Caffeine From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change Jump to: navigation, search Caffeine is a drug (or chemical) that is found in plants. In large amounts it can kill humans and other animals. Even small amounts can kill some animals, such as dogs.

Contents [hide] 1 Where caffeine is from 2 What caffeine is 3 What caffeine is used for 4 Problems with caffeine 5 How much caffeine is safe 6 Different ways to get 200mg of caffeine 7 References 8 Other websites 8.1 Scientific information 8.2 Others 8.3 News // [change] Where caffeine is from Caffeine is the main drug that is in coffee. Coffee comes from a tree. The seeds of the tree are roasted to make coffee.

Caffeine comes from other plants as well. It is found in guarana, yerba maté, cacao, and some plants used to make tea. The plants use caffeine as a pesticide . This is a chemical that kills insects if they eat the plant. It is the way the plant protects itself.

It is called guaranine when it comes from the guarana plant and theine when it comes from a tea plant. It is called mateine in the mate drink. This drink is an infusion made with Yerba mate.

[change] What caffeine is Caffeine molecule Caffeine is a stimulant drug. A stimulant is a drug that increases body actions like heart rate, blood pressure, and metabolism. It makes a person feel more awake and alert.

Caffeine also is a diuretic. This means it makes a person make more urine (the waste liquid a person makes).

The caffeine chemical is called a xanthine alkaloid . This is a group of chemicals that are stimulants. Some xanthine alkaloids (like theophylline) are used to help asthma.

[change] What caffeine is used for The biggest use of caffeine is as a stimulant. People drink coffee and other drinks with caffeine to stay awake.

Doctors sometimes use caffeine as a medicine. It is used for headaches (head pain). It is sometimes used to help premature (born very early) babies to breathe. The short-term risk of this treatment seems to be that the babies treated gain less weight than usual. [1] Caffeine is sometimes given to people after a lumbar puncture. This is a test to see if someone has meningitis (an infection around the brain).''' In the beginning caffeine was found to relieve hunger, so it was used for weight loss. That did not last because people were using too much. Caffeine can be a very dangerous drug when not used in the right way.

Caffeine also has medicinal properties. It is used in many over the counter medicines, such as Excedrin, Midol and Anacin. When combined with other analgesics, caffeine can help to alleviate headaches and cramps.

[change] Problems with caffeine Caffeine is a problem for spiders. The image above shows a spiderweb which was woven by a normal spider. The image below shows a web of a spider that had received Caffeine The largest problem with caffeine is addiction. This is when people get bad symptoms when they do not have the drug. When people have withdrawal (feel bad because they do not have the drug) they drink more. This makes them feel better. But if they cannot get more, they are likely to feel some of the symptoms listed below: Headache Being tired or need to sleep Feeling irritable Nausea (feeling like vomiting) Caffeine can also hurt people if they drink very much at once. If someone takes very much of a drug at once it is called an overdose . Caffeine overdose is a medical diagnosis. It is called: Caffeine-Induced Organic Mental Disorder or Caffeine Intoxication . People with this can have these symptoms: Very bad feelings like: Paranoia (feeling as if people are about to hurt the person) Restlessness or nervousness (with the person feeling like he cannot sit down or rest) Anxiety (very bad worry) Muscle movements that cannot be stopped Very fast heart rate Abnormal heart rhythms (even heart stopping) Very high blood pressure Vomiting Confusion (not knowing who the person is or where he/she is) [change] How much caffeine is safe 250-300 mg of caffeine a day is a moderate amount. This is as much caffeine that is in three cups of coffee (8oz each cup). More than 750-1000mg a day is dangerous, but people who drink more coffee every day can drink more without getting sick. The Lethal Dose 50 of caffeine is 192 mg per kilogram, in rats. In humans, it is between 150 and 200 mg per kilogram.

Caffeine is in many drinks and foods. This is approximate amounts of caffeine in some food and drink: Brewed coffee - 40 to 220 mg in a cup Instant coffee - 30 to 120 mg in a cup Decaffeinated coffee (with much caffeine taken out) - 3 to 5 mg in a cup Tea - 20 to 110 mg in a cup Soda drinks with caffeine - 36 to 90 mg in 12 ounces. Some people think that soft drinks which are light in color do not contain caffeine. This is not always true. Milk chocolate - 3 to 6 mg in an ounce Bittersweet chocolate - 25 mg in an ounce One ounce – abbreviated oz - is 30ml. A 'cup' is 8 oz (240ml.) [change] Different ways to get 200mg of caffeine Caffeine equivalents[2][3] In general, each of the following contains approximately 200 milligrams of caffeine: One 200 milligram caffeine pill One 2.5 fluid ounce Upshot energy shot (75 millilitres). One 12 fluid ounce cup of regular Starbucks coffee (355 millilitres) One and a half pounds of milk chocolate[a] (680 grams) Two 8 fluid ounce containers of regular coffee (470 millilitres) Five 1 fluid ounce shots of espresso from robusta beans (150 millilitres) Eight and a half 8 fluid ounce cups of Coca-Cola Classic (68 fl oz is approximately 2.0 litres) Ten 8 fluid ounce cups of green tea[b] (2.4 litres) Fifty 8 fluid ounce cups of decaffeinated coffee (12 litres) Notes: A fluid ounce is between 28 and 30 mililitres. a. There may also be large amounts of other chemicals, similar to caffeine in Chocolate and other products of cacao. There is theobromine in cacao, for example. These substances can have effects similar to those of caffeine.

b. Most tea drunk in North America is not very strong. The figures are for this kind of tea. The tea drunk in most other places of the world is stronger; for these kinds of tea, the figures are probably too small.

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