Ebook Caffeine

PREFACE Caffeine was conceived for a wide range of readers interested in the effects on human health, nutrition, and physiological function of the methylxanthine beverages and foods—tea, coffee, maté, cola beverages, and cocoa and chocolate products. These products supply one or more of the dietary methylxanthines—caffeine, theobromine and theophylline— and are an integral part of the diet of many people in many countries. The interest in the health effects of both the methylxanthines in isolation and in the products containing them has grown rapidly in recent years. This comprehensive text gathers in a single volume in-depth informa-tion on composition, processing, consumption, health effects, and epide-miological correlations for the methylxanthine beverages and foods and should serve as a useful tool for anyone interested in the methylxanthine– containing products. It briefly covers metabolic and physiological aspects. This design should make this book valuable to physicians, nutritionists, other health professionals, and food scientists. Chapters 1 and 2 offer an introductory, concise overview of the chem-istry and analysis of the methylxanthines. In Chapters 3 through 8, each natural product (tea, coffee, maté, and cocoa and chocolate products) is described. Botany, cultivation, processing, composition, and consumption patterns are covered in detail. The reader can better grasp how the chemi-cal complexity of the methylxanthines makes it important to carefully distinguish between the effects of the methylxanthines in isolation and as part of one of these natural products. The extremely critical and complex question of consumption is discussed in more than one chapter, but is the specific focus of Chapter 9. Chapter 10 covers the basic physiology and biochemistry of caffeine, not with the physiologist or biochemist in mind, but rather the health professional in need of a concise, easy to read over-view of these topics. Chapters 11 and 12 focus on the ergogenic, cognitive, and emotional effects of caffeine, while Chapters 13 through 16 deal directly with the health effects of methylxanthines, coffee, or tea and their effects on serum cholesterol, cancer and fibrocystic breast disease, calcium and bone health, and human reproduction. Appendix I lists the caffeine content of various popular cola beverages. ©1998 CRC Press LLC No single book can possibly cover all aspects of the chemistry, con-sumption, and health effects of the methylxanthines, but I hope that this volume will help a wide variety of readers to better understand coffee, tea, maté, cola beverages, and cocoa and chocolate products and their effects on human health. Gene A. Spiller, Ph.D. Los Altos, California ©1998 CRC Press LLC ... - tailieumienphi.vn