5 Side Effects of Coffee On Women
Caffeine – This is the one thing that gets most people going in any part of the world. For some it is coffee and for others, predominantly Asians, it is tea. In the fight between coffee and tea, coffee wins hands down with a ratio of 20 cups of coffee to 1 cup of tea. Most women around the world drink up to 10 to 12 cups a day seldom realizing its side effects. Frankly, who would think of side effects of something as mundane as coffee when there are bigger things that affect your body like dietary supplements, cigarettes et al. If you haven’t given this a thought, then it is time you do. Though not drastic, coffee does slowly affect your body and before you know it you are a ‘coffee addict’. Coffee has been linked to insomnia, increased heart and breathing rate, stomach upset, nausea and vomiting, nervousness and restlessness and other side effects. Coffee drinking has also been linked to heart problems. People who drink more than 5 cups coffee have an increased risk of a heart attack compared to others. Listed here are the side effects of coffee on women.
1. Caffeinism
If this is the first time you are reading about such a term don’t worry you are not the only one. Many people are not even aware of such a condition till they experience it. Caffeinism is a syndrome characterized by anxiety, restlessness, and sleep disorders. The individual may also become partially or completely dependent on coffee. Caffeine in coffee stimulates the adrenal glands to produce stress hormones causing tense muscles, increased pulse and respiration and rise in blood sugar. Drinking coffee regularly stimulates these glands constantly thus leaving your stress hormones elevated at all times leading to chronic stress.
2. Gastro intestinal problems
Prolonged consumption of coffee is known to affect the lining of the stomach. The chemical present in coffee can aggravate the lining of the stomach leading to digestion problems. People with ulcers complain of bloated feeling or pain in the stomach mainly due to the amount of acid that caffeine produces. Caffeine present in the coffee also increases the acidic response leading to excessive bowel movements and diarrhea. It is good to cut down on coffee than end up with an upset stomach in the middle of your Monday meeting.
3. PMS
As it is, PMS is a pain in the neck for most women. The mood swings, the crankiness along with heightened hormone levels is enough to keep your partner at bay. To top it all, coffee only worsens this condition as excess caffeine can lead to enhanced PMS symptoms. Bloating of stomach, cramps and headaches are common complaints of women who consume large amounts of coffee while they are ‘PMSing’. Caffeine is known to deplete the amount of Vitamin B in the body hampering carbohydrate metabolism. This increases PMS symptoms such as mood swings and depression.
