How Helpful Is Ashwagandha Or Coffee For Energy-Boost?
There is a growing hype around maintaining a good physique and being healthy. But to maintain a good physique, an individual needs to have good energy levels, to sustain long hours of exercise. Therefore, you might have commonly heard about people having pre-workout drinks before stepping into the gym. These drinks are filled with high amounts of sugar that work as fuel for the body during exercise.
This Story also Contains
- Why Are People Inclining More Toward Coffee?
- How Does Coffee Influence Energy Levels?
- Side Effects Of Coffee Addiction
- Ashwagandha: What Is It, And What Are Its Effects?
- Addiction To Ashwagandha
However, the consumption of such drinks does not go down well with everyone. People are against these drinks as they add high-calorie levels and also have side effects on the body. Currently, pre-workout drinks are being replaced by coffee and ashwagandha. Not only as a pre-workout drink but they are also consumed by people generally. But why? What do these do to our bodies? Let us get into the details.
Students can relate this to the topic of addiction and dependence covered in the chapter - Human Health and Disease of NCERT Class 12 Biology.
Why Are People Inclining More Toward Coffee?
Earlier, tea was more common among the people; however, the youth are inclined more toward coffee now. According to various reports, black tea has 50 per cent less caffeine than brewed coffee. Over time, people develop a tolerance to caffeine, and hence, the intake of coffee is increasing. The intake of caffeine triggers the central nervous system and improves performance; therefore, it is taken before sports, exercise, or gym sessions.
Some health benefits of caffeine, like improved insulin sensitivity, mental alertness, information processing, endurance, and more, are seen in individuals who prefer coffee. You may have seen people gulping coffee between office breaks. Some people may even gulp down 3–4 cups of coffee a day. However, excess of anything is bad.
How Does Coffee Influence Energy Levels?
When caffeine enters the body, it stimulates brain activity, which in turn increases cortisol and adrenaline in the body. This leads to increased energy levels, more focus, and feeling afresh. The sudden ‘kick’ given by coffee is addictive as it drives away the tiredness for a short interval and gets the work done.
The surge in physical energy is helpful in gyms, and hence, a black coffee shot is preferably taken by health enthusiasts. But is it really this beneficial?
Side Effects Of Coffee Addiction
Caffeine intake blocks adenosine for a while, but after caffeine is washed away from the body, the accumulated adenosine can produce effects like tiredness, a lower heart rate, drowsiness, and more. So caffeine can make you tired in the long run.
Moreover, continuous consumption will increase tolerance, and the person will need more caffeine to get the desired results. However, this is harmful as caffeine is a diuretic, and a person pees more than usual, thus resulting in dehydration. High doses will make a person anxious and dizzy and increase their heart rate, which is uncomfortable and harmful in the long run.
Ashwagandha: What Is It, And What Are Its Effects?
A small evergreen plant that has been linked to reducing stress levels or adapting the body to stress is ashwagandha. This important ingredient of Ayurvedic medicine is gaining attention worldwide. Properties like antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, and more make it more important in various conditions, like reducing stress, severity, and symptoms of certain diseases.
Reducing stress is directly linked to more productivity and energy. If stress and anxiety levels are managed, a person will have more mental clarity, energy levels, and good health. Ashwagandha helps to achieve all of this. It is more popular among men as it boosts testosterone levels, which are also linked to better energy levels.
Addiction To Ashwagandha
Since Ashwagandha is extremely effective in managing stress and energy levels, people are drawn to it. This herb increases physical vigour, boosts mental clarity and memory, and helps in strength and bodybuilding; therefore, it ultimately improves the quality of life. Being a natural superfood, it has more usefulness and reliability than medicines.
Having numerous benefits, it is increasingly being consumed, especially by youth, to sustain high energy levels throughout the day. But one should also be aware of its long-term effects. There are not many solid scientific studies as its consumption has suddenly taken over, but a few side effects include diarrhoea, a bad stomach, drowsiness, and altered physiology.
The herb’s interaction with other regular medicines taken for blood pressure, sugar, and thyroid is not known, and hence it cannot be stated as completely safe. People may consume multiple doses a day for desired or enhanced results, but going overboard can result in medical conditions.
Briefly stated, the youth often neglect their health and have comparatively lower energy levels or stamina than older generations. The workload is also much higher in today’s world. To combat these problems, individuals are relying on energy-boosting items like coffee and ashwagandha. These have been proven to increase energy levels, improve physical energy, enhance brain activity, and more. However, addiction to or overdosing on each of them has many negative health consequences; therefore, one must be careful with their consumption.
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