Caffeine Blues_ Wake Up to the Hidden Dangers of America's #1 Drug ( PDFDrive )
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You Are What You Watch
Researchers at the University of Minnesota spent more than fifty hours viewing Saturday morning kids’ shows and advertising. Most of the foods advertised were candy, soft drinks, cookies, chips, and cakes. Not one ad promoted the eating of fruits and vegetables, and fewer than 5 percent advertised milk or other dairy products.
Source: “Saturday Morning Pyramid,” Current Health 2, vol. 21,
issue 9;May 1995:2.
Anatomy of an Addiction
The degree to which someone becomes dependent upon caffeine is related to the blood level of the drug to which they become accustomed. In children, blood levels of caffeine can remain high for five to six hours after a single dose. There are two reasons for this: their small body size and the limited ability of their liver to detoxify caffeine. To be precise, a sixty-pound child consuming three cola beverages and a few candy bars in a day would be ingesting more than eight milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight. (A kilogram equals 2.2
pounds.) That is the equivalent of eight cups of strong coffee for a 165-pound man.
Remember also that there are two aspects to any drug addiction. First is the reward sought by the user. In this case, it is the “buzz” of adrenaline, the heightened caffeine state that is so often confused with energy. The second aspect is the desire to avoid the pain of withdrawal. It’s hard to say which is more motivating, but one thing is certain: Children easily fall prey to the addictive properties of soft drinks and their relentless marketing campaigns—a juggernaut that seems virtually unstoppable.
Of course, as I mentioned, soft drink manufacturers would never admit to a marketing strategy of addicting children to caffeine. Nevertheless, studies have found that the caffeine withdrawal effects experienced by children are very similar to those experienced by adults: fatigue, headache, malaise, anxiety, and depression. And these effects can begin after a very short period without a caffeine “hit,” even as simple as a child missing their lunchtime or after-school soft drink.24
While leading health experts issue warnings that caffeine is creating early addiction with lifelong consequences,25, 26 soft drink sales have never been better, and sales increase every year. The next time you’re in a supermarket and see two-liter bottles of soft drinks on sale for forty-nine cents or when you’re in a fast-food restaurant or convenience store that offers unlimited refills on soft drinks, remember this: Soft drinks may be the most successfully marketed product in the history of the world, but they owe their success to your addiction.
Bad to the Bone
In addition to the caffeine, sugar, and artificial flavors in soft, drinks, many health experts are concerned about phosphoric acid. Optimum bone health requires a certain ratio of calcium to phosphorus, and each can of cola contains about seventy milligrams of phosphorus. This amount of phosphorus can adversely affect bone strength unless it is balanced by a higher intake of calcium.27–28, 29But soft drinks (which contain no calcium) are replacing milk, the major source of calcium in the American diet. The scenario gets even worse when you remember that caffeine also tends to increase calcium loss in the urine.
The effect of caffeine on children’s growth is nearly impossible to evaluate because it would be unethical to dose children with caffeine in order to measure changes in growth rate. But in some South American cultures children drink a significant amount of coffee. One recent study in Guatemala found that taking children off caffeine for just five months resulted in 22 percent gains in length compared to the group that continued drinking coffee. More important, the caffeine-free group registered a 46 percent greater weight gain and decreased incidence of illness.30
The caffeine habit is a terrible legacy to give our children. During adolescence, there is a window of opportunity to form strong bones, and those bones must last a lifetime. Once a child’s skeleton is fully formed, very little can be done to increase its mineral content. And at this all-important moment when every gram of calcium and magnesium count toward either future health or the pain and crippling of osteoporosis, we hand our kids a can of pop.
RESEARCH CAPSULE
What’s Wrong with This Picture?
In the April 1, 1996, issue of Family Practice News, I was surprised to see an article titled “Carbonated Beverages No Threat to Bones.”31 Numerous studies show an undeniable association between high soft drink consumption and increased risk for bone fractures. Was the present study really debunking the cola connection? You be the judge.
Point 1. The chief researcher announced that five colas have “about the same amount of caffeine as one strong cup of coffee.” In
“about the same amount of caffeine as one strong cup of coffee.” In fact, a twelve-ounce cola contains 45 to 72 milligrams of caffeine, so five soft drinks will deliver at least 225 milligrams and as much as 360 milligrams of caffeine. A strong cup of coffee contains 120
milligrams of caffeine per six ounces.
Point 2. The mean age of the women in the study was seventy-two.
Point 3. Soft drink intake was determined by lifetime recall, a technique notorious for error.
Point 4. The average soft drink intake of the women in the study was one serving per day.
Conclusion: This study proves only that elderly women who remember drinking approximately one soft drink per day do not have weaker bones than elderly women who remember drinking less than one soft drink per day. It never tested the real question as to whether soft drinks in amounts commonly consumed today contribute to bone loss or fracture. Nevertheless, this study became a news item, reducing concern regarding the soft drinkosteoporosis connection.
The Truth: A careful review of the effects of soft drinks on bone health was recently conducted and published in the journal American Family Physician. The researchers conclude that “excessive consumption of carbonated and cola-type beverages, combined with low dietary calcium intake, is a major public health issue that predisposes female adolescents to bone fracture and perhaps increases the likelihood of osteoporosis later in life.”32
Soft Drinks Promote Hypertension
It has long been known that decreased intake of calcium and magnesium directly and significantly increases the risk for hypertension in adulthood. But recent research with children shows that suboptimal intake of these important minerals is also associated with something that was unheard of a generation ago: pediatric hypertension.33 Once again, by foisting soft drinks upon our children, we are setting them up for a serious lifelong disorder. That’s because caffeinated soft drinks:
1. Provide no calcium or magnesium;
2. Replace other nutritious beverages that normally provide these important minerals;
3. Actually deplete calcium and magnesium from their bodies; and 4. Contribute directly to hypertension.
Soft Drinks Have Invaded Our Schools
Many studies show widespread suboptimal nutriture in American schoolchildren.34 How did this happen? Amazingly enough, a large part of the answer lies in our schools.
More than thirty years ago, when soft drink consumption was nothing compared to what it is today, the Council on Foods and Nutrition of the American Medical Association issued a statement expressing its strong opposition to the sale of carbonated beverages in school lunchrooms.35 Then, in the 1970s, carbonated beverages were allowed to be sold, but only after the lunch period had ended.
In 1983, soft drinks were prohibited only during the actual service of food, the rationale being that the U.S. Department of Agriculture considered such beverages to be inappropriate in nutrition education settings. But today there are soft drink machines in high schools across America, and average teen consumption is pushing three cans a day. Here’s how it happened.
Imagine you’re a school administrator and budget cuts have forced the cancellation of your junior varsity sports program. Then you receive a visit from a cola company representative, who expresses concern that you are under such tight financial constraints and suggests a solution. If y
ou authorize the placement
tight financial constraints and suggests a solution. If you authorize the placement of cola vending machines throughout your campus and sign a contract granting exclusive sales rights (for about ten years), the cola company will pay a commission on each can sold—and, in time, you’ll get your sports programs back. Suddenly, cola machines appear all over the school—in the lounges, cafeteria, and, in some cases, the hallways.
An article on this subject in The New York Times on March 9, 1998, quoted Larry Jabbonsky, a spokesman for Pepsi-Cola, as saying, “They [the schools]
need to generate funds. At the same time, we are constantly looking for new ways to broaden our exposure among young people. It’s a pretty natural independent fit.”36 Though neither Coca-Cola nor Pepsi (the two biggest players) will say how many schools have signed deals, this movement is exploding across the nation. In November 1997, the Colorado Springs, Colorado, school district signed a ten-year deal with Coca-Cola for $8 million, and more if it exceeds the “requirement” of selling 70,000 cases of Coke products annually.37
“While soft drink giants have long fought to be designated the official beverage of professional sports and college campuses, only recently have they turned their sights on the kindergarten-throughhigh-school set.”
Source: The New York Times, March 10, 1998, page Cl
Money from the cola companies is funding not only sports programs, but new computer programs and more. The schools are delighted with the easy money and apparently have no issue with treating the students as a commodity to sell to the highest bidder. Meanwhile, the issue of our children’s health has fallen completely by the wayside. In The New York Times article quoted above, health issues surrounding soft drinks were not even mentioned. Consumers Union decries the practice of soft drink deals, not because of the health hazards, but because it is “using taxpayer space to promote commercial messages and give over these audiences to corporations.”38
While school administrators and cola executives are congratulating themselves on a win-win deal, the real losers are the children. They lose critically essential nutrients at a time when every vitamin and mineral counts toward a life of health or illness. They lose the freedom to choose what beverages they want to consume, and they lose an environment that encourages free thinking, as schools plaster contract-mandated advertising on the buildings,
scoreboards, cups, banners, and vending machines. One Texas school district has cola brand logos painted across the rooftops of its two high schools. And, of course, the kids lose a measure of self-determination as they become addicted to caffeine.
“You want to get them started young and hopefully keep them for life—that’s what brand loyalty is all about.”
Source: Ira Mayer, publisher of Youth Markets Alert.
Of course, universities have been signing exclusive soft drink deals for years, and they’re proud to point out that much of the cola money goes to fund women’s athletic scholarships.39 The irony is that caffeine increases a woman’s risk for anemia, PMS, osteoporosis, fibrocystic disease, anxiety, and depression (see Chapter 6), making cola beverages the very antithesis of peak sports performance.
And It’s Not Just the Schools
Even as more children every day become casualties of the cola wars, soft drink manufacturers are going out of their way to promote their products through youth service and educational organizations. Some point out that these deals usually involve significant donations, but does that justify promoting products that harm children?
The New York Times recently reported that the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Coca-Cola Company would jointly raise $60 million over the next decade for a youth development program sponsored by the clubs.40 Seems like the cola giants are only too willing to lend a helping hand to our kids, all the while creating a whole new generation that will grow up addicted to caffeine.
And Just When You Thought It Couldn’t Get Any Worse…
Soft drink manufacturers today are rushing to bring products to market with greatly increased caffeine levels—as much as 168 milligrams per twelve-ounce serving! In 1996, Pepsi brought out Josta, which combines two sources of caffeine, and Coca-Cola quickly responded with their own supercharged brand called Surge. As this book was going to press, more than a dozen companies were jumping on the highcaffeine bandwagon with product names like Guts, XTC, Krank, Jolt, Power Kid, Boost, and Zapped. Once again, the trend is being
XTC, Krank, Jolt, Power Kid, Boost, and Zapped. Once again, the trend is being fueled by an illusion, created by manufacturers, that such products provide energy. In fact, the caffeine in these beverages produces nothing more than metabolic, biochemical, and emotional stress.
School administrators are witnessing this firsthand as manufacturers fill school vending machines with highcaffeine products. In a recent New York Times article, Margaret Mohrman, headmistress of the Academy, a school for gifted students in Little Rock, Arkansas, explained that the school banned Surge from its snack bar after students drank themselves into a caffeine frenzy. “I just couldn’t believe it,” she said. “The kids were holding two in their hands and drinking one after another. When they weren’t jumping up in the bathroom, they were climbing the walls.”41
For parents, these highcaffeine products present a real dilemma because they are sold in schools and convenience stores everywhere, and kids are under tremendous pressure to “get their kicks” from a can. Indeed, the manufacturers’
trademarked slogans are all geared toward a drug-oriented “high” with caffeine as the drug of choice. Below are a few examples:
Beverage
Slogan
Jolt
“America’s most powerful cola.”
Krank 20 “Water with caffeine, lots of cafferine.“
XTC
“ A Carbonated slap in the face”
Sugar
”Feed of rush.“
Go Go ” It’ll blow your mind.“
Josta
“ Unleash it.”
The point that needs to be remembered is that these products are not only being marketed to teens and the twenty-something age group. In fact, sales are geared to children as young as seven, using cartoon characters as enticements. The New York Times reports, “Market research shows that Mountain Dew [the original highcaffeine soda] is more than twice as popular as other soft drinks among children younger than 6.”42
There is no doubt that the “rush” induced by these products is harmful to children. Caffeine affects their brains and growing bodies in ways that have never been evaluated because no one would dare administer high amounts of caffeine to a child in a controlled study. Tragically, there is no safety data, and the marketing campaigns that flood the airwaves are reprehensible in light of caffeine’s well-known negative effects on the body and mind.
The Relentless Push Continues
Recently, cola companies hit upon yet another strategy to increase consumption.
In case you haven’t noticed, twelve-ounce cans are gradually being replaced with twenty-ounce bottles, thus increasing the serving size by 65 percent. These twenty-ounce bottles deliver an astounding fourteen teaspoons of sugar and enough caffeine—seventy-five milligrams—to produce quick addiction and severe withdrawal.
Clearly, caffeine is a drug being administered as a food. No scientist or health professional would deny this. Yet the only guidance that the public receives regarding soft drinks is to consume them “in moderation.” At the same time, the soft drink industry has made every effort to thwart even this modest goal. They refuse to put warning labels on their products, refuse to disclose the amount of caffeine in their products, and then create products with ever higher levels of caffeine in ever larger servings.
To make matters worse, the FDA has literally stood by and watched the drugging of America take place. Their inaction has led many people to assume that caffeine is harmless and perfectly fine for children. Now that the truth is known, the question is: Wha
t shall we do?
I believe that the pendulum is about to swing. The proliferation of highcaffeine beverages is already having a serious effect on the nation’s health, and it is only a matter of time before people start to take action. From my point of view, we need to begin with efforts to protect our children. For starters, I believe that soft drink machines have no place in schools, that soft drinks should list their caffeine content, and that people should be educated concerning the real and significant consequences of caffeine addiction. Only then will we be able to consume soft drinks “in moderation,” or not at all.
CHAPTER 9
Options and Alternatives
If your life revolves around caffeine, be it in a coffeepot, teacup, or soda can, don’t despair. The purpose of this book is not just to give you the bad news about caffeine. The good news is that there are plenty of delicious, caffeine-free beverages that will enrich your life and at the same time support optimal health.
Fortunately, we live in a time when our global society offers us an unprecedented choice of foods and beverages from all over the world. After reading this chapter, you will be fully informed about a wide selection of alternative beverages to taste and explore.
Developing new lifestyle habits takes experimentation and time. Importantly, your taste buds will readjust as you make changes in your diet. Beverages that were once strange and unfamiliar will become more satisfying and delicious than your old caffeinated beverages. You’ll feel better physically, and life will hold more possibilities. If “variety is the spice of life,” then read on to discover the diversity of beverages that can help you successfully reduce or eliminate your caffeine intake.
Decaf versus No-caf
Many of you who are coffee drinkers might be thinking, Why don’t I just switch to drinking decaffeinated? First, you have to remember that decaf doesn’t mean no-caf. Decaf coffee beans have undergone an extraction process to remove the majority of the caffeine, but there is still some left. A twelve-ounce cup of decaf typically contains at least 10 milligrams of caffeine, and possibly more depending on how it’s brewed.