Banning Four Loko: Caffeine Paranoia Run Wild!

Caffeine has been damned for causing mental and physical problems.  Maybe there is one serious mental disorder that it does cause —            caffeine paranoia, the irrational, intense fear of caffeine.  Four Loko, a modestly potent malt alcoholic drink with a bit of caffeine added, has been banned in New York as “potentially deadly” and has also […]

Caffeine Protects the Brain from Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia

There are no more dreaded misfortunes of increasing age than the onset of the debilitating brain diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and senile dementia.  What could caffeine have to do with these life-destroying, intractable conditons? It’s simple:  Caffeine is a tonic for the brain.  Substantial evidence from epidemiological studies and animal research demonstrates that caffeine protects us from the […]

Hangover Remedy: Caffeine and Ibuprophen

Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia recently discovered that a mixture of caffeine and ibuprophen (Advil) is an excellent remedy for the hangover blues.  Their study, reported in the January 11, 2011 issue of New Scientist, confirmed previous studies at Harvard University that found that the caffeine in coffee and anti-inflammatory ingredients in ibuprophen and […]

Pregnancy and Caffeine: They Don't Mix

No questions about caffeine’s effect on health are more important than if and in what way caffeine affects fetal development.  Unfortunately, the issue about caffeine and pregnancy has been repeatedly beset with confusion, distortion, misinformation, and outright negligent inaccuracy. The good news:  Researchers proved long ago that if a pregnant woman consumes caffeine, she does not […]

Zen and Caffeine: Tranquil Energy

Caffeine is a CNS (Central Nervous System) stimulant.  Most stimulants, such as methamphetamine and cocaine, increase anxiety.  Perhaps for this reason, the myth has arisen that caffeine makes you edgy and nervous and tense.  However, the exact opposite is the truth! Pharmacologically, caffeine achieves its effects differently from any other stimulants.  Caffeine increases your energy, […]

Caffeine Safely Kills Pain

You may not have heard about this, but caffeine is a strong pain killer.  It’s been proven in double-blind studies that caffeine is as strong a pain killer as ibuprophen (Advil).  If you have a toothache or a backache or any muscle pains, just taking 100 milligrams or 200 milligrams of caffeine will often stop […]

The Politics of Caffeine and Coffee

If you were under the impression that our understanding of caffeine and our laws governing its use originates with mild-mannered, dedicated research scientists, you should think again.  No drug has been and continues to be more of a political football than caffeine. An example is the way Jack James,  a renouned caffeine researcher, who now […]

Another Caffeine Myth: Caffeine Dehydrates Athletes and Others

Dehydration is a concern of every athlete.  When the fluid blance of your body starts to fall below normal, your sports performance will suffer dramatically.  For decades, athletes in training and competition have been warned to stay away from caffeine, or at least to limit its intake, because caffeine causes dehydration. This turns out to […]

Dreaded Caffeine Withdrawal

We’ve all heard that caffeine is addictive and that, if you use it regularly and then stop using it, you will experience the pains and discomfort of drug withdrawal. Dr. Peter B. Dews, Professor Emeritus of Harvard University, the dean of United States caffeine scientists and researchers, told Bennett that stories about caffeine withdrawal greatly exaggerate […]