Caffeine is a bitter, crystalline alkaloid chemical found in food and beverages such as coffee, tea, chocolate, soft drinks and energy drinks. It stimulates the central nervous system and makes you more alert and energetic. Excessive amounts of caffeine, however, can lead to insomnia, anxiety and restlessness. Some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others. Caffeine can be synthetic, or it can be obtained from natural sources such as coffee beans, tea leaves and guarana berries.
Source
Guarana is a bushy plant, native to the Amazon basin. The seeds and berries of the plant contain significant amounts of caffeine. There are many ways to synthesize caffeine artificially as well. Most techniques use urea as the basic ingredient. The production of synthetic caffeine is inexpensive, and the product is readily available.
Benefits
Guarana has been used traditionally as an appetite suppressant and central nervous system stimulant. It can also help you overcome fatigue and improve mental and athletic performance. The medicinal value of guarana is from the caffeine alkaloids. Synthetic caffeine is generally added to soft drinks and has also been used to suppress appetite and to lose weight. In fact, according to The Graduate College at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, there is no difference in the way natural and synthetic caffeine influence bodyweight in obese laboratory animals. Similar results may be seen in humans as well. The website Softpedia, however, reported in August 2010 that the synthetic caffeine found in energy drinks lacks the antioxidants found in natural caffeine. These antioxidants protect the cells and tissues of the body against the harmful effects of free radicals. The unstable free radicals interact with DNA and proteins of the cells and damage them, thereby causing chronic diseases.
Side Effects
Caffeine is associated with several side effects, including increased heart rate, insomnia, anxiety and restlessness. These side effects can be seen with both guarana and synthetic caffeine. The website Health Canada, however, reports that no additional adverse reactions were observed upon the use of 150 part-per-million levels of synthetic caffeine in soft drinks and beverages. The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center also states that guarana may interfere with certain antiplatelet medications and may cause seizures in healthy, young adults.
FDA Regulation
The Food and Drug Administration requires manufacturers to report caffeine content of their products only if they add its synthetic form. If your product contains a natural food such as guarana, the manufacturer has to mention the name of the natural source but does not have to specifically say that it has caffeine.
References
- NYU Langone Medical Center: Guarana
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Guarana
- The Graduate College: The Effects of Natural Caffeine versus Synthetic Caffeine On Rat Body Weight and Food Intake
- Softpedia: Energy Drinks Lack Antioxidants
- Health Canada: Health Canada Completes Safety Assessment of Caffeine Use in Non-Cola Beverages
- Diet Nutritions: Natural or Synthetic Caffeine, Is There a Difference?
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