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Show Research on caffeine and health reaches mixed conclusions by DENNIS HINKAMP consumer information writer - Utah State University If you look at the grocery shelves or listen to television advertisements very closely, you've probably noticed that health professionals are concerned con-cerned about the amount of caffeine we consume. Some beverages claim "they never had it, never will," but you will notice that they don't say WHY you should buy their beverage ', instead of one of those colas. Even the colas are starting to offer - caffeine-free varieties,; j i j . n If it looks to you as though the ! choices on the soda pop shelves have almost tripled, you're right. You can now buy your favorite soda in any one of four combinations: caffeine free sugar free, caffeine free sugar, caffeinesugar or caffeinesugar free. All these choices make it important that you read the labels carefully. The Coffee Generation commercials commer-cials notwithstanding, many people are trying to eliminate caffeine from their diets. Other than because it is a mild stimulant, most people aren't quite sure why caffeine is being put on trial. After all, people have been drinking caffeine for thousands of years in the form of coffees and teas. In recent years, caffeine has become a staple ingredient of carbonated beverages. Colas most commonly contain caffeine, but you might be surprised to find caffeine in sodas such as Mountain Dew and Mellow Yellow. Caffeine is also found in many "6ver-the"-c6uhteVdrdgs such as pain relievers, popular cold remedies and most of the new non-prescription diet pills. Long-haul truck drivers and students cramming for finals have used caffeine-loaded NoDoz and Vivarin tablets for years. Although the advertisements never say anything stronger than "caffeine seems to make me nervous," people are trying to reduce their caffeine consumption and its irritating effect on stomach ulcers and its link with certain types of cancer, breast disease, heart disease and possibly birth defects. It should be noted that some of the most recent research done in response to the health concerns about caffeine has found no connection between caffeine and the previously mentioned health problems. prob-lems. Similar to almost any substance, coffee does have a toxic level. You would probably drown before you reached that toxic level,, . though, , ; because you would have to drink either 100 cups of strongly brewed coffee or 200 cans of cola beverages within 30 minutes to reach toxicity. The bottom line of most of the research done on caffeine consumption consump-tion is that its minor effects (nervousness, headaches, heart palpitations pal-pitations and diarrhea) vary from person to person. The alleged major health problems have not been conclusively proven to have a direct relationship to caffeine consumption. |