Caffeine

Today’s blog has lots of activities to complete. I suggest you team up with a friend and work together to solve today’s tasks!

Is caffeine a drug?
Yes! Caffeine is a drug. It is a stimulant drug meaning that it makes the central nervous system speed up the messages to and from the brain. Caffeine is a drug that is naturally produced in the leaves and seeds of many plants. It's also produced artificially and added to certain foods. Coffee, tea, soft drinks, energy drinks and chocolate all contain caffeine. So, if you drink coffee, tea, cola or indulge in the occasional piece of chocolate, then you're using a drug.

How is caffeine bad for you?
· Highly addictive
· Causes unpleasant withdrawal symptoms if we stop drinking it suddenly
· Can reduce fertility by damaging sperm.
· Caffeine is a diuretic, meaning it causes a person to wee more.
· Increase your risk of osteoporosis later on in life.
· Causes the body to lose calcium

So is it safe to consume caffeine? Check this out!
Moderation is the key! Caffeine is usually thought to be safe in moderate amounts. Experts consider 200–300 mg of caffeine a day to be a moderate amount for adults. For teenagers no more than 100mg is recommended.

FACT! Consuming as little as 100 mg of caffeine a day can lead a person to become "dependent" on caffeine.

Have a look at the following guide. These are the average amounts of caffeine in each product.

Coca Cola (356ml) = 34mg
Chocolate Milk (227ml) = 5mg
Diet Coke (365ml) = 45mg
Cold Relief Medicine (1 tablet) = 30mg
Dark Chocolate (28g) = 20mg
Milk Chocolate (28g) = 6mg
Red Bull (236ml) = 80mg
Iced Tea (340ml) = 70mg
Brewed Coffee (142ml) = 115mg
Monster Energy Drink (454ml) = 160mg

Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, National Soft Drink Association, Center for Science in the Public Interest (converted to Australian measurements).

To Do! Answer the following questions…

If I had a 365ml Diet Coke at morning tea and 84g of dark chocolate at dinner, what is my daily intake of caffeine (in mg)? Is that within the normal range for adults? Is this within the normal range for teenagers?
If I had two Monster energy drinks how much would I be exceeding the normal range?
Adults =
Teenagers =

To Do! Do you like energy drinks? If so read this report “Kids addicted to caffeine in a can” located at http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/kids-addicted-caffeine-in-can-3083443
Why is a large amount of caffeine toxic to the body? Write either a rap song or poem about why it is dangerous for children to drink excess amounts of caffeine based drinks.

To Do! Visit http://www.abc.net.au/quantum/poison/caffeine/caffeine.htm and write one or two sentences on ‘where did caffeine come from?’

Visit some of these websites…
http://au.reachout.com/find/articles/caffeine
http://www.abc.net.au/quantum/poison/caffeine/caffeine.htm
http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=240&np=158&id=2003

Next time we will upload some of the best lyrics and poems to the blog…
Miss Byrne.