Caffeine bad for heart

[dragonboy]

For me I believe it's bad for heart and is bad for your brain. I used to be fast at math but now I'm slow at math. But this is about if caffeine is bad for heart. Check this outhttp://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20020801/is-caffeine-bad-for-your-heart
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[Namhias]

It has long been debated whether or not caffeine is bad for your health or not. It was even prescribed as a medicine a long time ago.

Studies have shown that caffeine is indeed bad for the brain: Mice that were given caffeine preformed worse than control mice. One study performed in Korea found that: "The present study found that long-term consumption of low dose caffeine (0.3 g/L) slowed hippocampus-dependent learning and impaired long-term memory." Which basically means that yes, consuming caffeine does impair the long term memory.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17400186

A different study showed that caffeine isn't bad for the heart. In fact, it reduces the chances of getting heart diseases. This study, performed by the Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, showed that: "Habitual intake of caffeinated beverages provided protection against the risk of heart disease mortality among elderly participants in this prospective epidemiologic analysis."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17284734

But like any other substance: If you overdose, it can have very bad side effects. The same can be said about water for example: Water is good for you! But not if you drink four gallons at once.
Also, caffeine is addictive, if you drink a lot of coffee for example and you suddenly stop using it, you will go through some kind of withdrawal.

[Ragnarok]

I'd just like to see something that gave an indication of what levels of caffeine are potentially damaging in humans, or even if the effect carries over to humans in the same way.

It'd be a difficult study, since you can't give humans such measured and constant doses of caffeine, but maybe something that correlated frequency/potency/volume of coffee drunk to mental acuity?

Anyway, Namhias summed it up nicely. There's a lot of inconclusive data, some that points positive, and some that points negative.
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To win against an opponent stronger than yourself, you must not be weaker than that opponent. - Takamachi Nanoha

[Moonclaw]

Interesting topic.....

Recently a study was produced using lab mice with the disease Alzheimer's and each was given the equivalent of 5 cups of coffee a day. What they found was that much coffee actually reversed the effects of Alzheimer's. So they are thinking maybe humans should do the same if they are diagnosed.

Here's the study:

http://www.threebrothershealth.com/2009/07/coffee-reduces-memory-loss-of.html
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