Cafestol
  Cafestol is a substance found in coffee beans. Depending on how the beans are processed and brewed, cafestol is present in varying levels in the coffee itself. The chemical is still being studied, but it has been shown to have a number of properties which are of concern to scientists and doctors. Both Arabica and Robusta beans have been demonstrated to contain cafestol.

The substance is a diterpene molecule, meaning that it is in the terpene class of hydrocarbons. Terpenes tend to have strong scents, flavors, and essential oils, and residual cafestol is one of the substances which gives coffee a slightly oily, bitter flavor. It appears in Coffea arabica in concentrations of approximately .06% by weight. It is also present in Coffea robusta, which has a higher caffeine content than Arabica.

Robusta beans contain less cafestol than Arabica beans. In addition, they contain virtually no kahweol, another diterpene compound found in Arabica beans. The exact actions of kahweol on the body are unclear, as the compound is difficult to isolate for study.

International research has shown that cafestol elevates cholesterol levels. It also elevates liver enzymes, which could potentially be harmful to a coffee consumer's health. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce the amount of cafestol present in brewed coffee. When coffee is boiled, it has a much higher amount of cafestol. French press and traditional Turkish coffee both harbor much more cafestol than filtered coffee, which has negligible amounts of the compound.

Women appear to be more susceptible to the health problems associated with cafestol than men. The residual amounts of cafestol in filtered coffee, for example, does have an impact on women, but not on men. Female coffee drinkers may want to consider drinking only filtered coffee, and perhaps cutting down on their consumption as well. If caffeine is an issue, increasing your intake of tea or switching to less flavorful but more powerful Robusta beans can meet your needs without exposing you to potentially harmful compounds in coffee.

Coffee is extremely complex, chemically. In addition to cafestol, there are numerous other compounds in coffee which have an impact on its flavor, smell, and potential health risks. Like many complex foods, not all of the compounds in coffee have been identified and fully studied, although researchers are working on it. {1}

Caffeic Acid
   Even though caffeic acid can be found in coffee, it is unrelated to caffeine. Together with its derivative caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), caffeic acid is a naturally occurring organic compound that is the product of many plants, including coffee beans. Caffeic acid is an antioxidant and it can also act as a carcinogenic inhibitor.

Antioxidants, including caffeic acid, are essential in preventing diseases such as cancer or coronaries. Antioxidants consist of a molecule that is able to slow or even prevent oxidation of other molecules. When oxidation occurs in the body, it produces free radicals that are capable of damaging cells. Antioxidants terminate this reaction by removing free radicals that can be encouraged by smoking, stress, infections eating fried foods, excessive sunbathing, or exposure to pollution and x-rays.

When the body has low levels of antioxidants, damage or death to cells can happen via a process called oxidative stress. This stress is a known contributor to the onset of many diseases, however it is not 100 percent understood whether it is the cause or the consequence of disease. The most common diseases are strokes and degenerative diseases.

Caffeic acid also inhibits carcinogens. Carcinogens refer to any substances or agents that are involved in the promotion of cancer. There are any number of substances that can cause carcinogenic activity, but usually they are all related to the amount of radiation they emit.

Carcinogens are capable of increasing the risk of cancer by altering or damaging DNA at a cellular level. The result is that DNA damage cannot be repaired and this can lead to cell death. If this happens, the cells can become cancerous. While carcinogens do not cause cancer on their own, they do promote the activity of carcinogens that can cause cancer.

Once a carcinogen has entered the body, the body attempts to eliminate it by making it more water soluble so that it can be removed. This happens through a process called biotransformation. Yet the process itself can actually convert a less toxic carcinogen into one that is more toxic without carcinogenic inhibitors. The addition of carcinogen inhibitors, like caffeic acid, helps promote and maintain health by preventing biotransformation and inhibiting the production of carcinogens.

Caffeic acid is found in coffee beans. The levels of antioxidants found in caffeic acid are in line with those found in fruits, nuts, oils and other healthy foods. Moderate daily doses of coffee and caffeic acid typically can be a healthy choice. {2}



Caffeine
   Around 90 percent of Americans consume caffeine every single day in one form or another. More than half of all American adults­ consume more than 300 milligrams (mg) of caffeine every day, making it America's most popular drug by far. Caffeine is a natural component of chocolate, coffee and tea, and is used as an added energy boost in most colas and energy drinks. It’s also found in diet pills and some over-the-counter pain relievers and medicines.

Caffeine is known medically as trimethylxanthine, and the chemical formula is C8H10N4O2 (see Erowid: Caffeine Chemistry for an image of the molecular structure). When isolated in pure form, caffeine is a white crystalline powder that tastes very bitter. The chief source of pure caffeine is the end result of the process of decaffeinating coffee and tea.

Medically, caffeine is useful as a cardiac stimulant and also as a mild diuretic - it increases urine production. Recreationally, it is used to provide a "boost of energy" or a feeling of heightened alertness. College students often use it to stay awake while cramming for finals and drivers use it to push through to their destination. Many people feel as though they "cannot function" in the morning without a cup of coffee to provide caffeine and the boost it gives them.

It's important to know that caffeine is an addictive drug. Among its many actions, it operates using the same mechanisms that amphetamines, cocaine, and heroin use to stimulate the brain. Relatively speaking, caffeine's effects are milder than amphetamines, cocaine and heroin, but it is manipulating the same channels in the brain, and that is one of the things that gives caffeine its addictive qualities. If you feel like you cannot function without it and must consume it every day, then you may be addicted to caffeine.

Caffeine occurs naturally in many plants, including coffee beans, tea leaves and cocoa beans, so it’s found in a wide range of food products. What most people don’t know is that caffeine is added artificially to many others, including a variety of beverages like colas. Coca-Cola was originally made with kola nut extract, which naturally contains caffeine and was mostly responsible for the flavor and buzz that early fans of the beverage craved (although the cocaine contained in early formulas of the drink certainly helped increase that craving). Now, colas are made with artificial flavors, and caffeine from another source is added in the production process. Energy drinks are a new trend in caffeinated beverages. They contain an abundance of sugar and other chemicals that help provide that sought-after boost. Caffeine can also be found in many weight loss pills and some over-the-counter pain medicines.

To a nerve cell, caffeine looks like adenosine. Caffeine therefore binds to the adenosine receptor. However, it doesn't slow down the cell's activity like adenosine would. As a result, the cell can no longer identify adenosine because caffeine is taking up all the receptors that adenosine would normally bind to. Instead of slowing down because of the adenosine's effect, the nerve cells speed up. Caffeine also causes the brain's blood vessels to constrict, because it blocks adenosine's ability to open them up. This effect is why some headache medicines like Anacin contain caffeine -- if you have a vascular headache, the caffeine will close down the blood vessels and relieve it. So, now you have increased neuron firing in the brain. The pituitary gland sees all of this activity and thinks some sort of emergency must be occurring, so it releases hormones that tell the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline (epinephrine). Adrenaline is the "fight or flight" hormone, and it has a number of effects on your body.

Caffeine also increases dopamine levels in the same way that amphetamines do. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that activates pleasure centers in certain parts of the brain. Heroin and cocaine also manipulate dopamine levels by slowing down the rate of dopamine reabsorption. Obviously, caffeine's effect is much lower than heroin's, but it is the same mechanism. It is suspected that the dopamine connection contributes to caffeine addiction.

The most important long-term problem is the effect that caffeine has on sleep. Adenosine reception is important to sleep, and especially to deep sleep. The half-life of caffeine in your body is about six hours. That means that if you consume a big cup of coffee with 200 mg of caffeine in it at 3:00 p.m., by 9:00 p.m. about 100 mg of that caffeine is still in your system. You may be able to fall asleep, but your body will probably miss out on the benefits of deep sleep. That deficit adds up fast. The next day you feel worse, so you need caffeine as soon as you get out of bed. The cycle continues day after day.  {3}




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Reference
1. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-cafestol.htm
2. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-caffeic-acid.htm
3. http://health.howstuffworks.com/caffeine.htm