What are the harms of caffeine? Who should not drink coffee? An article explains

There is a substance called caffeine in coffee, which can stimulate the central nervous system, invigorate the mind, improve heart function, promote blood circulation, and promote metabolism. Although it is very good, some people have sensitive constitutions, and drinking a little coffee may cause trembling hands, accelerated heartbeat, anxiety, and difficulty falling asleep.

So coffee is not suitable for some people. Let’s take a look at some specific examples.

A 14-year-old girl in the United States died suddenly after drinking 2 cans of high-caffeine drinks. Is 2 cans of high-caffeine drinks also an overdose?

Chen Lijuan, chief physician and deputy director of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Zhongda Hospital, introduced that functional drinks abroad are all packaged in large packages. One can may be more than 500 ml, and two cans are more than 1000 ml. Intake of a large amount of high caffeine at one time will affect the function of cells in the heart and blood vessels, and induce sudden death and other emergencies.

According to foreign research, drinking more than four cups of coffee a day for a long time will increase the risk of sudden death by 21%. In addition, excessive intake of caffeine will cause greater irritation to the stomach and intestines, because it will accelerate the emptying of the entire stomach and accelerate the peristalsis of the intestines. For patients with irritable bowel syndrome, it will also cause abdominal pain and bloating.

Xia Pengbin, head nutritionist of the Clinical Nutrition Department of Zhongda Hospital, said that for most people, drinking functional drinks can help refresh the mind, and drinking a small can is not a problem. However, for people who are sensitive to coffee, drinking coffee will cause high blood pressure, and they often feel flustered, dizzy, or even nauseous, leading to heart discomfort, palpitations, arrhythmia and a series of other discomfort reactions.

The Fukuoka University Forensic Medicine Department revealed that a man in his 20s in Kyushu, Japan, died of caffeine poisoning due to long-term drinking of caffeinated beverages with a refreshing effect. This may be the first time you have heard of caffeine poisoning, but in fact, this is not the first time such a thing has happened...

Seeing this, many of you may feel panic in your heart, thinking that this means you can’t drink coffee anymore. In fact, there is no need to worry, it’s just that some people can’t drink it. Let’s take a look at who can’t drink it.

The first are pregnant women. Some pregnant women will experience symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, headache, and rapid heartbeat after drinking coffee.

Moreover, caffeine is likely to enter the fetus through the placenta and affect the fetal development. Although some experts believe that pregnant women drinking one or two cups of coffee a day will not cause serious effects on the fetus, for the sake of caution, it is recommended that pregnant women should not consume foods containing caffeine.

Then there are patients with gastric ulcers: Gastric ulcers are caused by damage to the gastric mucosa due to excessive secretion of gastric acid. Caffeine will further stimulate gastric acid secretion, so people with gastric ulcers should try to avoid it to prevent excessive secretion of gastric acid and further aggravate the condition.

There are also women who are menstruating: For some women, eating irritating foods during menstruation will aggravate dysmenorrhea, and caffeine is also one of the stimulants.

Finally, there are two more types that need attention.

People who drink less water: Caffeine has a diuretic effect, and excessive intake can easily cause dehydration in the body. In principle, people who consume caffeine should drink more water to ensure normal body fluid concentration and maintain normal metabolism.

Hypertension, coronary heart disease, arteriosclerosis, and diabetes: Long-term or large-scale coffee drinking can cause cardiovascular disease. Caffeine can reduce the secretion of insulin in the pancreas, reduce glucose tolerance, and increase insulin excretion, causing blood sugar to rise.

Speaking of this, I still want to remind you that since everyone's tolerance to caffeine is different, you should drink coffee according to your own situation.