Caffeine Sensitivity and Age Linked

The active ingredient in coffee, the one that makes most drinkers pick up their favorite mug every morning, is called caffeine. The “buzz” that people get from consuming coffee is owed entirely to this chemical compound. The strength of the feeling is entirely dependent on the amount of caffeine in your drink, but a new study suggests that other factors might be at work as well. The research shows that the amount of sensitivity that humans have to the substance changes as age progresses, LiveScience reports. Adults have a much harder time metabolizing caffeine than children, the paper found.

At this point, statistics indicate that caffeine is the most popular drug in the United States. It is widely estimated that about 90 percent of the general population consumes some amount of the stuff in various beverages, while in excess of 50 percent drinks more than 300 milligrams of caffeine daily. Some of the most common products that contain it include coffee beans, obviously, tea leaves and even cocoa nuts. Most foods that contain them tend to have at least some amount of the chemical inside, though the proportions vary widely.

Numerous beverages, other than tea and coffee, get caffeine as well, only added artificially. Cola drinks and energy drinks, as well as some drugs, feature the stuff. This is not necessarily a good thing, considering that some people cannot tolerate it. Also, if you are on drugs that already contain the chemical, you may want to cut back on other sources, such as coffee and tea. The average limit for caffeine intake is 200 to 300 milligrams per day, and these levels are generally not harmful for most people. Some of the most common side-effects of excessive intake include restlessness, anxiety, irritability, muscle tremors, sleeplessness, headaches, nausea, diarrhea and abnormal heart rhythms.

While young people generally have no issues with caffeine intake, things can get out of hand later on in life. Seniors may want to cut down on their coffee consumption or maybe reduce the total intake of caffeine they consume each day. Reading drug labels and scanning for caffeine contents, drinking decaffeinated coffee and herbal tea, and switching to soda rather than cola could also prove useful in reducing the intake of this chemical.