For years, doctors have been telling people to reduce their consumption of drinks containing high levels of caffeine, picking on coffee as the number one source. While over-indulgence in things that contain caffeine can have adverse effects on your health, how much is too much is open to interpretation.

What is caffeine?

Caffeine is an alkaloid that acts as a stimulant and a mild diuretic. Caffeine is called guaranine when found in guarana, mateine when found in mate, and theine when found in tea; all of these names are synonyms for the same chemical compound.

Caffeine has the effect of temporarily warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness. Humans have been consuming plants containing caffeine since the beginning of time — it occurs naturally in many plants besides coffee and tea, even though coffee and tea get the most publicity for it.

Caffeine is added to soft drinks, especially cola-type soft drinks. I won't go into detail about it since I could spend a day on that topic alone.

Despite the negativity surrounding caffeine, caffeine continues to play a vital role in the health of people all around the world. Again, it's a topic all in itself and I won't go into detail here.

Antioxidants and Flavonoids

Both coffee and tea are high in antioxidants. An antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals, which start chain reactions that damage cells.

Flavonoids are known as antioxidants, but they have other significant properties that I can't explain without writing a textbook or plagiarizing someone else. Green tea is higher in flavonoids than other teas, and the amount of flavonoids in coffee is questionable depending on what kind of coffee we're dealing with.

Health Benefits

Antioxidants have been proven to have anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-cancer properties. Only a small amount of flavonoids are required, as antioxidants, to show immediate health benefits.

It makes sense to include coffee and tea, if you don't dislike the taste, as part of your diet. It's not known if caffeine-free versions are as effective as those containing caffeine, but it's worth trying if you're on a caffeine-restrictive diet.

Green tea has been called the green tea fat burner recently because of what it does to your metabolism and the anti-fat and anti-carcinogenic effects it has on your system.

Personally, I've been drinking coffee and tea as long as I can remember. I don't have trouble sleeping, a common side-effect of ingesting too much caffeine, and it doesn't cause me to be jittery. Other than old injuries, I have no health concerns. I'll soon be 48-years old and I feel great. You can call me a coffee and tea poster child, if you wish, and it won't offend me at all.

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• A Possible Switch to Decaffeinated Coffee
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