[cited April 30, 2007].<http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/
foodcomp/Data/SR18/sr18.html>.ORGANIZATIONS
American Dietetic Association (ADA). 120 South Riverside
Plaza, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60606-6995. Telephone:
(800): 877-1600. Website:http://www.eatright.org.
Cabbage Soup Diet Pills. P.O. Box 1388, Cordova, TN
- Telephone: (901) 737-4138. Website:http://
[http://www.cabbagesoupdietpill.com/index.html.](http://www.cabbagesoupdietpill.com/index.html>.)
Dietitians of Canada. 480 University Avenue, Suite 604,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1V2. Telephone: (416)
596-0857. Website:http://www.dietitians.ca.
Partnership for Healthy Weight Management (PHWM), c/o
Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Bureau of Con-
sumer Protection. 601 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW,
Room 4302, Washington, DC. 20580. Website:http://
[http://www.consumer.gov/weightloss/.](http://www.consumer.gov/weightloss/>.)
Rebecca J. Frey, PhDCaffeine
Definition
Caffeine is a mild alkaloid stimulant made by
some plants. It is found in coffee beans, tea leaves,
and cocao beans, added to soft drinks, energy drinks,
energy bars, and sold in capsules and tablets as a diet-
ary supplement. Caffeine has no nutritional value.
Purpose
Caffeine is a mild stimulant. It is used to tempora-
rily relieve fatigue and increase mental alertness. Caf-
feine is added to some antihistamine drugs to help
counteract the sleepiness they may cause. It is also
added to over-the-counter headache remedies (e.g.,
Excedrin) and migraine headache drugs to enhance
their painkilling effects. Under medical supervision,
citrated caffeine (a prescription drug) is used to treat
breathing problems in premature infants.
Description
Caffeine, from the Italian word cafe ́e, meaning
coffee, is naturally made by about 60 plants. The most
familiar of these are coffee leaves and beans, tea leaves,
kola nuts, yerba mate, guarana berries, and cacao (the
source of chocolate). In plants, caffeine is a pesticide.
Insects eating plants that contain caffeine become dis-
abled or die.
Humans have eaten plants containing caffeine for
thousands of years; first chewing the seeds and leaves,
and later boiling them and drinking the resulting liquid.
Coffee, a major source of caffeine, was introduced to
Europe from the Middle East in the seventeenth century
and rapidly became a popular drink. Coffee houses
began appearing in London in the mid-1600s. A Ger-
man chemist purified caffeine in 1819. Today, besides
being found naturally in coffee, tea, and chocolate, it is
added to soft drinks, energy drinks and bars, headache
remedies, and is sold as a dietary supplement to improve
mental and physical functioning. The United States is a
highly caffeinated nation. In 2007, it was estimated that
90% of North Americans consumed caffeine daily.
Caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive
compound in the world. It has no nutritional value,
but has these effects on the body:
increases heart rate
temporarily increases blood pressure
increases urine output (a diuretic)
relaxes smooth muscle cells in the airways
releases fatty acids and glycerol in the body for
energy use
easily crosses the blood-brain barrier and changes
the level of neurotransmitters in the brain
passes into breast milk
Caffeine is absorbed in the stomach. Its effects are
noticeable in about 15 minutes and usually last several
hours. However, there is huge variation among peopleCaffeineAmount of caffeine
Product (mg)
Cocaine energy drink, 8.5 oz. 280
Caffeine tablet, 1 200
Coffee, brewed 8 oz. 135
Red Bull energy drink, 8.5 oz. 80
SoBe No Fear energy drink, 8 oz. 80
Excedrin headache tablet, 1 65
Mountain Dew, 1 can, 12 oz. 55
Black tea, brewed, 8 oz. 50
Diet Coke, 1 can, 12 oz. 45
Sunkist Orange, regular or diet, 1 can, 12 oz. 41
Coffee, espresso, 1 oz. 40
Pepsi Cola, 1 can, 12 oz. 37
Coca-Cola Classic, 1 can, 12 oz. 34
Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate, 1 bar, 1.5 oz. 31
Barq’s Root Beer, 1 can, 12 oz. 22
Green tea, brewed, 8 oz. 15
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate, 1 bar, 1.5 oz. 10
Coffee, decaffeinated, 8 oz. 5
Tea, decaffeinated, 8 oz. 4
Diet Barq’s Root Beer, 1 can, 12 oz. 0
Sprite, diet or regular, 1 can, 12 oz. 0
7-Up, 1 can, 12 oz. 0(Illustration by GGS Information Services/Thomson Gale.)Caffeine