Caffeine; love it or hate it, it’s an INCREDIBLE thing. It’s so deeply entrained in EVERY culture that many believe it’s one of the main reasons civilizations evolved the way they did.
For all of the controversy, there’s a lot of misinformation, myth, and misunderstanding. Let’s clear some of that up.
First, let’s understand what it is. Caffeine is a molecule. It has a physical structure and it’s found naturally occurring in many plants including the coffee bean, the tea leaf, cocoa, and others. It can be synthesized and it can be purified and extracted from plants.
Second, it works on many different physiological systems. Like many molecules, it does one thing in one part of the body, and something else in another part of the body. For example, in the brain, caffeine stimulate the release of epinephrine (adrenaline) from specific cells in the brain. This leads to alertness, stimulation, and other things. It also competes with adenosine in the brain. Think of adenosine as the brains sleepy molecule. As adenosine builds up, we tend to drift into a state of needing rest or sleep. Caffeine competes with the sleepy molecule and in most cases it wins. When it wins, you are pushed into a state of alertness and motivation.
Third, caffeine works in other parts of your body to release epinephrine (adrenaline). It does this by competing with phosphodiesterase. What’s phosphodiesterase? I’ll tell you.
Phosphodiesterase is a complex molecular machine that breaks down one of our bodies main stimulating molecules called cyclic AMP (cAMP for short). cAMP stimulated the release of epinephrine among many other things, and it gets broken down by phosphodiesterase. It’s like cAMP is building a beautiful fire and burning those calories from the donut you ate, and
phosphodiesterase comes along and pours water over the fire—stupid phosphodiesterase. Caffeine comes along and blocks phosphodiesterase and allows that fire to KEEP BURNING BABY! Maybe a little dramatic, but you get it.
These are some of the important, certainly not all, of the effects of this wonder molecule.
It can interrupt sleep so use it in the morning and avoid in the afternoon. It also causes sensitivity to dopamine which is actually awesome but worth its own conversation.
With every serving of Tchê you are getting plant based, naturally occurring caffeine from TWO sources. Yerba mate, that beautiful miracle plant from the south of Brazil, and guarana, the Amazonian powerhouse. Even better, we give you three different options, BOOOM! If you’re sensitive to caffeine and just want a little more focus, we got you. If your pounding energy drinks and getting jitters and heart palpitations (cut that crap out), we got you. If you’re everyone in between, yes, we got you.
Subscribe today and get Tchê delivered to your door every month. Did I mention it ALSO contains:
A complete multivitamin
Tons of antioxidants
Taurine
Probiotics up the wazoo
Plant based fiber
Omega three and six
AND collagen.
Seriously, it’s the best supplement on the market.
-Hugs and kisses.
Comments