Is there another concept around which there are such endless debates both about whether it belongs to the masculine or neuter gender, and about the benefits and harms of the drink itself?

There are many opinions, and, as always, the truth is somewhere in the middle, but where exactly?

We are accustomed to start the day with this drink, which is uplifting and energizing in the morning. For office work, this is the surest way to wake up for work and somehow pass the day.

Any audience always falls into two camps - those who do not question the magical properties of coffee, and those who grumble warningly that it is more evil than good.

The benefits and harms of this controversial drink are due to the way it is produced. Consider the mechanism of preparation and action of each type.

• Grain

The coffee bean consists of two shells - outer and inner. As the coffee matures, they accumulate two different types alkaloid: in the inner shell - theobromine and in the outer - caffeine.

When we brew coffee from whole, unprocessed ground beans, both alkaloids will be in the cup.

Immediately after ingestion, caffeine begins to act within 20-25 minutes: it constricts all vessels, except for the renal ones - on the contrary, they expand.

As a result, blood pressure rises, blood flow in the kidneys improves, and the person feels the urge to urinate.

After a quarter of an hour, the effect of caffeine stops and is replaced by the opposite effect of theobromine.

Theobromine acts exactly the opposite way: it expands all the vessels, and narrows the kidney ones. As a result, dilated vessels contribute to a decrease in systemic pressure, renal blood flow worsens, and a person begins to feel discomfort in the lower back.

Therefore, in the right coffee houses, drinking water is always supplied to coffee just for the prevention of violations of water-salt metabolism and blood flow.

• Soluble

In order to extract the most valuable fraction - caffeine - from the coffee bean, its outer shell is peeled off. It goes to the production of medications containing caffeine, energy drinks and others.

And the inner theobromine shell is used to obtain instant and granulated coffee, devoid of the invigorating effect of caffeine.

Legislators different countries can't get legislation to mandate caffeine-free labels.

Only a few manufacturers do this, but in fact now almost Any instant coffee contains no more than 5% caffeine.

Therefore, from the coffee obtained from theobromine, the pressure cannot rise, and, accordingly, there is no invigorating effect, but you just want to sleep.

Such coffee, flavored with fructose and milk, is good to drink before going to bed, for a quick and deep immersion in sleep.

Caffeinated, that is invigorating, we get the effect only from grain coffee , but after it we must be ready for the onset of mandatory theobromine phase lasting about an hour, regardless of the type or quality of coffee.

This stage of sleepiness, if it happened during the daytime, can be shortened somewhat by drinking water.

The insidiousness of coffee

The worst thing is that people, not knowing about these mechanisms of coffee action on the body, find themselves in very unpleasant situations.

Since only soluble varieties are available to the majority of the population, a person who drinks such coffee in order to get a tonic effect, after 25 minutes, gets the opposite effect - sleepy, with all the ensuing sad consequences, depending on the situation.

Its fatal action among truck drivers was called the "effect of 30 kilometers."

Its essence is as follows. A trucker, wanting to get through the morning traffic jams in the city, drinks a lot of strong instant coffee at night and hits the road.

After 25 minutes, when he is already 30 km behind and he leaves the city, he is inevitably overtaken by the insidious theobromine phase - the driver, unable to resist motion sickness and drowsiness, loses control.

Relentless statistics states that it is precisely from the 30th to the 50th kilometers from any major city that happens largest number accidents involving trucks, or about half an hour after stopping at a coffee shop.

For drivers - only tea

There is only one conclusion from the above: It is categorically not recommended to take either instant or ground coffee on the road.

Drivers often ask the question - what to take if I constantly fall asleep at the wheel. There is a great alternative drink that is high in caffeine and lacks theobromine - tea, both black and green.

It perfectly invigorates and tones, and using it, you can be sure that the “sleeping” phase will not follow the invigorating effect.

In self-respecting coffee houses, along with a cup of aromatic coffee, customers are served a glass of clean, cool water. This ancient and beautiful tradition has a practical meaning: a drink like coffee should really be washed down with water - and not only in order to better reveal its taste.

One alkaloid is good, but two is better

Espresso, americano, cappuccino, latte - drinks prepared using coffee beans, a great many have been invented. However, in terms of the effect on nervous system For a person, the fundamental difference exists only between coffee drinks made from whole grain coffee and from sublimated, that is, from instant.

The fact is that the coffee bean is heterogeneous in its structure. Its outer shell contains the well-known invigorating alkaloid called caffeine, which has a pronounced tonic effect. In the inner part of the grain there is another alkaloid - theobromine.

In the manufacture of instant coffee, only the inner part of the grain is used; the outer shell is separated and used for medicines or energy drinks. But if we are dealing with grain coffee, then we need to remember that it contains two alkaloids at once.

reverse process

When we drink coffee, these two alkaloids enter our body at the same time - but they begin to act in turn. First, caffeine begins to work - it is with its action that the invigorating effect is associated. But about 25 minutes later, theobromine enters the scene.

Here's how it all works: caffeine has the ability to constrict blood vessels in all organs - except for the kidneys; in them, after a couple of sips of espresso, the vessels, on the contrary, expand. The result is increased pressure and the urge to urinate; the latter are associated with improved blood flow in the kidneys.

However, before half an hour passes, the person begins to feel a little sleepy; at the same time, many feel a not too pleasant pulling sensation in the region of the kidneys. This began the action of theobromine: the pressure in all organs increased, and in the kidneys it decreased.

In order to avoid disturbing the blood flow in the kidneys, it makes sense to take a sip of water after each sip of coffee.

The effect of the 30th kilometer

With instant coffee, everything is even more interesting. Since it is made from the inner part of the grain, in which the caffeine content does not exceed 10%, and theobromine is quite high, the effect of it is somewhat different than that of whole grains.

Namely, the peppy phase is not so pronounced, for some it is completely absent, but such a drink has a distinct effect of drowsiness. So if someone you know complains to you that he, they say, has a paradoxical reaction to coffee, he wants not to jump and run, but to sleep sweetly, then, most likely, he drinks not grain, but freeze-dried coffee.

Long-distance truck drivers, who often buy cans of ready-made coffee drinks at gas stations that are obviously made on the basis of instant coffee, even invented their own term - “the effect of the 30th kilometer”.

This means this: about 20 minutes after ingesting the contents of such a jar, that is, just about 30 kilometers away, the driver usually experiences a period of drowsiness lasting about an hour. This is the same theobromine phase during which it tends to sleep.

So it is also better to drink instant coffee with plain water - so that you don’t want to sleep after it. Better yet, drink strongly brewed black tea as an invigorating drink: there is no less caffeine in it, and theobromine is completely absent.

Additional reasons

For lovers of good coffee, there are other arguments according to which it is better to drink it with water.

• Delicious like the first time. If, without further ado, just drink coffee sip after sip, then the second sip will not be as bewitching as the first. And clean water will wash the taste buds - and as a result, you can fully enjoy every sip.
• Pressure is normal. Those who are afraid to drink coffee once again because of the risk high blood pressure, plain water can provide an excellent service - it can weaken the effect of caffeine; if you drink coffee with it, the heart will not beat like crazy.
• Teeth like pearls. Coffee contains a pigment that colors tooth enamel. But if after each sip you drink a little water, then the pigment will not have time to be absorbed and the teeth will remain as white as they were.

The effect of the 30th kilometer. Attention emergency area!

Most accidents occur at a distance of 30-50 km. from the village or cafe due to fatigue.

Good afternoon dear truckers and drivers. I think that when each of us on the road has a need to stay awake or quickly cheer up while driving, then we resort to one of the well-known drinks - coffee. But few people are familiar with what kind of coffee you really need to drink in order to get the result we need. And what is even worse, few people know that the wrong coffee can lead to a completely different result from the expected one and lead to even more sleepiness while driving and subsequently - frequent accidents. That is what is called The effect of the 30th kilometer.

Theory

Coffee grain, like most legumes, consists of two parts, or rather of two alkaloids. In its outer shell is an alkaloid - caffeine, and in its inner shell is an alkaloid - theobramine. And if we brew coffee with whole grain, then we have both elements in solution. The caffeine starts working immediately and works 20-25 minutes. Its effect works quite clearly - it constricts the vessels of all organs except the kidneys, and on the contrary, it expands the vessels of the kidneys. For this reason, blood pressure increases in all organs and blood flow in the kidneys improves. But after about 25 minutes the effect of caffeine ends, and the second alkaloid, theobromine, comes into action, and all its effects act quite the opposite. It expands all the vessels of the body, and narrows the renal ones, which leads to a fall blood pressure and more sleepiness. That is why in good coffee houses a glass of clean water is also served with a cup of coffee, so that stabilize water-alkaline balance and loss of strength.

On practice

The most valuable caffeine fraction, namely caffeine, is used for medical preparations containing caffeine, but the inner shell of the grain is used for the production of various granulated and instant coffee. For this reason, in the US, some granulated coffee makers label their cans as decaffeinated coffee. But in fact, any granulated coffee contains only 5-10% from the outer shell, namely the caffeine. And after drinking a cup of instant coffee, we get exactly the opposite, from the expected effect.

But the worst thing is that a person who does not understand how this effect works and buys himself, no matter what, but instant coffee, hoping to cheer up while driving and during 15-20 minutes he's getting abromine phase which leads to more sleepiness. During this time, he travels approximately 30 kilometers. And as general statistics show, a large number of accidents occur precisely at a distance of approximately from the 30th to the 50th kilometer from settlements, gas stations or cafes on the highway.

Conclusion

Categorically prohibited take on the road instant coffee or drink it during the flight, because no effect you will not get from this, but on the contrary, you will aggravate your condition even more. It is even better to take tea with you on the road. It doesn't matter green or black, but it will invigorate you much more than a cup of instant or granulated coffee. And granulated coffees are best drunk before bedtime, to improve dreams =)

So take care of yourself, and rough to all the roads. Best regards team

The vast majority of men (and many women) quite often face the need to spend an impressive amount of time behind the wheel of a car. This is especially true for truckers who spend a huge amount of time on the road. Monotonous movement, lack of variety and elementary overstrain of the eye muscles give a predictable result - a person begins to fall asleep. The first thing a motorist does in this case is to drink strong coffee. It is here that the most terrible awaits him, referred to among experts as the “effect of the 30th kilometer”.

The thing is that only natural coffee has an invigorating effect, and even then its duration does not exceed thirty minutes. After that, the effect of the drink on the body changes to the diametrically opposite - there is a feeling of drowsiness, fatigue and a general breakdown. Why is this happening?

Brewed grains contain two alkaloids at once - caffeine and theobromine. The first is in the shell of the coffee bean, and the second is inside it. Caffeine begins to act immediately, constricting blood vessels and expanding them in the kidneys, which gives the effect of cheerfulness. The bad thing is that this effect lasts only about 20-25 minutes. After that, theobromine takes control, reducing pressure, causing yawning and increased drowsiness.

Interesting Facts!

In the USA, any instant coffee is considered decaffeinated, since the percentage of its content in the drink does not exceed 10%. Unfortunately, at the state level, it has not yet been possible to force manufacturers to indicate this not entirely pleasant fact.

Regardless of the quality level, any coffee (natural or instant) causes a similar drowsy reaction in absolutely all people.

Excessive consumption of instant coffee is one of the main causes of accidents on the roads involving drivers of large vehicles.

A cup of instant coffee an hour before bedtime is even more effective than sleeping pills.

Reasonable (and not so) alternatives

The first proven way to reduce theobromine exposure (it is impossible to eliminate it completely!) Is to drink a glass of clean water after each cup of coffee. It will help the kidneys to more effectively remove the alkaloid from the body and significantly reduce the level of its impact. That is why in good places coffee is always served with plain water.

An extreme option is to drink another cup of natural coffee every 25 minutes and expect the chorus from the song of the Spleen group “And my heart stopped ...”, since the vessels, and the body as a whole, simply cannot withstand such a load. The only exception can be only in the case when the remaining path is very small, and it is vital to reach the destination. Again, the method is very dangerous, unreliable and it is strongly not recommended to resort to it.

The safest and most reliable way to stay alert on the road is to drink tea. Which one - does not matter. Green, black, shen and shu pu-erhs, various oolongs - they are all equally effective, and the choice depends solely on the preferences of the person. The fact is that regardless of the level of fermentation, the amount of caffeine in tea leaves remains consistently high, but theobromine is simply absent there.