Answers to unasked questions #1: The Why? Who? and How? of Coffee
This is my first “Answers to unasked questions” post. I wanted to write something more casual than my blog “Life in a PhD” and I want to share some insight on common questions you might have never asked yourself but might find them interesting.
Why coffee? Well, coffee has been a part of my life since college, following through my master’s degree and gaining turbo speed now that I am doing my PhD. That must have been gallons and gallons of coffee. I tried to look into who are the heaviest coffee drinkers and several posts lead me to ilovecoffee which compiled different U.S. surveys into one chart.
Source
Well, why we drink it!?
Coffee is made from brewing the seeds of coffee berries. The flesh from the berries is removed and the seeds are dried and roasted.
(I like my coffee black, no sugar no cream. Yes, I am boring 😄 )
What makes coffee pack a punch and make you feel alert, happy and energetic is the stimulant alkaloid Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine).
Source
Caffeine not only is found in coffee, you can find it in cocoa beans, tea, guarana and kola nuts or it can even be made synthetically.
Also, Caffeine has been described as the most frequent used pharmacologically active food substance in the world [1].
Why plants started producing Caffeine?
Have you ever wondered that? I tried to look it up, there are at least two reasons plants produce caffeine
Plants use high concentrations of caffeine as a natural pesticide for unwanted insects that might eat parts of the plant [2]. The bitterness and toxicity varies between species, but the purpose is the same, prevent animals from eating them.
Plants use low concentrations of caffeine in nectar to help good pollination insects remember where those plants were. The caffeine in nectar alters the pollinator insect behaviour by enhancing the memory of nectar reward. This means the insect will keep coming back to those flowers because it has a stronger memory of finding nectar than those without caffeine [3].
How does caffeine keep us awake?
Our body uses chemical energy in the form of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), we use it for all our physical and mental tasks. When ATP is used it releases adenosine, the longer we keep doing tasks the more adenosine we accumulate. Neurons have receptors that bind with adenosine and these receptors initiate signals that tell our bodies to go to sleep.
Caffeine works by blocking adenosine receptors. A molecule of caffeine can bind to the adenosine receptors but don’t initiate the sleep signals. Over time people create tolerance to caffeine as the brain creates more receptors so we need to increase the caffeine levels to feel awake and ready.
Did you find this post interesting? What do you think about coffee? Leave a comment and let me know. Have a great day!
Reference
[1] Institute of Medicine (IOM). 2014. Caffeine in Food and Dietary Supplements: Examining Safety: Workshop Summary. Leslie Pray, Ann L. Yaktine, and Diana Pankevich, Rapporteurs; Planning Committee for a Workshop on Potential Health Hazards Associated with Consumption of Caffeine in Food and Dietary Supplements; Food and Nutrition Board; Board on Health Sciences Policy; Institute of Medicine. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC.
[2] Nathanson, J., Caffeine and related methylxanthines: possible naturally occurring pesticides. Science, 1984. 226(4671): p. 184-187
[3] Wright, G. A., Baker, D. D., Palmer, M. J., Stabler, D., Mustard, J. A., Power, E. F., … Stevenson, P. C. (2013). Caffeine in floral nectar enhances a pollinator’s memory of reward. Science (New York, N.Y.), 339(6124), 1202–1204. http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1228806
Mothers also need a lot of coffee ☕️ to survive...
Indeed you need to be faster than the child =D
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