“Don’t even talk to me before I have my cup of coffee.”
If you are like millions of other Americans, you have probably heard these words or even said them yourself. Though caffeine dependency is on the rise, can it have any ill effects on your health?
As many people already know, caffeine helps improve alertness, concentration and energy. However, the drug also has a few other health benefits.
According to WebMD, initial research shows that caffeine can help with asthma and certain types of headache pain, and even slow the decline of cognitive ability in women. There is also limited evidence that caffeine can help reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease, liver disease, colorectal cancer, type 2 diabetes and dementia.
As for dependency, caffeine is not like other addictive drugs in that it does not threaten your physical, social or economic health.
Though one can experience symptoms such as headaches or fatigue when going cold turkey, or even just taking a day off from that daily cup or two of coffee, many experts do not consider caffeine addiction as serious because it does not have near the same severity of withdrawal as other addictions, such as alcohol or opioids.
Zachary Konno is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
