All posts tagged: caffeine

Prenatal caffeine exposure and high-fat diet heighten risk of autism-like behaviors in rodents

Prenatal caffeine exposure and high-fat diet heighten risk of autism-like behaviors in rodents

Published by José

Exposure to caffeine during pregnancy, combined with a high-fat diet after birth, significantly increases the risk of autism-like behaviors in rodents, according to new research published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. This increased risk is related to changes in gut bacteria and increased levels of a specific immune molecule, IL-17A. The findings shed light on the relationships between diet, prenatal environmental exposures, and neurodevelopmental disorders. The motivation behind this new study stems from a growing concern over the effects of prenatal caffeine exposure and high-fat diets on the developing brain. Previous research had already established a link between prenatal caffeine exposure and reduced fetal growth, with emerging evidence suggesting an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD is a complex developmental condition that involves persistent challenges in social interaction, speech and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive behaviors. Given the widespread consumption of caffeine and the prevalence of high-fat diets, understanding these potential risk factors is crucial for developing strategies to prevent ASD. “Most autism research focuses on genetic factors, …

Reduce The Effects Of Caffeine With This Vegetable

Reduce The Effects Of Caffeine With This Vegetable

Published by skeptic

We have all done it. Had a rough night’s sleep, rushed through breakfast and turned up to work with a back-to-front dress on. No, just me? It’s on days like this that you opt for an extra shot, an extra cup or an extra dose of coffee or whatever caffeine you can get your hands on. Whatever will get you through the day. Then, as you walk in the door to your home after such a day, you realise that you are, for lack of a better word, vibrating. You maybe went too far with the caffeine. You might have another sleepless night ahead because of it. Typical. However, there is a trick to getting that caffeine through your system faster and while it’s tasty, it may be a bit… smelly. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? The vegetable that will help you to metabolise caffeine On X (formerly Twitter), one user asked botanist James A Wong: “tell me a random broccoli fact” to which the botanist replied: “If you eat lots of broccoli it makes …

Caffeine overdrive: The dark side of America’s “no sleep” hustle culture

Caffeine overdrive: The dark side of America’s “no sleep” hustle culture

Published by skeptic

With nearly 20% of office spaces currently sitting empty across the United States, and as multiple major property and asset management companies have collectively defaulted on billions in commercial-property loans, it may be tempting to think that the cult of workaholism is diminishing as its old cubicle-packed temples seem to continue to crumble, but one visit to a Panera or Starbucks on a random Tuesday afternoon quickly dispels that notion.  For many remote employees in an era of growing work-from-anywhere flexibility, these third places increasingly operate as the new office (though, of course, speaking as a former freelance writer, such has been the case for gig workers for a very long time). For what they occasionally lack in basic working necessities — namely open table space and working outlets — they make up for in unique amenities, like a friendly barista waiting behind the counter to ask, “One espresso shot or two?”  It’s a fitting shift because over-caffeinating and overwork have long gone hand-in-hand in American work culture, so much so that discussions of the …

Bringing Existential Depth to Our Relationship With Caffeine

Bringing Existential Depth to Our Relationship With Caffeine

Published by skeptic

This post is part two of a series (to read Part 1, click here). “For most of us, to be caffeinated to one degree or another has simply become baseline human consciousness…it’s easy to overlook the fact that to be caffeinated is not baseline consciousness, but an altered state…”—Michael Pollan, Caffeine: How Coffee and Tea Created the Modern World Beneath caffeine use is our need to experience the contrasts inherent in our existence as humans. Source: Kyra_Starr/Pixabay Caffeine consumption offers benefits and risks, mentally, emotionally, physically, culturally, and existentially. Beneath the surface of our relationship with caffeine runs our need to grapple with life and death; freedom and limitation; expansion and constriction; control and acceptance. A comforting caveat: this blog is not anti-caffeine. Rest easy (rather, caffeinate easy)—this blog is about our relationship with caffeine and its deeper meaning in our lives. Caffeine Both Protects Plants and Motivates Humans to Conquer Nature “The idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like nothing else; it is a mainspring of human activity—designed largely …

Caffeine’s Dirty Little Secret – The Atlantic

Caffeine’s Dirty Little Secret – The Atlantic

Published by skeptic

On Tuesday, curiosity finally got the best of me. How potent could Panera’s Charged Lemonades really be? Within minutes of my first sip of the hyper-caffeinated drink in its strawberry-lemon-mint flavor, I understood why memes have likened it to an illicit drug. My vision sharpened; sweat slicked my palms. Laced with more caffeine than a typical energy drink, Panera’s Charged Lemonade has been implicated in two wrongful-death lawsuits since it was introduced in 2022. Though both customers who died had health issues that made them sensitive to caffeine, a third lawsuit this month alleges that the lemonade gave an otherwise healthy 27-year-old lasting heart problems. Following the second death, Panera denied that the drink was the cause, but in light of the lawsuits it has added warnings about the drink, reduced its caffeine content, and removed the option for customers to serve themselves. All the attention on Panera’s Charged Lemonade has resurfaced an age-old question: How much caffeine is too much? You won’t find a simple answer anywhere. Caffeine consumption is widely considered to be …

Caffeine use prevents stress-induced impairment of spatial memory

Caffeine use prevents stress-induced impairment of spatial memory

Published by José

A study conducted in Turkey discovered that adding caffeine to the drinking water of rats exposed to social isolation stress can protect them from developing spatial memory impairments. While rats who did not drink caffeine with water showed spatial memory impairments as a result of stress, these impairments were absent in rats who drank water with caffeine. The research was recently published in Developmental Neuroscience. Caffeine is a natural stimulant that primarily affects the central nervous system. It provides a temporary boost in energy and alertness. Caffeine is found in various plants, including coffee beans, tea leaves, and cacao pods, making it a common ingredient in beverages like coffee, tea, and chocolate. When consumed, caffeine blocks the action of a neurotransmitter called adenosine. This neurotransmitter promotes relaxation and sleepiness, so blocking it results in increased wakefulness and alertness. Caffeine also induces changes in specific genes associated with strengthening and weakening of connections between neurons (i.e., synaptic plasticity) in the hippocampus region of the brain. Another factor that is known to affect synaptic plasticity in the …

New study sheds light on the double-edged sword of caffeine and its impact on sleep-deprived individuals

New study sheds light on the double-edged sword of caffeine and its impact on sleep-deprived individuals

Published by José

The International Journal of Environmental Research recently published a study revealing a nuanced understanding of caffeine’s effects on our brain and attention, particularly during periods of sleep deprivation. Researchers discovered that while a single dose of caffeine can improve attention in sleep-deprived individuals, regular high consumption of caffeine leads to diminished attentional performance, as well as alterations in brain activity. Caffeine, the most widely consumed psychoactive substance in the world, is known for its ability to ward off sleepiness and improve focus — especially after a night of insufficient sleep. But how does this stimulant affect people who drink coffee, tea, or energy drinks regularly? In particular, how does it impact these demographics when they are deprived of sleep? To answer this, researchers at the Army Biomedical Research Institute in France and Paris Cité University delved into the realm of habitual caffeine consumption and its impact on cognitive function, particularly in conditions of total sleep deprivation (TSD). The motivation behind the study was to extend general understanding beyond the immediate, short-term effects of caffeine. “Our …