Caffeine and Cats.

Caffeine is a drug. It has psychoactive properties, and is a stimulant, worth thinking about that when you crave that mug. It’s addictive- so the more you drink, the more you’ll want it. Coffee has the most caffeine content, then tea and then green tea.

It has side effects. When we check blood pressure in the pharmacy, we ask the patient if they’ve guzzled down any tea or coffee in the last few hours. It increases blood pressure in most people. It’s not clear how it does that, possibly by the release of more adrenaline in the body. So be aware of that, especially if you drink more than 3-4 cups of caffeinated drinks a day.

It also keeps you awake, and dehydrates your body. One of the first things we check for sleep hygiene is the over use of caffeine containing drinks.

Caffeine can also interfere with the absorption of some medication. Levothyroxine, a medication for an underactive thyroid is one example. Patients are advised to wait at least 60 minutes after taking the medication before drinking tea or coffee. It also affects some antibiotics.

Anyway, one interesting fact about coffee is that the most expensive variety comes from the poo of wild cats knows as Luwak. It’s harvested from the forests of Indonesia after the wild cats have eaten the coffee berry and then literally poo it out after internal fermentation. People happily drink it. I personally would not be able to get the kitty out of my head while I’m sipping but each to their own! I’m sorry if I’ve offended some die hard coffee lovers (and cat!) but this is just too gross for me.

I would like to end by saying we drink copious amounts of tea and coffee in the pharmacy, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to function. We are usually quite drugged up- on caffeine that is!

Meow.

Rifat x