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Coffee Does Not Create Irregular Heartbeats

January 31, 2016 By Martha Goodwin Leave a Comment

Coffee intake doesn’t lead to irregular heartbeats, according to the latest study.

If you love coffee but try to avoid it because you think that it can cause you irregular heartbeats, then you should definitely drink coffee at peace from now on. A new study reveals that coffee does not create irregular heartbeats, as many people have believed in the past.

A team of researchers from the American Heart Association wanted to see if the link between coffee intake and irregular heartbeat was really accurate. For that, they analyzed information collected from 1,388 healthy people. The participants were both men and women and they were monitored for a year. During the study, the participants had to wear a device that monitored their heart rhythm during the whole day.

After the data was analyzed, the researchers discovered that out of all the participants, 61% drank coffee more than once a day but their heartbeat remained the same as for the people who drank more coffee. The researchers concluded thus that the caffeine has a small effect on the heartbeat, that is almost unnoticeable.

Previous researches have shown that the coffee and the cardiac arrhythmia are linked. Arrhythmia is a condition of the heart that makes the heartbeat go out of rhythm. People who suffer from it have increased risks of having a stroke or heart failure. The results of the latest study are very important, as a lot of people might be avoiding the coffee because of fear of arrhythmia. Doctor Gregory Markus, who is the lead author of the study stated in a press release that the consumption of coffee, chocolate and tea that contain caffeine are unnecessarily being discouraged, as they only have benefits to offer to the consumer.

Even though by now you might be sipping on your second coffee, you should be warned. Shalini Dixit, who was also one of the study’s authors said that further research might be needed before people are encouraged to drink a lot of coffee or to eat products high in caffeine.

According to Michael Lim who is a cardiologist, the caffeine will not make your heart beat go faster, if it is not wired to go that way. He said that people should not abuse the coffee intake though, and he suggests moderation as a great way of staying healthy. Coffee is a great antioxidant, it can boost your happy feelings and it can help you lose weight.

The study which concluded that coffee does not create irregular heartbeats was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

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Bees Also Get Caffeine Buzzed

October 16, 2015 By Renee Johnson 1 Comment

We aren’t the only ones getting hooked on caffeine. It seems bees also get caffeine buzzed. But is it beneficial for the pollinators?

There are plants that naturally use caffeine in larger concentrations as a protective shield. The bitter taste of the natural compound keeps predators away. Other plants that produce caffeine in smaller concentrations are in fact using the buzz-giving compound to attract pollinators. And to make them return over and over again.

One study conducted in 2013 showed that caffeine is beneficial to bees. It acts as a memory enhancer, allowing the insects to better remember floral scents. Geraldine Wright, researcher with the Newcastle University fed the bees caffeine in sufficient concentrations to give them the caffeine-buzz, but not sufficient that it became a deterrent through its bitterness. As such, the bees were observed to have become more attached to and return more often to those plants that offered caffeine to make their scents distinctive and not to deter predators.

At this point, it looks like caffeine in lower concentration helps the plants. What about the bees? Bees also get caffeine buzzed. Is it good for them? This was the question that the recent research conducted by Margaret Couvillon with the University of Sussex attempted to answer.

In this experiment, honeybees were trained to return to two sugar water feeders for foraging. One of the feeders held a little surprise. The sugar water also contained a low concentration of caffeine. The bees that foraged in the caffeine-laced sugar water returned here more often and almost exclusively.

Moreover, these bees returned to the hive to inform the others of the food-source more frequently than the uncaffeinated bees. Performing their specific dance more often resulted in those hives sending out four times more worker bees to that specific foraging source, making the bees almost addicted.

Did caffeine make the bees more efficient? It seems that wasn’t the case according to the research results. With a caffeinated food source, the bees are likely to exploit it long after it has lost all nutritious properties. Bees also get caffeine buzzed, but this doesn’t translate in more efficiency for the foraging army of pollinators. They become almost addicted to the caffeinated food sources and aren’t likely to move on to another source.

“The effects of caffeine in nectar are akin to drugging, where the pollinator’s perception of the forage quality is altered, which in turn changes its individual behaviors”,

according to the research team.

The findings of the study need to be tested outside a laboratory setting. However, these preliminary results indicate that caffeine gives bees a buzz, albeit a not too beneficial one.

Photo Credits: Flickr

Caffeine and Bright Light Disturb Our Circadian Clock

September 17, 2015 By Martha Goodwin Leave a Comment

Having one double espresso as much as three hours before sleep induces 40 minutes delay in our circadian clock. This means bedtime is pushed back and mornings are a tough reality to deal with when the alarm rings.

The study was conducted by a joint research team from the University of Colorado Boulder and the Laboratory of Molecular Biology Medical Research Council in Cambridge. In the first study of its kind, researchers found that caffeine intake in the evening induces a delay in our circadian clock that regulates the times of sleep and waking.

The circadian clock works beyond announcing us when it’s bedtime and when it’s time to wake up, regulating cellular activity accordingly as well. According to Professor Kenneth Wright of the University of Colorado Boulder:

“This is the first study to show that caffeine, the mostly widely used psychoactive drug in the world, has an influence on the human circadian clock and cellular timekeeping”.

The study was conducted with the help of five volunteers, counting three women and two men. All five participants participated in the 49 days study that included testing under four different circumstances.

Firstly, they were tested under the effects of a placebo pill and low light. Secondly, they were tested under low-light and a pill containing 200mg of caffeine. Thirdly, the conditions were set for bright light and a placebo pill and lastly they were tested for the effects that a caffeine pill and bright light would have on their circadian clocks and cellular timing.

During the 49 days, saliva samples of all participants were tested for melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that the pineal gland produces naturally when informed so by the circadian clock. Exposure to light, particularly bright light disrupts the clock and resets it. Caffeine has the same effect. As the circadian clock is reset, melatonin levels, normally at high peak during biological nighttime as signaled by the circadian clock, reset as well. Cellular activity follows.

The results of the study showed that when the participants took the caffeine pill, roughly the equivalent of a double espresso and were exposed to low light, their circadian rhythm was delayed by 40 minutes.

Exposure to bright light delayed the participants’ clocks by 85 minutes, while when combined with the caffeine pill, it resulted in 105 minute delay. For night owls, this is devastating if a strict daily routine has to be followed.

Not only for them, but for everyone, the an advice still stands: do not indulge in the lifestyle that force a chronic lack of sleep and often resetting of the circadian clock. Cells are confused, obesity, liver and heart disease risks are on the rise, your body is tired and often, depression and anxiety are looming around the corner.

The study findings are published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Photo Credits: Pexels

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