True or False
Caffeine is a powerful pesticide.
True - Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the beans, leaves, and fruit of over 60 plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants.
It is found in Yerba Mate, Guarana, the kola nut and coffee bean.
True - It is most commonly consumed by humans in infusions extracted from the beans of the coffee plant and the leaves of the tea bush, as well as from various foods and drinks containing products derived from the kola nut or from cacao. Other sources include yerba mate, and guarana berries.
Caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance, but unlike most other psychoactive substances, it is legal and unregulated in nearly all jurisdictions.
True - In North America, 90% of adults consume caffeine daily.
High caffeine levels have also been found in the surrounding soil of coffee bean seedlings.
True - It is understood that caffeine has a natural function as both a natural pesticide and as an inhibitor of seed germination of other nearby coffee seedlings, thus giving it a better chance of survival.
Chocolate derived from cocoa and cocoa drinks contain caffeine.
True - They contain small amounts of caffeine. The weak stimulant effect of chocolate may be due to a combination of theobromine and theophylline as well as caffeine. Chocolate contains too little of these compounds for a reasonable serving to create effects in humans that are on par with coffee.
In recent years various manufacturers have begun putting caffeine into shower products such as shampoo and soap.
True – Some personal care product manufacturers are claiming that caffeine can be absorbed through the skin. However, the effectiveness of such products has not been proven, and they are likely to have little stimulatory effect on the central nervous system because caffeine is not readily absorbed through the skin.
Humans have consumed caffeine since the Stone Age.
True - Early peoples found that chewing the seeds, bark, or leaves of certain plants had the effects of easing fatigue, stimulating awareness, and elevating mood. Only much later was it found that the effect of caffeine was increased by steeping such plants in hot water. Many cultures have legends that attribute the discovery of such plants to people living many thousands of years ago.
The first use of coffee to stay awake during religious services occurred about 500 years ago.
True - 15th century the Sufis of Yemen routinely used coffee to stay awake during prayers. Maybe this would help us all in those warm meetings when it is High Council Sunday.
The US Government at one time seized barrels of Coke syrup alleging it was unsafe for public consumption.
True - In 1911, kola became the focus of one of the earliest documented health scares when the US government seized 40 barrels and 20 kegs of Coca-Cola syrup in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Justice Department attorneys alleged that the caffeine in Coca Cola was a threat to virtue and lead young women at one girl’s school down forbidden paths.
True - On March 13, 1911, the government initiated The United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola, hoping to force Coca-Cola to remove caffeine from its formula by making claims, such as that the excessive use of Coca-Cola at one girls' school led to "wild nocturnal freaks, violations of college rules and female proprieties, and even immoralities."
Congress, not happy with this progressive judge’s rule introduced bills warning Americans of the potential evil of Coca Cola.
True - Although the judge ruled in favor of Coca-Cola, two bills were introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1912 to amend the Pure Food and Drug Act, adding caffeine to the list of "habit-forming" and "deleterious" substances which must be listed on a product's label.
This concludes the first half of the true/false test. To follow will be the effects of caffeine on the body. To consume or not to consume…to be continued.
