Drinking more than three cups of coffee a day may lead to
withdrawal symptoms (CBSTV)
New study suggests is real
By Eric Pfeiffer
January 31, 2014 5:36 PM
In case you didn’t know, caffeine is officially a drug. And you might be hooked.
A new university study says that drinking several cups of coffee per day can become habit forming for some individuals, resulting in withdrawal symptoms such as fatigue and headaches when they quit.
"There is a misconception among
professionals and lay people alike that caffeine is not difficult to
give up,” said American University psychology professor Laura Juliano.
“However, in population-based studies, more than 50 percent of regular
caffeine consumers report that they have had difficulty quitting or
reducing caffeine use."
Juliano was part of the team that last year added caffeine use disorder to the most recent edition of the DSM-5, which chronicles psychological disorders.
“Caffeine is a drug, a mild
stimulant which is used by almost everybody on a daily basis,” Charles
O’Brien, chair of the Substance-Related Disorders Work Group, said in a video explaining why the term was added to the DSM-5.
“Normally, there’s no problem
with that. But it does have a letdown afterwards,” he added. “If you
drink a lot of coffee, usually two or three cups at a time, there will
be a rebound or withdrawal effect.”
Juliano says that in order to
avoid any potentially serious withdrawal symptoms, people should limit
their daily caffeine consumption to 400mg, two to three 8-ounce cups of
coffee.
And what do experts like Juliano and O’Brien hope to discover through further scientific research?
"Genetics research may help us to
better understand the effects of caffeine on health and pregnancy as
well as individual differences in caffeine consumption and sensitivity,"
she said.
Juliano also said that more
research could result in greater transparency when it comes to products
that sell drinks and foods with high caffeine content.
"At this time, manufacturers are
not required to label caffeine amounts, and some products such as energy
drinks do not have regulated limits on caffeine," Juliano said.
"Through our research, we have observed that people who have been unable
to quit or cut back on caffeine on their own would be interested in
receiving formal treatment — similar to the outside assistance people
can turn to if they want to quit smoking or tobacco use."
Link:
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/new-study-suggests--caffeine-use-disorder--is-real-223657016.html?soc_src=copy
