Caffeine Fact & Fallacy: Effects and Uses as a Medicine, Food and Beverage Ingredient and as a Flavoring Agent. A Pocket Guide for Clinicians, Researchers and Consumer Education. [Paperback]

Augustine S. Aruna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 10, 1999

Caffeine is the only FDA-approved nonprescription or over-the-counter (OTC) stimulant medication for occasional use. Over 80% of the US adult population consumes caffeine daily, thus making it one of the most popular drugs. Annual consumption is estimated to be well over 100,000 tons. Caffeine is a common ingredient in coffee, tea, soft drinks, and chocolate products. It is also present in many prescription as well as OTC medications, including headache and cold remedies; menstrual pain relief medications, diet and weight reduction products, and stimulant formulations.

Unfortunately, misinformation regarding the drug has persisted since the beginning of its discovery. Everyone seems to be consumed by the fallacies about the stimulant. "When it comes to caffeine use as a food and beverage ingredient and as a flavoring agent, that ignorance is multiplied many times over" said a Coca-Cola Company official. This publication attempts to lay to rest much, if not all, of that misinformation with facts and evidence from well-conducted human and animal subjects trials.

The purpose of this pocket guide is to provide a summary of research information patterning to caffeine. Some of the information circulated over the years about the effects of caffeine lacks factual scientific basis. The text is divided into major headings of physiological and behavioral effects associated with caffeine consumption. The extensive information about caffeine is categorized and organized in tabular and concise form to facilitate reading and comprehension. It is a very quick and easy-to-use reference work.

This is the only book written for all segments of society (clinicians, researchers and consumers or laymen) unlike the only other two books on this subject, to our knowledge, which are too technical and written for researchers mainly.

Learn more about the caffeine in your life!

Highlights:

1. Historical perspective
2. Caffeine content in some common medications
3. Therapeutic action of caffeine
4. Caffeine and muscle function
5. Caffeine and athletic performance
6. Central nervous system effects of caffeine
7. Caffeine and the heart
8. Caffeine and the lungs
9. Caffeine and the kidneys
10. Caffeine and osteoporosis
11. Caffeine use during pregnancy
12. Caffeine use during lactation
13. Caffeine and benign breast disease
14. Purpose of caffeine as a food and beverage ingredient
15. Flavors and flavoring
16. Caffeinated beverages for mental alertness
17. Caffeine safety and labeling of foods and beverages
18. Caffeine content in foods and beverages
19. Some drug-caffeine interactions
20. Black Booster...the energizer

Product Details

• Paperback: 110 pages
• Publisher: Global Pub Network; Revised edition (December 10, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967772125
• ISBN-13: 978-0967772127
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,547,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Hodgepodge of Useful Information, March 15, 2001

By 

M. Wells "mdw1962" (Redmond, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Caffeine Fact & Fallacy: Effects and Uses as a Medicine, Food and Beverage Ingredient and as a Flavoring Agent. A Pocket Guide for Clinicians, Researchers and Consumer Education. (Paperback)

This is a good collection of caffeine-related medical studies, with good technical detail. There's not a lot to it, however -- only 80 pages (not 110 as the description states), and more than a quarter of those pages are taken up by source lists and the index. There's a fair amount of repetition as well. The most noticeable problem, though, is that every other page is blank. No content is missing, but the text is only printed on one side of each sheet of paper, and the other side is blank. I'm at a complete loss to figure out why anyone would do this; I don't think I've ever seen it done before.

The information in this book would probably make a very good FAQ file somewhere, but it's not worth $18.95 (especially since the book itself says $16.00 on the cover).