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Why It's So Hard To Predict How Caffeine Will Affect Your Body

Posted by Soulskill on from the mainlining-crushed-penguin-mints-is-not-the-best-plan dept.

carmendrahl writes "Emergency-room visits linked to caffeine-laden energy drinks are on the rise. This gives scientists who'd like to see caffeine regulated the jitters. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seems to be dragging its feet on regulating caffeine content in food and drink, because people have different sensitivities to it (abstract). Currently, caffeine-rich products like Monster Energy get around the rules because they're marketed as dietary supplements. 'Caffeine gets cleared from the body at different rates because of genetic variations, gender, and even whether a person is a smoker. For this reason, it’s difficult to set a safe limit of daily consumption on the compound. Physiological differences, as well as differences in the way people consume caffeine, have tied FDA in knots as it has debated how to regulate the substance. ... The toxic level in humans, about 10 g, is roughly the equivalent of imbibing 75 cups of brewed coffee (in 8-oz mugs) or 120 cans of Red Bull over a few hours. But that lethal limit can vary widely from person to person, experts say."

18 of 212 comments (clear)

  1. Drag them Feet, Feds by retroworks · · Score: 4, Funny

    Drag away. What they should be measuring is the amount of caffeine that is going into the water table from urine. At that point, it's actually affecting someone else, second hand, and may actually be appropriate to regulate.

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    1. Re:Drag them Feet, Feds by sjames · · Score: 5, Funny

      It must be a lot. I've never seen a fish blink even once!

  2. Caffeine is a drug.. by mrbluze · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The part about caffeine that is dangerous is that, like other stimulants, it gives the impression of improved brain performance without really delivering it. A fatigued person propped up with caffeine still makes mistakes related to fatigue. The other effects like jitters and palpitations is probably harmful to the heart in the long term also but it's less of a hazard to others.

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    1. Re:Caffeine is a drug.. by jittles · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It is, yes. But the FDA is definitely right that it affects people differently. I can drink a red bull, a monster, a coke, tea, or anything but coffee and easily take a long nap afterwards. Something about the caffeine I get through coffee is different. It actually makes me feel alert and awake. So is there some other chemical in coffee that increases the effectiveness of caffeine for me, or is the caffeine delivered differently? Does it have a slightly different composition? I don't know. But its a difference I can definitely feel.

    2. Re:Caffeine is a drug.. by vlm · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Gut clogging quantities of HFCS most likely. Unless you drip a quarter cup of corn syrup into your coffee as a control.
      The no-cal versions have vast quantities of strange sweeteners.

      If you want a real control, assuming you can still legally buy caffeine pills OTC (or maybe over the net) like Vivaran (sp?) you can simply pop pills equal to however many milligrams you'd like. Drink some water to wash it down and maintain hydration and its almost guaranteed to be healthier for your innards than the additives in either drink.

      Its rather telling WRT lethal dosages that they used to sell vivarin caffeine pills in 50 packs (implying you can chug them all and live) but sleep aid pills in 5 packs (implying more than a couple and you're dead). Then again they sell tylenol in 500 capsule buckets at sams club so maybe my theory doesn't apply.

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    3. Re:Caffeine is a drug.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Placebo effect maybe?
      Asking this because I used to play a prank to a friend of mine whenever he came for dinner: He always complained about being unable to fall asleep after drinking coffee, so since we all drank coffee after dinner I started giving him decaf without him knowing.
      Guess what, when asked the day after or a couple of days later he would say that he had difficulty falling asleep with decaf as well... Well, he didn't knew it was decaf.
      After a couple of repeats I finally told him that we were giving him decaf.... and I switch, started giving him coffee again. You got it, when asked he would say that he didn't had any problem falling asleep.

      But then again, it may not be the case with you.

    4. Re:Caffeine is a drug.. by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 5, Funny

      The part about caffeine that is dangerous is that, like other stimulants, it gives the impression of improved brain performance without really delivering it.

      That's not true for all drugs. For example, ethanol intake makes me funnier, smarter, stronger, and sexier.

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    5. Re:Caffeine is a drug.. by garyebickford · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well, technically each of these sugars is metabolized somewhat differently, and uses up different amounts of B vitamins in the enzyme conversion chain. IANA biochemist but it takes, IIRC, two molecules of B-something to assist in the splitting of a sucrose molecule to its constituent frucose and glucose molecules, and so forth. I forget which vitamins are used where. So again, different people will be affected differently depending on your vitamin levels as well as your phenotype.

      Funny how these things go, it wasn't that long ago that you could buy fructose at the health food store, as a 'healthy alternative' to sucrose - coming from fruit and all.

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    6. Re:Caffeine is a drug.. by NatasRevol · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Not a myth. Actual observed effects.

      http://science.slashdot.org/story/10/03/24/2122231/high-fructose-corn-syrup-causes-bigger-weight-gain-in-rats

      In case you don't want to go click it, here's TFS:
      "In an experiment conducted by a Princeton University team, 'Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.' Long-term consumption also 'led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides.' Psychology professor Bart Hoebel commented that 'When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese — every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this; they don't all gain extra weight.'"

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    7. Re:Caffeine is a drug.. by hierophanta · · Score: 4, Informative

      This is actually scientifically not true. Caffeine affects us by blocking the chemicals that make us tired. As a result we are not only feeling more awake, but actually are more awake. The crash that occurs is because the chemicals that have been blocked thus far, are in a waiting pattern until their blockage disappears after which they flood the receptors. I do agree though, there is a good amount for false positive when it comes to perceived performance though.

    8. Re:Caffeine is a drug.. by Obfuscant · · Score: 5, Informative

      Put this stupid myth to rest.

      You mean the myth that using fructose in place of sucrose makes no difference?

      The simple fact that a simple sugar has already been broken down to a simple sugar means that it will flood the system much more quickly than a more complex sugar that needs to be converted before transport. If we don't need to pay attention to what the sugars are, then explain why cellulose (long chains of glucose) are indigestible, while simple glucose floods the system almost as soon as it is ingested.

      Yes, sir, the metabolic paths for glucose and fructose are different, and flooding the liver with massive amounts of fructose rapidly does result in a different effect than a slower appearance of glucose. The liver and endocrine systems need time to react to the influx of the sugars no matter what they are, so a rapidly appearing slug of one kind of sugar can easily overwhelm the regulatory mechanisms of the body and cause harm where a slower appearance of a different sugar does not. That harm may only be an unnecessary conversion of sugars to glycogen and fat, but in the long term that results in obesity and that can be harmful.

      You're talking to a diabetic who has monitored his blood sugar for years through all kinds of experiments with different sugars, who can tell you that the "glycemic index" and "sugar alcohols" information is a truly dangerous myth, along with the sugar industry shills telling us that there is no danger from HFCS. Yes, you're right that cutting sugar overall is a good thing, but trying to claim that if you are going to down a sugar laden drink that it makes no difference is just parroting the sugar industry media flacks. You'd point to data denying global warming or the link between smoking and cancer as being from an industry source, why are you so quick to accept data from the sugar industry?

  3. Um... by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Caffeine gets cleared from the body at different rates because of genetic variations, gender, and even whether a person is a smoker.

    ...Isn't that true for most substances?

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  4. Re:Tremors and explosive diarrhea by vlm · · Score: 4, Funny

    No no no AC we're talking about caffeine here not taco bell. Get with the program!

    --
    "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
  5. Toxic level by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    The toxic level in humans, about 10 g, is roughly the equivalent of imbibing 75 cups of brewed coffee (in 8-oz mugs) or 120 cans of Red Bull over a few hours.

    According to the eminent Wikipedia, that's the LD50 (150 to 200 mg/kg).
    If you gave an average group of humans 10g of caffeine, half of them would die.

    Now LD50 is a way to measure of toxicity, but I think it's fair to assume that a substance is toxic well below the lethal dose.

    1. Re:Toxic level by MiniMike · · Score: 4, Funny

      According to the eminent Wikipedia, that's the LD50 (150 to 200 mg/kg).
      If you gave an average group of humans 10g of caffeine, half of them would die.

      But you wouldn't know which ones for a few hours...

  6. Re:Just tax it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The nice thing about caffiene, in every way we normally consume it that I'm aware of, is that your body will let you know you've had too much WAY before it gets dangerous. Obviously and quicly. That is, unless there's something very wrong with you to begin with. Otherwise drinking enough Monster or coffee to put yourself in the hospital is almost always a willful act of stupidity.

    As such, I'm not too concerned about the FDA "dragging its feet" on the matter.

  7. Caffeine pollution is a known issue..... by Ellis+D.+Tripp · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.nature.com/news/2003/030120/full/news030113-10.html

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111122112023.htm

    http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/07/120730-caffeinated-seas-pacific-northwest-caffeine-coffee-science/

    http://researchmatters.noaa.gov/news/Pages/caffeine.aspx

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  8. Re:Just tax it. by dixonpete · · Score: 4, Interesting

    For me caffeine gave me a 25 year mood disorder that mimicked Bipolar II. Docs were clueless. My symptoms disappeared after going cold turkey 4.5 years ago. Caffeine is seriously underrated as to how dangerous it is.