Meh. I got really bored towards the end. There was some interesting information but it wasn't compellingly presented. There wasn't really an argument, or a thesis. Just a recitation of facts. Yawn.
The author remains largely disinterested in the question of whether caffeine is good or bad. The author has collected all kinds of information and is sharing it. The writing reads like typical journalism. If you are not very interested in the subject, the book won’t be interesting. If you are only interested in certain aspects of caffeine, I suggest skipping the nonrelevant chapters.
The book covers the history, culture, and pharmacology of caffeine. It was discovered ages and ages ago on every major continent. The earliest forms of caffeine, in cocoa and coffee, didn’t taste great, but people couldn’t get enough of them.
You can die of an overdose (though it’s difficult). People are very good at self-dosing, as we don’t feel well with too much. This doesn’t happen with many drugs. There is still argument over whether caffeine is addictive. It has withdrawal symptoms that are miserable, which qualifies as addictive to me. How many people can miss a day of coffee or Diet Coke, or remember the last time they did so?
Here are some highlights:
• The caffeine content in coffee varies widely enough with the same brand and same serving because the beans are all different. When marketers talk about “as much caffeine as a cup of coffee,” the phrase is meaningless.
• The soda industry claims caffeine is a flavoring agent and is not addictive, yet very few can taste any difference with or without caffeine. In the history of soda and energy drinks, makers have tried to downplay or hide the fact that the drinks’ main appeal is the caffeine.
• Caffeine can trigger panic attacks in people with a family history of them and in people with Performance Social Anxiety Disorder. (Generalized Social Anxiety Disorder is very different in the brain, it turns out.)
• Researchers “found that caffeine enhanced working memory for extroverts, but it did not help introverts’ performance.” Other drugs interact with caffeine and can affect how it’s metabolised. (Caffeine with alcohol makes people think they are less drunk than they really are, which has caused deaths.)
• Canada and EU regulate caffeine far more than the U.S.
• Athletes use it for energy. Does this count as doping? The military especially relies on it.
• If caffeine only masks fatigue, how many sleep deprived people are out there? What about people who use caffeine all day and then need sleeping pills at night? How healthy is that?
• If caffeine were only discovered today, would it be made a prescription-only drug? If it was suddenly made illegal, would people resort to stealing and smuggling to get it, as with drugs like cocaine and heroin?
* * *
On a personal level, I have never been a huge consumer of caffeine. I don’t like the smell of coffee and tea and have no desire to drink them. The only caffeinated soda I ever liked was Dr Pepper. In my late teens I began getting migraines chronically, and I began using caffeine to treat them. (The book talks about Cafergot, but I think this drug has become obsolete.)
Part of this treatment meant avoiding caffeine unless I was developing a migraine. (The migraine process involves blood vessels constricting, becoming inflamed, and then suddenly expanding. Caffeine, as a vasoconstrictor, can keep the blood vessels from suddenly expanding.)
So I use it as a drug, but I don’t let myself use it more than three days in a row because that’s enough to become addicted. I also stick to about 50-100 mg a day when I use it. If I were to take 200+ mg a day, I would become instantly addicted.
Personally I feel that people should be allowed to consume whatever they want. However, I would like to see caffeine amounts listed on labels so I can be better informed.
This is a confused book. It doesn't know whether to be a documentary, a tribute, a confession, or an exposé. Perhaps that's because caffeine is a confusing drug. Today, it's legal and ubiquitous; but had it just been discovered last week, it would NEVER be an over-the-counter med, much less the secret ingredient in dang near everything. The author takes several "caffeine delivery systems" through production, and gives an overview of regulatory attempts and complaints from Europe in the Medieval period up through the Four Loko controversy.
I did find the chapter describing conditions in Chinese caffeine-synthesizing plants to be disgusting, yet I know I won't be avoiding caffeine-boosted foods and supplements in future.
Knocking off a couple of stars because it IS a high-level overview, and Carpenter didn't follow some of the tangents I thought important. I'm surprised to see so many reviews that call it dully written -- perhaps the author's wit is too dry for their palates?
Gostei bastante. Mostra como a cafeína é usada em todo tipo de produto para vender mais; a maioria dos refrigerantes mais vendidos são cafeinados. Como surgem os energéticos e todo tipo de produto como chicletes, shots, aditivos pra outras bebidas, todos com cafeína sintética. Até mesmo em produtos infantis. Me fez parar de beber energético inclusive. Sigo no café, mas bem mais consciente do que isso envolve.
Knyga užgriebia kofeino istoriją, kultūrą ir farmakologiją. Prasideda nuo visiškų pradmenų – molekulinės kofeino struktūros ir mirtinos dozės, bet greitai nusuka į kavos ir kitų natūralių kofeino šaltinių vartojimo ištakas. Autorius įpina visokių įdomybių iš archeologinių, genetinių tyrinėjimų ir savo kelionių, bet man įdomiausia knygoje buvo ne tai. Man įdomesni buvo du dalykai: - biurokratinių dramų pilna limonadų su kofeinu istorija - moksliniai kofeino tyrimai
Tiems, kas knygoje ieško kategoriškų atsakymų, knyga gali pasirodyti painoka, bet jei domina platesnis požiūris ir skaitysit nuo pradžios iki galo – skaitosi lengvai ir nuosekliai. Man vienintelis knygos minusas – joje nėra normalių išnašų. Gale yra šaltiniai, bet kadangi jie tekste nesunumeruoti, sudėtinga skaitant iškart tikrinti faktus.
Rekomenduoju tiems, kurie mėgsta kavą ir/arba nori geriau suprasti kultūrinę ir fiziologinę pagrindinės jos veikliosios medžiagos reikšmę. Taip pat – tiems, kuriuos domina maisto industrijos istorija.
While this book felt a bit like homework at times, I did learn a lot about caffeine. Carpenter does a good job of reviewing caffeine from all sides, not really pushing you to be for or against the substance. After reading, I'm more aware of what caffeine can do, the type of products that have it, and how much of it I am putting into my own body; which is exactly the result that Carpenter wants from his readers.
This was good. It also made me feel a little stupid. I always took caffeine for granted, not just in coffee and tea, but in soda too. I figured Coke and Pepsi had caffeine because they just did, colas just had caffeine. The fact that this did not explain why Mountain Dew, or Sunkist, also had caffeine did not occur to me. But of course, these sodas actually have caffeine because the companies mix in caffeine powder - they control the amount of caffeine you get. And that leads to the other thing I didn't know, which according to Carpenter, lots of people don't know - where that caffeine comes from. He writes that when they bother to think about it, most people figure that extra caffeine comes from the decaffeination process for coffee and tea. And some does. But most comes from big factories in China that synthesize caffeine. There was a lot of fascinating information in here about how caffeine affects one's body. It was a good time-waster, especially if you are a big coffee swiller like me. It did not make me want to swear off coffee, but it did confirm me in my desire to avoid those creepy energy drinks. I will drink my coffee and tea thank you. And sometimes Coke.
very interesting, and a great follow up to "Salt, Sugar, Fat." America is addicted to caffeine, and not just with coffee. The author goes into detail on the history of caffeine in America, behind the scenes of soft drink and energy drink companies and how they target specific segments of the population. The author had a nice piece in the Washington Post :http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinion...
Столько слухов и догадок вокруг кофе, а глобальные исследования не проводились. Вроде вредит здесь, а вроде нет. И вот здесь, а нет, полезен. Кофеин полезен, но в разумных дозах, в какой больше, в какой меньше не понятно. Кофеин наркотик и вполне может убить, если есть проблемы с сердцем. Энергетики зло. В книге собраны самые разные факты и просто почитать интересно.
From the first time I saw a cover for this book I was hooked. I knew it was a book I would read, what I did not know was how much I would enjoy it and how it would take my thoughts to so many places. Back in university I was called Captain Caffeine by my roommates, working fulltime midnights, fulltime course load, community involvement and relationships meant I was counting my coffee consumption in pots not cups and usually started the day with 2 Jolt's. Then 10 years later when I returned to university and I was a supervisor at Starbuck's I average 8 quad grande drinks a day. Before I worked at Starbucks my favorite drink was a Quad Espresso with 16 extra shots, a Venti cup of Espresso and on more than one occasion drank 2 of them back to back while sitting in Starbucks in a Chapter's bookstore. I have embraced caffeine and swam in a lake of it. But I am older now and a little wiser (I hope) and I absolutely loved this book.
The book begins with a defining a few terms that we will encounter a few times throughout the rest of this review. The first is CDM - Caffeine Delivery Mechanisms, this includes any method ingesting caffeine whether it be natural or artificial form. The second is SCAD, Carpenter attempts to come up with s standard dose for comparison purposes: "In an effort to make this easier, I came up with a measure called a Standard Caffeine Dose, or a SCAD. A SCAD is seventy-five milligrams. This is a handy standard, roughly equal to a shot of espresso, 150ml of coffee, a 250ml can of Red Bull, two 350ml cans of Coke or Pepsi, a 500ml bottle of Mountain Dew, or a pint of Diet Coke (which has higher caffeine concentrations than Coke)." p.XV. Carpenter has gone on a journey through the different CDM's available both at home and abroad. He has also travelled across the USA, Canada and around the world in pursuit of this story. He has sampled raw China White Caffeine, had coffee that was picked dried and roasted on the fame he was visiting, pursued companies, scientists, the FDS and other agencies involved with the business of keeping us amped up and going hard. Carpenter has looked at everything from traditional coffee, loose leaf tea, mate, Coca-Cola, Monster, 5-hour Energy, Green Mountain, K-Cups, clif shot blocks, gu, Starbucks and more.
One of the biggest problems that Carpenter encounter and is left unresolved is that Caffeine is many things to many people. It is marketed as a stimulant, a food, a beverage, a diet supplement and a medication. In fact the addition of Caffeine in Coca-Cola lead to a trial between the U.S. Government and Coke when Coke was charged with: "with violating the Pure Food and Drugs Act by adulterating their beverage with a harmful ingredient: caffeine." p. 81 In 1909. That Caffeine was a product of Monsanto. Monsanto's involvement with Coke starts as early as 1905 when the company produced caffeine for Coke. During the trial Coke paid for the first major study of the impact of Caffeine on human's. But Coke changed their tactics stating Caffeine was a flavor ingredient and essential to the product. And the judge ruled in their favor. And the tension between what has now become the FDA and purveyors of caffeinated drinks had begun; and still swells and ebbs today. From that early history Carpenter takes us on a journey both around the world and through the research and helps us draw our own conclusions about the most socially acceptable of drugs.
The book has some staggering facts and trivia. The first that caught my attention was that Eight of the top 10 soft drinks in the Us contain caffeine. "Coca-Cola , Pepsi and Dr Pepper Snapple, Americans import more than fifteen million pounds of powdered caffeine annually. That's enough to fill three hundred 40-foot (12-metre) shipping containers. Imagine a freight train two miles long, each carriage loaded to the brim with psychoactive powder." p. 97 And there is still a plant in Texas that decaffeinates coffee and exports in's caffeine. But other than that almost all caffeine production is abroad.
In a chapter focused on athletics especially first person accounts of plans and strategies for the Kona Iron Man it becomes obvious that no two athletes plane and caffeinate alike. Each has a personal plan but they vary drastically, from some who avoid caffeine except in competition to those who use regularly and really push the limits for competitions, to a few who barely use it as an enhancement. Researchers into caffeine and performance athletes concluded: "They concisely synopsized the challenges of using caffeine well: It can motivate you and improve your performance, but it is also addicting. In other words, use it to train, use it to race, but use it judiciously." p.146 But even with that there is a footnote that many sports or governing bodies still have limits of how much caffeine an athlete can have in their system and not get disqualified, and other sports have just begun to ignore this specific drug altogether.
In a chapter on Joe for GI's - caffeine and the military life there is a fascinating quote from a military briefing dating to 1896 for the Secretary of War: "'A chemical substance which stimulates brain, nerves and muscles, is a daily necessity and is used by every single nation.' And ''When there is fatigue and the food is diminished such a stimulant is indispensable, and must be an ingredient of every reserve and emergency ration.' More than a century ago, military leaders were trying to figure out how to keep soldiers revved up." p. 165 The military even has a special division at Natick that works on foods and beverages that are caffeinated for soldiers in the field. From caffeine fortified beef jerky, applesauce, tube foods that tastes like pudding. And the first caffeinated gum in production was for the military. Stay alert gum had a dose of 100 milligrams per stick of gum coming in at a SCAD and a third per stick or 6.6 SCAD's for the pack of 5. Zapplesauce - caffeinated Apple sauce has 110 milligrams of caffeine. And more all developed for the fighting soldier and some have trickled out to the general population. Later in the book coming back to the military in summarizing a recent study on military caffeine consumption Carpenter states: "The older soldiers are still drinking more coffee and taking more caffeine than the young males. But the young men, those soldiers from eighteen to twenty-four, get more caffeine from energy drinks than coffee." p. 224 and for the first time energy drinks has replaced coffee as the primary DCM for a specific age group.
Doing some comparison between the FDA south of the border and it's wavering's in dealing with Caffeine especially in energy drinks and new CDM's Carpenter draws from a Canadian source. Quoting a 2010 Canadian Medical Association Journal "'Energy drinks are very effective high-concentration caffeine delivery systems,' the editors wrote. They also said, 'Caffeine-loaded energy drinks have now crossed the line from beverages to drugs delivered as tasty syrups.'" p.211 and regulations around these products vary depending on how they are being marketed and where they are being marketed. Carpenter comes back to Coca-Cola, Monster, 5 hour Energy again and again. But then he turn's his focus on Starbucks. Specifically Starbucks as the all-around CDM provider, coffee, tea, energy drinks and more. "Starbucks stands out among modern caffeine traders. It has developed an internationally recognized brand, a vast network of cafés and a fast-growing line of ready-to-drink caffeinated beverages. It's got tea wrapped up, too, with its Tazo and Teavana lines (it spent $620 million for the latter in late 2012). It mass-markets roasted-and-ground coffees in supermarkets and has its lowbrow Seattle's Best Coffee in bags" p.231 Starbucks offer's it all, from Refreshers which "Starbucks is making a promise that sounds utterly bizarre for the company that brought bold, rich, dark-roasted coffee to the masses: "No coffee flavor. I promise," Starbucks's Brian Smith says on its Web site. "Just a refreshing break from the roasty norm." p.233 So all the caffeine benefits with no taste. A long way from Coca-Cola stating Caffeine was essential for the flavor of the product.
The penultimate quote I would like to leave you with is: "The beverage industry is not fumbling in the dark here; they are dialling in to optimal caffeination to keep consumers coming back. Consider the specificity of a 2005 coffee-drink patent from industry giant Nestlé. 'Controlled Delivery of Caffeine from High-Caffeinated Coffee Beverages Made from Soluble Powder' details the steps for blending coffee powder and natural caffeine. And Nestlé described it in terms of the intended metabolic effect: 'Thus, a beverage can be prepared that contains at least 80 to no more than 115mg caffeine such that consumption of a single serving of the beverage by a person provides a plasma caffeine level in the person that is above 1.25mg/l for at least 2 to 4 hours following consumption of the beverage.' You read that right - the beverage formulators are blending caffeine powder and coffee with the goal of hitting your ideal 'plasma caffeine level'."p.235 And with that carpenter nail's it on the head. The vendors and manufacturer's know what they are doing, whether they are skirting the law or just ignoring it there are numerous examples of companies pushing the limits. But all of that was predicted over 100 year ago Emil Fischer was a German chemist and in 1902 he won the Novel Prize for synthesis of caffeine in a lab in 1895. In a short extract from an extended quote of Emil's words "It is even possible to produce the true aroma of coffee or tea artificially, too, by synthesis; with the exercise of a little imagination the day can be foreseen when beans will no longer be required to make good coffee: a small amount of powder from a chemical works together with water will provide a savoury, refreshing drink surprisingly cheaply." p.237. Where Emil predicted what would happen with beverages Carpenter predicts we have only seen the beginning the perfect CDM has yet to hit the market but some scientist in a home lab, or working for a giant like Monsanto or Starbucks is working on it now. But what will its ultimate impact be?
This was a fascinating book. I had a hard time putting it down. And find myself talking about it constantly. I am also thinking about the studies, science and personal stories of caffeine helping and hurting people in their day to day life's, including a few deaths attributed to caffeine toxicity. I can only suggest that you read the book and let the dialogue begin!
This book was an interesting read: it doesn't want to answer if caffeine is good or bad. Instead, it brings you on a journey through the history caffeine via coffee and the recent past of caffeine through energy drinks. I agree with other reviewers that mention this book can feel "confused" because it doesn't inherently follow a linear path to its destination. However, every chapter sparked my interest and kept me going to learn more about the wonderful cup of coffee (albeit I'll now be having a few less).
I'm a super coffee addict so I was really intrigued to see what this book had to say about it. While it was full of amazing and interesting facts about caffeine, most of it involved man made added caffeine and it's affects (the kind in soft drinks and energy drinks). There were some cool tidbits about the history of coffee and tea and how they're drank and popular in other areas. A good listen (since I consumed it VIA audiobook) and is great if you're a curious person!
Title should make a reference this being a caffeine education and users's guide. Very interesting, explains some of my (and others') caffeine reactions and made me use caffeine more thoughtfully. I would not recommended this as an audiobook.
This book felt like it started life as a short piece, because by and large the contents consisted of the same information presented in slightly different phrases, if by chance one were attempting to pad the wordcount. I was super curious about the subject matter but the presentation of information was 'all over the place,' as well as the aforementioned redundancy, both of which led this book right to the recycle pile.
Why Read: I've always been interested in nonfiction... but unfortunately, I never get around to reading the pop-culture science books that flood the Bookternet every couple of months. Caffeinated has been on my radar for months, when one day I decided I needed a new audio book. There was no reason to not listen to this utterly fantastic read, so shrugging: I did it.
Review: Did you know most of the caffeine in our sodas and other beverages is actually synthetic white powder that's produced in China without FDA regulation? Could you imagine that the highest amount of caffeine consumption in the USA was actually all the way back during World War 2? Maybe you know exactly how scarily prevalent caffeine is in our culture worldwide? These are just three of the ideas that have come from listening to Caffeinated. I was hooked from the onset. The book opens with a case of caffeine powder overdose at a party, moving onto the authors investigation into caffeine.
How exactly does one "study" caffeine? Murray Carpenter does a fabulous job racing around the globe from Central America, to America to China to illustrate just how incredibly popular this drug is in its different forms. Beyond simply acknowledging the origins, Carpenter takes us on the journey of Coca Cola - and how the extremely limited caffeine regulation in the United States stems from a battle between two men. The storyline is twisted and thick with implications and even travels to chemical reactions within the body, showing how caffeine really does impact our cultures and behavioral patterns.
Finishing this book... I was a little freaked. Considering though: How could I not be? You don't often read a book about a drug and not become overly paranoid, but it becomes more concerning when caffeine, a "state-sponsored" drug, is the product being described. I almost want to not recommend this book to those who drink coffee on a regular basis (because it may send you into a bit of anxiety-caffeine-provoked panic attack), but I almost feel like I am obligated to tell you about these things and knowledge. Caffeine is happily and heavily promoted worldwide, and while it has positive short-term effects, the addictive-like qualities it contains are deeply frightening in a world that literally runs on coffee. Verdict: Please read if only to save me from being overly aware of caffeine consumption.
Overall, Caffeinated was....alright for me. It's not terribly difficult, I imagine, to write a decent work of non-fiction if you research a topic decently. If you pack a book with enough interesting factoids and the writing is half decent, the average reader is likely to find something worth his while in there. But to write a compelling work of non-fiction requires something more. Arguments that make you consider an alternative point of view, perhaps (Jonathan Haidt's The Righteous Mind). Looking at an issue in a completely different manner and marshalling the facts to support this framing (Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel or James C Scott's Seeing Like a State). Or sometimes just great storytelling (Dava Sobel's Longitude).
Caffeinated for me fell into the former category. A bunch of curated facts, many of which I hadn't known before, a subset of which I found rather interesting. Some of the interesting bits - the story of K Cups and the entrepreneur, Bob Stiller, behind them; the story of an FDA that is behind the curve on understanding, much less regulating, the addition of caffeine in food, whose regulatory model is based on the assumption that coffee and tea are the primary foods by which people obtain caffeine. In reality, energy drinks like Monster Energy have overtaken coffee and tea in popularity in younger demographics. You can get caffeine from gum, from gel strips, to Kraft's MiO Energy, a "liquid water enhancer" that's basically a vial of artificial flavour, caffeine and colouring that you add to water. Even Sunkist orange soda in the US has caffeine. Yet, the FDA has yet to draft a regulatory definition for energy drinks - it does not have a regulatory definition for non-cola drinks that may contain caffeine. (By contrast, Canada restricts the caffeine content in cola type beverages and disallows adding caffeine to juices or non carbonated drinks). Who knew?
В книге, безусловно, есть дельная информация и отдельные главы довольно увлекательны, но в целом показалось скучно и намеренно раздуто. Обилие имён и названий, которые забываешь, уже перелистнув страницу, а также очень много разговоров и экспериментов, которые по сути подтверждают суть о кофе и кофеине, которую можно было бы уместить на нескольких страницах.
Сначала мне казалось, что в том, что я клевал носом на этой книге, есть вина переводчика, но, заглянув в оригинал, убедился, что это не так. Книга, возможно, понравится тем, кто читает урывками и не против, когда ему повторяют одно и то же на протяжении 300 страниц. Всем остальным рекомендую ознакомиться с Введением и по диагонали просмотреть Часть III книги.
I guess thorough is the nicest thing I can say about this book. Maybe Mary Roach has spoiled me in the science/entertainment genre, but Carpenter could seriously use some of Roach's humor to move this thing along. Short version: caffeine is potentially harmful and under regulated thanks to corporate interests. Now that I've saved you some time, check out Bonk, Stiff, or Gulp instead.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I enjoyed this book and read through it quickly. What I most enjoyed was picking up all sorts of caffeine facts that I've readily shared with friends. This book, while it lagged in some chapters, presented a thorough view of caffeine in today's society. If you drink coffee, tea, soda, or energy drinks have a read!
-Standard Caffeine Dose, or Scad. A Scad is 75mg. - In German, the word for coffee is directly derived from caffeine (Koffein/Koffee). -Sanka, the decaf instant coffee brand takes it's name from the French sans caféine ("without caffeine").
- Terminology: I: Self-administration (Clinical term) II: Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) - FDA
Автор довольно пристрастен. Сам признаёт, что достоверных исследований мало, но 90% книги посвящено долгим рассуждениям о вреде кофе и только 10% про скомкано говорится о его возможной пользе. Довольно много отсы��ок к популярным в США продуктам и хорошо известным в США компаниям, которые мне ни о чем не говорят :(
Some interesting bits, but overall it wasn't nearly as in depth as one would have hoped-- particularly on the issues of helping, hurting, and hooking us.
Предупреждение: эта книга не о кофе; в этом тексте будут целые главы о чае, шоколаде, энергетиках, сладкой газировке, синтезированном или экстрагированном порошке — и уже только потом немного о самом кофе.
У Мюррея Карпентера получилось фундаментальное исследование кофеина, которое лучше всего описывает цитата из его же текста:
«Кофеин оказывает такое множество разнообразных эффектов, что мы не знаем, как их систематизировать. Мы пытаемся объяснить их уже более 100 лет, и нам еще предстоит долгий путь. То же происходит с американскими государственными структурами – они просто не знают, что и как регулировать.»
Кофеин оставил свой след на таком количестве индустрий и продуктов, что говорить о нем последовательно или хотя бы однозначно — задача, кажется, невыполнимая. Как и в постоянно сменяющей друг друга череде исследований в прессе о чрезвычайной пользе кофеина и его неминуемом вреде — в этой книге также найдутся аргументы и в ту, и в другую стороны.
«Однако, по словам эндокринолога Роберта Хини, ничего такого не случается. "Негативное влияние кофеина на усвоение кальция достаточно мало и полностью компенсируется всего одной-двумя столовыми ложками молока, – написал он в статье в 2002 году. – Все наблюдения, свидетельствующие, что кофеинсодержащие напитки повышают риск развития остеопороза, были сделаны в популяциях, получавших недостаточное количество кальция".»
Большинство негативных рецензий на эту книгу сходятся в мысли о том, что работа получилось скучной, почти скрупулёзной. И в этом есть доля правды, но было бы справедливо также отметить, что Карпентер прилагает довольно много усилий, чтобы добавить в повествование динамики: кофеиновые травелоги сменяются судебными разбирательствами, а исторические экскурсы сменяются экскурсиями по синтезирующим кофеин заводам. Ну и, конечно, нет в тексте и недостатка в занимательной статистике и интересных фактах.
«Любой кофеин, и синтетический, и натуральный, может содержать примеси. Они бывают полезными, вредными или просто необычными. Например, синтетический кофеин имеет странное свойство: иногда он светится. Мы знаем о патенте США 2584 839 на метод снижения флуоресценции синтетического кофеина. Об этом написал в патентной заявке исследователь корпорации Pfizer Джей Бакли в 1950 году: "Кофеин, изготовленный синтетическим способом, часто имеет заметную синеватую флуоресценцию, которая наблюдается как в твердой форме, так и в растворе. Усиление свечения очень нежелательно, поскольку оно часто передается другим продуктам, в которых используется кофеин, что весьма неудобно». Избавиться от этого довольно просто: нужно использовать нитрит натрия, уксусную кислоту, карбонат натрия и хлороформ".»
Содержание книги условно делится на экономическую, культурную и фармакологическую части — и они настолько разные как по сути, так и по форме изложения, что от заинтересованности этими темами в общем-то и сложится окончательное впечатление от книги. В моем случае она началась с высокой ноты и закончилась равнодушными перебежками от одного медицинского исследования к другому.
И другие цитаты:
«Даже притом что после пика 1998 года потребление безалкогольных напитков на душу населения постепенно стало снижаться, американцы продолжают лидировать в их употреблении. Газированные безалкогольные напитки дают США 77 000 000 000 долларов в год. Самыми популярными являются Coke, Diet Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew и Dr. Pepper, которые, помимо газирования, имеют одну общую черту: они все содержат кофеиновый порошок.»
«В газете Atlanta Constitution появилась короткая статья, первый ручеек того, что стало предметом обсуждения на долгие годы: "Чаттануга, штат Теннесси, 23 октября. Нам сообщили, что окружной прокурор США Пенланд получил жалобу на сироп, отправленный, из Атланты компанией Coca-Cola на принадлежащий ей разливочный завод в Чаттануге. Основанием для жалобы послужило содержание в сиропе кофеина, который, как утверждается, оказывает вредное действие на здоровье. Кроме того, товар имел неправильную маркировку, поскольку в нем нет активного действующего вещества листьев коки, как указано в названии бренда на бочках, а кофеин, который содержит сироп, получают из чайных листьев, а не из орехов кола".»
This turned out to be a far more interesting and well structured book than I was expecting. I've previously enjoyed the likes of 'Dopesick', 'Methland' and 'Dreamland' which all go into the backstories and personal accounts of people involved in the importation/supply/purchase/consumption of Heroin, Fentanyl and Meth, weaving all the facts and data available into eminently readable narrative structures that take the reader along for the ride.
This book was written in exactly the same vein and pulled off the same engaging combination of history, science, the pitfalls of manufacturing chemicals overseas, real life tales of people whose lives have been affected by this drug (because make no mistake, caffeine IS a drug...regardless of how socially acceptable it is in our culture) and a mini travelogue through the rural country areas which grow and harvest coffee beans from their cherries.
Carpenter himself makes no bones about the fact that he is one of the many billions of people who consume caffeine daily; and he's a bit of an expert in all the various permutations available out there on the market...some of which seem to truly blur the boundaries between 'food' and 'drugs'. At no point does the author try to besmirch anyone for their daily fix, but over time, as he was investigating the various themes in this book, he found himself noticing more and more, just how many of us seem at the very least, to be habituated users of caffeine in our day to day lives. I guess once you start to look for something you start to see it everywhere.
The cultural differences between the traditional tea-drinkers in China (who treat each cup as some kind of part of a sacred ceremony, to be enjoyed, slowly, appreciating the whole experience) and the Western consumers of Monster, Rockstar, 5-hr Energy etc (who down 500ml cans of their sparkling beverage of choice...made with synthetic caffeine from factories based also in China) was a nice juxtaposition of globalist trade, versus cultural and societal norms. I liked that angle.
I also really liked the history of Coca Cola and their infamous legal battles, vesus the struggle of the FDA to seem to be able to come to any kind of consensus as to how caffeinated energy drinks should be classified. It's a very confusing market and open to loop-holes and weird abuses of systems for self-report. Finding military issued caffeine gum (removed from the market) in a random little convenience store in 'frick-knows-where' was as indicative of our western obsession with caffeine, as was the evidence of how so many entrepreneurs wanted to get on the coffee-craze bandwagon.
Carpenter writes with a conversational light-hearted tone for the most part, whilst affording due respect to the parts which require a little more tact and diplomacy. The entire book is bursting with links to the outside studies which support the claims he presents (and I'm not going to lie...half the reason I took so long to complete this book was because I kept wandering off to look up the data and the validity of said studies, only to find myself equally as fascinated by what they revealed, as I was by the book itself.)
I think this is a book which ought to be read by anyone who likes there couple of coffees every morning to get going and would like to understand the drug it is that they've become habituated to. Caffeine might not be generating as many sexy, sensationalised, headlines as meth, fentanyl or heroin, but there are a lot of parallels that can be drawn between the behaviours of the users and the likelihood that consumers will suffer some form of withdrawal when they try to cut it out from their lives. Like I said, Carpenter isn't trying to get you to feel bad about your everyday cup of morning Joe, just offer you a bit of behind-the-scenes information about the drug we all so willingly consume without really giving it all that much thought.
I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in any kind of drug that we as humans like to seek out and consume. If you liked any of the other books I mentioned in this review, definitely check out 'Caffeinated: How Our Daily Habit Helps, Hurts, And Hooks Us' for yourself. It's a well-written, interesting book that totally exceeded my expectations.
An excellent and entertaining read, about the history and politics (and neuroscience and sociology) of caffeine. Well researched - part travel writing, part food industry expose. A pervasive, nay endemic part of modern life has a bit more too it than you might realise until you read this book.
Caffeinated, helped me quit Caffeine (again), because that is what I wanted, and information and knowledge helps me get what I want (or at leasts allows me to act, psychologically), but that is not necessarily what this book is designed to do.
Some of the facts presented here about the food and beverage industry (mostly in the USA) are troubling. This book lays out some of the hindrances to regulation of what is, certainly a drug, a neuro-active one, and an addictive one at that.
I liked coffee when I drank it, and I wouldn't be evangelically advocating other's follow my footsteps into abstinence, however, possibly because of the type of person I am, I found it hard to limit my consumption. That might have something to do with tolerance and the addictive nature of caffeine (there is good evidence), but I accept it is a well contained and pleasurable part of many peoples lives. Anyone who tries to stop cold turkey will attest to the headaches and grumpiness, but the industry will have you believe there is a simple cure - drink more caffeine.
I'm getting cynical in my old age. The clear benefits in terms of mood and vigilance, and minimal adverse side effects convinced me most of my life from youth the equation was worth it. Ultimately though, I came to resent the compulsion; the kind of racket run by cafe's/drug dispensaries (and their suppliers). And it was giving me frequent insomnia and anxiety. I like the money and time i've gained, and for what do I really need all that vigilance and agitation anyway? My moods are my own.