Is It Good For Children To Drink Coffee? Coffee is a favorite drink because it has a delicious taste and helps to keep the mind awake. However, this drink is not beneficial for the nervous system because it contains many stimulants, especially for children. So is it good for children to drink coffee?
1. What is coffee?
Coffee is a product made from harvested coffee beans that have been dried, roasted, and roasted. Coffee products contain many ingredients: preservatives, flavor enhancers, sugar, and milk in a particular proportion, but the essential element is still caffeine.
Coffee has an extraordinary and attractive taste, making many people excited. So why has coffee become such a popular drink? It is due to the effect of caffeine in coffee.
2. The mechanism of action of caffeine
Currently, some studies are showing that caffeine is a substance that causes bitterness in coffee. In addition to providing energy, caffeine also stimulates and directly affects the brain, making the body feel more excited and alert.
Caffeine also prevents type 2 diabetes, stomach cancer, lung cancer, and breast cancer. Other uses of coffee include treating headaches, lowering blood pressure, obesity, and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, to use caffeine in the treatment of diseases, it is necessary to consult a doctor. Avoid arbitrarily using caffeine without regulation and particular dosage for children.
3. The harmful effects of caffeine on children
Many studies have shown that drinking too much coffee can cause rapid heart rate, headaches, digestive disorders, high blood pressure, insomnia, and fatigue. In particular, children may not be able to control their emotions from the effects of caffeine more than adults because their bodies are not yet fully developed to tolerate as much caffeine as adults. Here are some harmful effects of coffee on children:
- No refreshment effect: Coffee has a diuretic effect and will cause the child to urinate more without being able to rehydrate.
- No power supply. Coffee can make users feel more awake but does not bring nutritional value to the body. Coffee can cause insomnia and make people feel more tired the next day. Children can get energy by eating nutritious foods other than coffee.
- Mood and emotional disturbances. This has been concluded through many studies: caffeine causes children to fall into a state of anxiety, extremes, restlessness, and hyperactivity. Some studies have also shown that doses of 100-400mg of caffeine/day are enough to cause these states. Anxiety, restlessness, or excessive excitement is not suitable for children. They will become destructive, inattentive, and close to ADHD in children.
- Changes in taste and smell. Children will not lose their sense of deliciousness and interest in everyday foods. Instead, they will have the habit of preferring caffeinated foods and drinks. This is also understandable because it is a stimulant; it will directly affect the child’s brain. Regardless of whether the food is delicious, nutritious, or not, makes the body healthy or not, as long as they smell and taste caffeine, children will love it. This sensory-altering effect will cause children to reduce their appetite and often only prefer to eat sweets, making them more susceptible to malnutrition or other diseases.
- Sleep problems. Many studies have shown that children who consume caffeine experience problems with sleep disturbances. Caffeine raises blood pressure and causes anxiety in children, leading to sleep problems. Caffeine is also the cause of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and difficulty concentrating in children:
Children who consume caffeine experience sleep problems - Addictive. If adults have a habit of drinking tea or coffee in the morning or at night, it may increase the risk of headaches. Likewise with children. Giving children coffee every day is a bad habit; children will be addicted, and very difficult to quit;
- Low nutritional value. A cup of coffee contains low levels of nutrients. Instead of giving children coffee, milk or fresh fruit juice will be a more scientific choice to help children stay healthy and improve their resistance ;
- Increase sugar intake. Coffee contains a large amount of sugar. The child’s body absorbs too much sugar, which will lead to tooth decay as well as obesity or malnutrition, and nutritional imbalance;
- Decrease calcium in bones. The more caffeine, the greater the amount of calcium excreted in the urine, making the blood calcium lower. This also causes the amount of calcium in the bones to decrease sharply, causing rickets, malnutrition, short stature, and low birth weight in children. Children are at the stage of development and need to load a lot of nutrients and provide the necessary amount of calcium; now, coffee is the direct cause of calcium deficiency in children’s bones.
- Increased urination. Coffee is a diuretic. This means that drinking more coffee causes your baby to urinate more, leading to dehydration and loss of calcium through the urine.
- Stomach problems. In general, the digestive system and the stomach of children, in particular, are not yet fully developed, so they cannot be equipped with caffeine processing substances. Therefore, even small amounts of caffeine can lead to stomach problems and heartburn.
In short, coffee does not bring nutritional value to children and has many harmful effects if children drink it regularly. Therefore, we need to minimize children’s exposure to coffee or caffeinated products. Instead, give your child other healthy drinks that have high nutritional value. In particular, adults should avoid exposing children to coffee from an early age and encourage them to use healthy products.