Caffeinated Kids

Newspapers and TV have been focusing recently on the relatively new phenomenon of teenage coffee consumption. With more than 300 million cups of coffee consumed a day, this is a heavily caffeinated nation, and kids as young as age eleven are increasing those numbers.

Why are kids turning to coffee? The overwhelming reason seems to be that they’re tired, and need help getting through their overloaded schedules and doing their homework.

Some coffee shops have seen a doubling of teenage customers in the last three years, and some high schools now serve it to students. Parents and school administrators seem to be taking in stride that kids are getting addicted to caffeine, condoning its use because they’re glad to have a safe place where their kids congregate, not looking at the detrimental effects.

Caffeine raises blood sugar, which enhances mood, cognition, and short-term memory, helps alleviate fatigue, increases energy, and keeps you awake so you can finish your school work. On the other hand…

Short-term effects of caffeine include heartburn, headaches, stomach and intestinal troubles, and a jump in blood pressure and heart rate. The acid in coffee eats away at the lining of the small intestine, reducing its effectiveness in assimilating nutrients. Too much caffeine can increase anxiety, irritability, and nervousness, cause a decline in motor skills, and lead to poor sleep, insomnia, hyperactivity, muscle twitching, and jitters.

Caffeine intake is related to calcium depletion and bone fractures, from increased excretion of calcium as well as magnesium through urine. Because coffee is a diuretic, it dehydrates your system. And it affects your smile: the tannic acid which gives coffee its dark color can stain teeth a nasty dark brown.

Caffeine overburdens the liver, the main detoxifier for the body. The liver is the source of your get-up-and-go energy; when caffeine is used instead as a morning stimulant, it depletes the liver’s natural stores of energy and eventually affects the health of the liver.

Coffee drinkers are at risk of developing specific diseases. Women who consume coffee on top of a high-fat diet have a larger risk of mammary and bladder cancer. Coffee consumption during pregnancy increases the rate of miscarriages and birth defects. Coffee intake is directly related to pancreatic cancer and heart attack; the more coffee consumed, the greater the likelihood of these conditions. Two cups or more daily raises cholesterol. Caffeine throws the whole body out of whack, creating huge stress on individual organs systems and weakening the whole system.

Click here for a printer-friendly version of this article.

Home l About the Practitioner l Testimonials l Treatment l FAQ l Health Articles l Yoga l Contact