Natural Caffeine: Does Taste Supersede Health?

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Does taste supersede health? Despite the rising popularity of sports energy drinks, people do not understand natural caffeine has many more benefits than synthetic caffeine; therefore, drinking synthetic will only harm individuals in the long run. It is common for people to not know the distinction between the two types of caffeine. Natural and synthetic are the two forms. Synthetic caffeine is produced in a lab along with many other chemicals, mainly by the synthesis of urea. These chemicals are very harmful and end up causing long lasting problems to the body. When caffeine is created in the lab, it turns out to be a bitter, white, powder. This powder is added to many other substances that would include soda, energy drinks, energy shots, and sports drinks. Nervousness, excitement, and insomnia are a few downsides of drinking too much of these products. The only way to predict if a product contains synthetic caffeine is by looking at the ingredient label and it will clearly state "caffeine" on it. …show more content…

There are over 60 plant species that produce caffeine naturally. Coffee beans, guarana, tea leaves and coca beans are a few plants that contain natural caffeine. The caffeine in these plants are used as a natural pesticide to paralyze and kill insects that desire to feed on that plant. These plants are then harvested and the caffeine is extracted out of these plants for humanity to use. Coffee, tea, and chocolate are some examples of natural caffeine. Distinguishing whether a product is a natural or synthetic caffeine can be tricky, but if it is natural, the ingredient label will name the actual plant where the caffeine can be found (Whidden)