Rebad: Story of Young

It is 8:17 in the morning, and you just got your daily cappuccino from Petro. You start drinking it hoping that your energy will keep you through the long horrid day. After drinking half, you save it for later like at lunch. A frustrating test is over; you drink the rest of the cappuccino. You just awakened for the first time since last class. Here is the million dollar question, is caffeine really good for you?
What is caffeine you ask? Caffeine is a naturally produced drug found in leaves and seeds in various plants. According to kidshealth.org caffeine is defined as a drug because it stimulates the central nervous system, causing increased alertness. Caffeine might taste good for you, but is it good for your growing bodies? Do you know that caffeine causes you to lose your body's precious calcium. That calcium is important to our young bodies. You need it for your growing teeth and for proper function of the nerves, muscles, kidneys, and your heart. Caffeine may also cause anxiety, sleeping disorders, raised blood pressure, osteoporosis, headaches, and ringing in the ears. These short term affects may occur in both the young and old.

On the other hand, there are health benefits to drinking/eating caffeine. One benefit is that it may lower the chance of colon cancer by at least 28%. It can also help wake your brain up and may help prevent different brain related diseases. Science Daily reported in April 2007 that individuals who drank three to five cups of coffee a day had a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, depression, Alzheimer's disease, and suicidal tendencies.

Every body has a lot of choices about what they want to put into their body. Now that you know some of the pros and cons of what caffeine could do for you, you can decide if you really need it or if you don’t.