In the hectic environment of college life, students often turn to caffeinated foods to keep themselves alert and moving. Oftentimes though, students find themselves consuming such large quantities of this substance, that they worry whether or not there will be any harmful side effects. I sometimes wonder if I'll get any serious, detrimental illnesses later on because of that. While the general medical community suggests that caffeine is a safe drug, there do exist some negative effects that users might want to know about.
Caffeine is a drug found in a number of plants like coffee beans, cocoa beans, and tea leaves.
It has no nutritional value, since it is calorie-free and it contains no vitamins or minerals. However, caffeine influences physical functions. Usually, its effects peak an hour after ingestion. Caffeine acts as a stimulant that increases activity in the central nervous system, causing alertness, energy increases, and heightened reaction time. It also stimulates the cardiac muscle, thereby increasing the heart rate.