Hoards of groggy students wind around the coffee shops on campus. The rich aroma of Arabica beans fills the air and the nostrils of caffeine-hungry students.
Good morning, what can I get for you?
A large coffee with milk, please.
It’s just before Carleton’s 8:35 a.m. classes begin, and students are trying to get their coveted coffee fix to avoid dozing off in lecture.
Kailey Wright, a first-year global and international studies student, said she struggles to attend early classes if she doesn’t have a coffee.
She said she makes her own coffee at home and also buys it at coffee shops. She said she usually drinks about five cups of coffee a day, and sometimes up to eight cups.
“It’s weird because when I’m drinking coffee I don’t notice a huge difference, like I still feel tired if I’m tired, but if I don’t have coffee I am exponentially more exhausted and I’m grumpy,” Wright said.
New studies with different claims about caffeine consumption emerge regularly—the debate about whether or not coffee is good or bad for you is alive and well. Some will tirelessly assert caffeine is harmful, and others swear caffeine works wonders for your health. However, according to Terry Graham, former health and nutrition professor at the University of Guelph, the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle.
The good, the bad, and the coffee
Graham, who retired in 2013, said his research focused on the impact of caffeine or coffee consumption. He said consuming caffeine has many benefits.
“Long-term coffee consumption—decades—is strongly associated with reduced risk of many serious diseases including some cancers, diabetes, and a number of brain disorders including dementia conditions.”
Graham said caffeine also has some negative side effects.
“[Caffeine] blocks the actions of insulin, especially in muscle, thus with caffeine your body can experience higher blood sugar and must produce additional insulin,” Graham said.
But, Graham said, the way caffeine affects one’s insulin is not lasting.
“The insulin interference is absolutely in the here and now; it’s only present when caffeine’s in your circulation,” Graham said.
However, insulin inhibition is dangerous for those who are at risk for or have Type 2 diabetes and they should consider lowering their caffeine intake, according to Graham.
Debunking popular caffeine myths
Graham said he was able to debunk some myths about caffeine consumption in his research.
He said caffeine doesn’t actually stunt children’s growth, and that it is safe for pregnant women to drink coffee in moderation.
He added that caffeine is not as addictive as some say it is.
“In terms of addiction, caffeine is a very mild drug in that some people have no withdrawal effects and others will have some,” Graham said.
If you suddenly stop consuming caffeine and start experiencing withdrawal symptoms, Graham said they won’t last for long.
“You can predict they would get very sleepy and lethargic and likely irritable, they’re not a happy person to be around, but generally these symptoms will be gone after about three days of abstaining from caffeine consumption,” Graham said.
How much is too much?
Health Canada’s website recommends the average person should not consume more than 400 mg of caffeine a day.
According to caffeineinformer.com, a website that compiles data about caffeine, a small coffee from Starbucks contains approximately 260 mg of caffeine. A small coffee from Tim Hortons contains about 140 mg, while a small coffee from McDonalds contains 109 mg.
Graham said the amount of caffeine an individual can consume without experiencing negative side effects depends on individual sensitivities and how well adapted their body is to consuming caffeine.
“Some of it is strictly individual, but some of it can also be the situation, that is, if I am exposing my body to caffeine in significant amounts quite regularly, what my body does is it starts to adapt to this,” Graham said.
The more regularly you consume caffeine, the more caffeine you will need to get the same positive effects from it, according to Graham.
Wright said she thinks she has built up a tolerance to caffeine.
“Originally I’d only need one coffee and now I’m like, ‘eight cups!’ ” Wright said.
Other ways to get your fix: caffeine pills & tea
Caffeine pills are caffeine in tablet form, which act as stimulants to enhance alertness and energy.
Caffeine pills are regulated as natural health products in Canada. Jane Skapinker, Carleton’s registered dietician, said they can be found in many stores such as Walmart and Shoppers Drug Mart.
Bethany Goral, a first-year student at Carleton, said she started taking caffeine pills to stay up later to study.
“I just use them for exam week. I don’t think they help you focus better, just to stay up,” Goral said.
She added that you can notice the physical effects of caffeine pills when they start to kick in.
“There’s an initial rush of energy but then it kind of brings you down to, like, a good place where you’re at a good energy level,” Goral said. “You can feel your body getting really jittery, same as if you were to take a bunch of espresso shots.”
Graham said the effects of caffeine kick in more quickly when it is in pill form.
Health Canada suggests only using caffeine pills occasionally, and recommends a maximum dose of 200 mg every four hours.
According Skapinker, it is important to pay attention to how much caffeine you are consuming before taking a caffeine pill.
“Make sure that when looking at caffeine intake you combine amount of caffeine consumed from supplements and energy drinks, and not forget about caffeine from food sources,” Skapinker said. “Normally, caffeine pills are 100 to 200 mg a pill, and should be taken a few hours apart.”
Skapinker said she recommends reading all of the directions on the bottle of caffeine pills before taking them. She said if you’re unsure about how to use the pills, consult with your pharmacist or doctor beforehand.
Maria Carvaial is a barista at the Starbucks in Carleton’s University Centre. She said she doesn’t like the taste of coffee, so she drinks tea instead.
“Three, four years ago I went to Turkey . . . after meals they give you tea, so it started there,” Carvaial said. “I kept drinking it because I liked the taste. I don’t know if I can feel the difference, like, ‘oh I need tea to wake me up,’ but in terms of caffeine, tea is the main one I consume.”
Carvaial said she feels like she doesn’t need the effects of caffiene.
“I’m kind of a night person, so staying up late doesn’t really bother me too much,” Carvaial said. “I do have trouble waking up, although I’m coming to terms with it because now I’m having to wake up earlier, but it’s always been a struggle. I never really thought to drink coffee to wake up, I just kind of get out of bed and struggle a little bit and I’m ok with it.”
The cost of coffee
Sam Berube, a first-year journalism student at Carleton, said he tries to make coffee at home, but he ends up buying about three medium coffees a week.
Depending on where you buy your coffee, that can add up. If a medium coffee costs about $2, that’s $6 a week, $24 a month, or $312 a year.
“On a weekly basis, it doesn’t bother me because it’s just a few dollars here and there, but thinking about it in terms of how much I spend a year on coffee definitely bothers me,” Berube said.
Sarvie Golestaneh, a second-year architecture conservation and sustainable engineering student, said she buys coffee at least once a day.
“I normally get medium or large, and if each one is like $1.70 or $2, I’d say I spend around $15 a week on coffee,” Golestaneh said. “But I always get something to go with it so it actually adds up.”
Golestaneh said she feels like coffee is a necessity.
“I need it. Sometimes I get a headache if I don’t have it, I always need it in the morning,” Golestaneh said. “If I have a headache in the morning usually if I drink some coffee it will go away in a few minutes.”
To caffeinate or to decaffeinate?
Graham said in his research, when people have been given caffeine, they are able to perform many more tasks that require mental awareness in prolonged situations than when they are not given caffeine.
“Caffeine’s been shown to increase alertness and decrease the number of mental errors,” Graham said.
Golestaneh said she drinks coffee to wake herself up, to study longer, and to socialize with her friends.
“The people I hang out with all the time, they drink a lot of coffee, so as like a social thing we all just get coffee together,” Golestaneh said. “I like how I feel after it . . . It just awakens your senses even just when you smell it.”
