is adenosine and adenosine receptors . Adenosine is the "plug" and adenosine receptors are the "sockets". If the two are combined, you will feel sleepy.

However, caffeine is shaped so that it can fit into the socket of adenosine receptors . If caffeine gets there before adenosine arrives, adenosine will just circle around helplessly, and you won't feel sleepy.

So if you are so sleepy that your head is about to hit the table, then basically no amount of coffee can save you. Because adenosine and adenosine receptors have already been extensively bound, in this three-person movie, caffeine has completely lost its name.

Some people still feel sleepy after drinking coffee, the reason may be: drinking it too late. It is best to drink coffee when you are not sleepy yet but about to fall asleep , otherwise you may not be able to prevent yourself from falling asleep.

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If the effect of all caffeine absorbed is counted as 100 points, then 60 points of the effect can be achieved 15 minutes after drinking it, and it may take about 45 minutes to 1 hour to achieve 100 points of the effect.

This story tells us: In order to stay alert, you can even drink coffee an hour in advance ; but if you find that you are still sleepy after an hour, it means that your adenosine receptors have no space for caffeine. At this time, you can consider taking a " coffee nap " - close your eyes and rest/sleep for 30 minutes immediately after drinking coffee, so that adenosine can leave briefly and make room for caffeine.

Of course, whether or not you feel sleepy after drinking coffee varies greatly from person to person , and is determined by genes. Some people stay awake until late at night after drinking just a little, while others can sleep normally after drinking at night. Who can you blame?

In addition, try not to drink coffee with a lot of sugar, because the process of blood sugar soaring and then plummeting will make people tired and sleepy. If you feel very sleepy, you should take a nap . Don't treat coffee as an antidote. A good rest is the best way. Relying on caffeine to stay awake can only keep you awake for a while, not forever!

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Does drinking coffee cause palpitations and diarrhea?

Adverse effects of caffeine

Caffeine does cause "adverse reactions" for some people. These "adverse reactions" may include: insomnia, hand tremors, palpitations, nausea, mild abdominal distension, diarrhea, etc. (low tolerance to caffeine), and even severe cases such as rash, itching, swelling like a "pig head", etc. (caffeine allergy).

Most people have low tolerance. Although these symptoms may make people uncomfortable, they are usually not serious. As long as they do not drink or drink less, they can be metabolized out of the body quickly.

In addition, some people get diarrhea after drinking latte or other milky coffee , which may be due to lactose intolerance or milk protein allergy.

Milk contains a natural sugar called lactose. Lactose that is eaten must be broken down by lactase in the small intestine before it can be digested and absorbed by the human body. However, some people do not have enough lactase in their bodies, so they cannot break down lactose normally. Lactose will remain in the intestines and become a feast for bacteria. Lactose will increase the osmotic pressure in the intestinal cavity, and bacteria will ferment lactose into lactic acid and ammonia, which will stimulate intestinal peristalsis and eventually cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, and bloating .

In addition to lactose, some people may also suffer from diarrhea due to sensitivity to the protein in milk .

If you want to determine whether you are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk protein, you can compare them by eating yogurt or cheese .

Because most of the lactose in yogurt and cheese has been broken down during the fermentation process, the lactose content is extremely low and will not cause lactose intolerance. On the contrary, people who are allergic to milk protein will feel uncomfortable with the milk protein in them.

Back to caffeine. Since caffeine can cause some "adverse reactions", what is a safe daily dose?

About 400 mg - about the same as 2 large Americanos .

This number is an average calculated by scientists, but how much caffeine an individual can accept per day depends on his or her body's reaction.

A large number of recent studies have shown that coffee itself is a healthy drink because coffee beans contain a lot of antioxidants in addition to caffeine. Drinking it regularly can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer's disease, and is also good for liver health. Some studies have also shown that people who drink coffee regularly have a 26% lower risk of colorectal cancer than those who do not drink coffee.

However, if you add a lot of sugar and cream to your coffee, the health risks they bring may outweigh the benefits of coffee. So if you are considering your health, it is recommended that you try not to add sugar, but you can add pure milk. Similarly, although milk tea is also a big caffeine drink, if you add too much sugar, it is not a healthy drink.

Caffeine addiction?

Do you feel headache and tired when you stop drinking coffee?

After relying on coffee to sustain your life for a long time, you will find that you seem to have become dependent on coffee, so you start to worry - will coffee be as addictive as alcohol and drugs?

Let me start with the conclusion: Caffeine does not activate the brain's addiction circuits, so it is not an "addictive" substance. However, some people will experience symptoms similar to mild withdrawal reactions if they do not drink or drink less , such as headaches, irritability, fatigue, etc. In order to alleviate these symptoms, you can gradually reduce the amount. Of course, some friends may confuse this feeling with withdrawal reactions because they are really too tired and sleepy, and feel uncomfortable.

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It is important to mention that the above is about caffeine found in common foods and drinks, while the purified caffeine itself is a second-class psychotropic drug in China, which is included in the control of narcotic drugs and psychotropic drugs, and is a drug in the sense of criminal law. Friends in Shanxi may have heard of "black noodles". Many manual laborers used to smoke it to stay awake. This is a drug and should be severely cracked down!

The caffeinated food and drinks we buy in our daily lives will be approved before they are put on the market and have their own national standards. At this time, caffeine is considered a food additive and will be written in the ingredient list, and the content will not be too high.

Foods containing caffeine

Caffeine isn't the only thing in coffee

Although caffeine is most commonly found in coffee, cola, chocolate, functional drinks, etc., which we often eat and drink, also contain caffeine, but the content is not as high as coffee. Among them, milk tea is worth mentioning.

Milk tea is singled out for discussion because it is a "hidden caffeine giant." A blogger once tested a large number of common brands of cupped milk tea, and found that the caffeine content of almost all of them was much higher than that of coffee.

Many milk teas claiming to be made with "original leaves" usually use tea dregs that have been cut into small pieces, which can be extracted faster and require an amount equal to or more than a cup of coffee, so the milk tea itself may contain more caffeine than a cup of coffee. Not to mention the Yuanyang milk tea , which contains both coffee and tea. The refreshing effect is really known to anyone who drinks it.

In addition, some coffee candies also contain caffeine because coffee powder is added to the raw materials. The refreshing intensity should be much lower than that of caffeine lozenges. However, if you are not sure about the caffeine content of each lozenge, it is recommended not to consume excessively.

Of course, there are also some "coffee-flavored" candies that only have coffee essence , sugar and cream. They do not contain caffeine , so you don't have to worry about not being able to sleep after eating them, but you do have to worry about the sugar they contain.

Planning and production

Source: Food_Lab

Author: Silver Spear Little White Dragon, Ruan Guangfeng

Editor: Zhong Yanping