Dr. John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola on June 28, 1887 in Atlanta, Georgia. Coca-Cola: coca- coca plant is the source of cocaine; cola- cola nut is rich is caffeine. Neither ingredients are presently in there today. Pemberton wanted his drink to be unique so he found a blend that he liked and called it 7X. The Cola company wanted to keep the secret recipe unknown- they took drastic meaasures! In India, it was a law to know what is in a drink, so that instead of revealing the secret, they stopped marketing Coca-Cola!
The 7X consisted of oils of a lemon, orange, nutmeg, cinnamon, neroli, and coriander. He mixed this with alcohol and let it sit for one day for his special extract. Obviously, there is no alcohol in coke but it was thought that he kept the blend a secret because of prohibition during that time.
There is 40mg of caffeine in a can of coke and in a cup of tea but only half of that in coffee. The same volume of instant coffee is 60mg though, which has been the most popular way that caffeine is consumed. International trade in coffee beans is over $7 billion in just one year! Strangely, Americans do not consume the most caffeine- Scandinavians do!
A lethal dose of caffeine that is taken by mouth would be about 5000mg. This is equal to 80 cups of coffee or 120 cups of tea. Your body recognizes this as a toxin and starts to dispose of it. Your body takes off carbon atoms from it which still lead to other dangerous molecules but then the end product of this is xanthine which will leave the body as urine or is put to other uses. The caffeine effects the body for 5 hours while in smokers it is strangely only 3.
More than 60 plant species produce caffeine and this is the reason that insects do not bother those plants. Caffeine has medicinal benefits and is used in painkillers, asthma treatments, and diet aids. Caffeine is the product when you decaffeinate coffee- you extract it with liquefied CO2. There are many myths about caffeine, most of them being health problems. It was believed that it is not possible to be addicted to caffeine, but now some caffeine withdrawal symptom are (in order of appearance): headache, depression, fatigue, irritability, nausea, and vomiting.
Some Caffeinated Drinks
I can't believe coca cola was made that long ago ! and it's kinda insane that we can die from too much caffeine
ReplyDeleteOk question time, so is caffine good for you? Pemberton's 7X had to had alcohol in it if put alcohol in it right? Also what would happen if we eat a plant with caffine in it?How long will that caffine stay in our body then? I find that caffine withdraw is a little disturbing.
ReplyDeleteCaffeine is NOT good for you. Your second question makes no sense because I think you worded it wrong.Coffee beans (from a PLANT) have caffeine in them- same thing would happen: it's still five hours. And yes, I agree, caffeine withdrawal is quite "disturbing" but stuff like that happens!
DeleteThere seems to be a lot of everyday substances that can kill someone. Is this book all about that kind of stuff?
ReplyDeleteFrom my best understanding, this book is about little summaries of multiple different molecules. To help you, and everyone else, understand, these are the sections that the book is broken into- An exhibition of: molecules in the foods we eat (which is the one I am in now); metals our body must have; molecules that can help and harm the young; detergents, dangers, delights, and delusions; molecules that make life a little easier; molecules that stalk the world; molecules that transport us; and molecules that are mainly malevolent. If you thought the dangers of the ones already mentioned were bad then you just wait!(:
DeleteI find it very hard to believe Americans do not consume the most amount of caffeine!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's weird that caffeine has all these uses, like medicinal uses and plants use it to keep bugs away, and it could possibly be deadly and addictive, but it is still in a lot of drinks? And I would have thought that we Americans would have consumed the most caffeine, since America is sort of known for its bad food habiits. The more you know, I guess...
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's weird for it to be in a lot of drinks given the information. Americans are crazy for caffeine!
DeleteI have had the unfortunate experience of going through caffeine "withdrawal". It usually just manifests as a bad headache. That's what happens when you go camping and forget the coffee...
ReplyDeleteHmm. How long were you without coffee?
DeleteWhen I was in grad school if I went without coffee for a day I would feel the effects, but now I can go without it easily. Switching to half-caffinated coffee has helped a lot.
ReplyDelete