[ad_1]
This article is for all teenagers there. Society regularly expects you to be an adult, although in your development you still have many years to fully adulthood. Yes, you are mature in many ways: you can break the Beowulf paradox; many of you drive and do it safely; you manage schedules that would overload many adults. Yet your body continues to grow and your brain is still refining its neural connections. For this reason, you probably can not treat caffeine as transparently as your parents.
This must be news to all of you as teens are among the fastest growing consumers of caffeine. I understand that a vanilla ice cream has the taste of a dessert, a caffeinated beverage is as accessible as a bottle of water and one feels adulthood carry a cup of Starbucks. But all this caffeine can magnify your anxiety, compromise tonight's sleep, slow down tomorrow's school performance, inhibit nutrient absorption, dehydrate your cells and, mixed with alcohol, cause real problems.
Show more
Let's look at the evidence.
Caffeine is widely considered a drug, a chemical that changes how the brain works and affects mood, cognition or behavior. It may be a socially acceptable, universally used, or even cool medicine, but it still causes withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, fatigue and lack of attention when removed from the diet.
How healthy is it?
Caffeine is not a nutrient. you do not need to be in good health. In fact, you may lack nutrients because it has been proven to inhibit calcium. Since caffeine is also a diuretic, the body releases water. The more you drink caffeinated drinks, the less you drink water.
The American Academy of Pediatrics states that teens should not consume more than 100 mg of caffeine per day (less than the amount found in a large Starbucks latte). He also argues that "energy drinks containing stimulants have no place in the diet of children and adolescents". The Institute of Medicine does not support the sale of products containing caffeine to children of school age.
Disadvantages of caffeine
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 60% of college students and more than 70% of high school students do not sleep enough nights at school.
Some sleep problems can be attributed to caffeine, which can remain in the body for seven hours after consumption and blocks the neurochemical effects that trigger drowsiness. Teenagers who lack sleep get worse results the next day.
Sleep is important for teenagers in another way. Proper sleep contributes to the growth and development of the brain. During childhood and adolescence, the brain goes through a period called synaptic pruning during which unnecessary connections are consolidated; this consolidation occurs mainly during sleep. In addition, most of the adolescent's growth hormone is secreted during sleep.
It has also been shown that caffeine increases heart rate, cortisol, blood pressure and anxiety, as well as impulse control. After a first caffeine rush in the morning, you may find yourself lagging behind because your body is even more eager to eat.
Taste preferences and eating habits are often anchored during childhood and adolescence. Therefore, when you consume sugary drinks containing caffeine, such as sodas and pasta, whenever you feel moody, you create a schema difficult to break into adulthood.
Caffeine and alcohol
In a recent study, nearly a quarter of students mixed energy drinks with alcohol. When alcohol, which is a depressant, is associated with caffeine, which is a stimulant, the body stays alert longer than it drinks only alcohol. This encourages people to consume more alcohol because they do not feel the depressive and sleepy effect of alcohol, which leads to an increase in the blood alcohol level.
A report published in the Journal of Caffeine Research titled "Alcohol and Caffeine: The Perfect Storm" states: "Drinkers who reported mixing alcohol with energy drinks were three times more likely to be intoxicated with alcohol. the law. "These people also tend to underestimate them leading to a greater occurrence of risky behaviors. Emergency visits to energy drinks have increased in recent years.
Caffeine labeling
It is difficult to determine the amount of caffeine contained in certain products because it is not necessary that caffeine be on the list of the Nutrition Facts table on the food labels because it is not a nutrient. It may be listed as an ingredient, but the amount is not required. Caffeine is now added to foods such as gum, mint, candy and water, as well as makeup and beauty products that promise to reduce swelling and cellulite.
There are other ways to boost energy, whose taste is not as sweet as that of Frappuccino, but are noticeably healthier. Eat whole foods rich in complex carbohydrates, healthy fats and B vitamins. Exercise regularly, drink lots of water and sleep at least nine hours a night. If you do all these things, you may be better able to master the adult than many adults.
– Seidenberg is the co-founder of Nourish Schools, a nutritional education company based in British Columbia, and co-author of "Super Food Cards", a collection of recipes and health tips.
21539584
Source link
