Got Caffeine?

Rockstar, Monster, Red bull, AMP, 5 hour energy, coffee--whichever your preference, odds are you drink some form of caffeine on a daily basis. Caffeine is a part of our everyday lives. To some extent one might even say its our human fuel. Over 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed each day--each day! Just think about that for a second. If every cup of coffee costs 3 USD, then that's over 6 billion dollars a day, just spent on coffee (and that's not even including energy drinks and other caffeine based beverages, so the total spent on caffeine daily is even more)! Personally I enjoy all caffeine based beverages, from coffee to Rockstar energy drinks. I drink coffee in all of its many forms and varieties--hot, iced cold, with cream and sugar, or normally just strong and black with nothing added. I'd even go so far as to say that I'm a caffeine addict. Just for fun though, let's consider a world where caffeine (pause for effect) doesn't exist.

How different would everyone be without their daily cup of happiness? How much more cranky and unpleasant would we be? It's rather frightening to think about, to say the least. I expect that we would find some other source of "liquid energy" of sorts to fill the void and complete their daily rituals. On the other hand, anything taken in excessive amounts can be deadly. When one considers the harmful effects of caffeine on the body, perhaps a world without the energizing substance would profit.

Caffeineinformer.com has said that a Mayo clinic partnered study has revealed that men who consume more than 4 8 fl oz. portions of coffee a day have a 21% increase in all-cause mortality. A more common danger of consuming caffeine is that it can raise your blood pressure (this is especially true for people who suffer from hypertension). Furthermore, women who consume 31 to 250 mg of caffeine a day have been 1.5 times more likely to contract fibrocystic breast disease, while women who drink more than 500 mg a day are 2.3 times more likely. It is also commonly known that caffeine in a person's system before bed can imitate the effects of insomnia. Consuming Caffeine can also increase anxiety and depression-like symptoms.

So while the world may suffer in some senses from the absence of caffeine, it is clear that it will conversely benefit. Regardless, much to our delight (or subconsciously our dismay) we live in a world where caffeine exists. It is apart of most of our everyday lives, and it is rather frightening to consider a world without it.