Caffeine has been a favorite go-to substance of people who suffer from lethargy when waking up in the morning or staying late at night for work. In the article Caffeine Use Disorder: Widespread Health Problems that Needs More Attention the American University (2014) provides a logical argument on the negative side effects of caffeine. The institution also gives a fair warning to people that these effects can lead to very serious disorders if not addressed accordingly.
Several studies have reported the positive benefits of caffeine. Manufacturers have capitalized on the antioxidant properties (Ziaedini, Jafari and Zakeri, 2010) of the substance to promote and sell their products. Little did these manufacturers know that caffeine can have addictive effects (Meredith et al., 2013).
Caffeine is ubiquitous. It is mostly found in coffee, chocolates, tea, coke, and even energy drinks. Some of the products that were mentioned have cultural significance such that these products are part of the customs and routine of people. However, these products when taken in excess could greatly impact pregnancy, heart condition and bleeding disorders to name a few. The American University was also very successful in pointing out that the public is too complacent about the negative psychological effects of caffeine such as: physical dependence, anxiety and insomnia. This is because caffeine has been widely accepted by the society.
The American University has successfully demonstrated a balanced news article and informative concepts that could be easily understood by the lay people. The institution has achieved its goal to present a neutral tone that will not cause panic or alarm to people but will make the people dig deeper and be critical about caffeine-use disorders. The institution clearly presented the negative effects of caffeine without sounding as if it has to beg the lay people to believe their arguments so to speak. So this gives the article more credibility unlike other articles where every bit of information should be taken with a grain of salt.
The main source of information of American University comes from a reputable journal with a relatively high impact factor. However, it would have been better to cite more scholarly journal articles that support the claims of pioneers of caffeine-use disorders research in case of making cross-references.
It is also interesting to note that the American University was very keen about the future research direction on psychological – related caffeine disorders. It has been suggested that the research be taken to the genetic level to understand the sensitivity and difference of people towards caffeine. But before moving towards the genetic level, other demographics must also be considered first as well as appropriate standardization methods.
Lastly, the institution made a very good note on the lack of labels of caffeine contents in various products. The labels of caffeinated products do not specifically indicate amount of caffeine consumed by people. While the amount of caffeine is written in energy drink labels, the problem lies on regulating caffeine in energy drinks. Caffeine dosage of healthy adults was also emphasized. And this amounts to 400 mg per day or equivalent to two or three 8 ounce cups. With all the information laid down, this makes the article compelling and effective in disseminating essential public information.
References
American University. (2014, January 28). Caffeine Use Disorder: Widespread Health Problem that Needs more Attention. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from: February 5, 2014 .www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140128154043.htm.
Meredith, S.E., Juliano, L.M., Hughes, J.R. and Griffiths, R.R. (2013). Caffeine Use Disorder: A Comprehensive Review and Research Agenda. Journal of Caffeine Research, 3 (3): 114. doi:10.1089/jcr.2013.0016.
Ziaedini, A., Jafari, A. and Zakeri, A. (2010). Extraction of Antioxidants and Caffeine from Green Tea (Camelia sinensis) Leaves: Kinetics and Modeling. Food Science and Technology International, 16(6):505-510. doi:10.1177/1082013210367567.
