Ask The Herbalist

I have been doing a lot of research on caffeine and the benefits and harms of it. I am looking for some added information about the differences between the caffeine found naturally in coffee or tea, and the kind found in pure caffeine pills. I have heard that the pills are much more harmful, but have not been able to find proof of why. With the exception of "it's made in a lab, therefore it must be worse". If you could shed some light on the matter, I would greatly appreciate it! Just one more question. I have read that caffeine blocks the re-uptake of glutamate. This can cause glutamate toxicity (resulting in dead brain cells), but I am skeptical as to how often this occurs. Will that happen if one takes just 200-mg of caffeine? Is it for the chronic caffeine users who drink 6 cups of coffee a day for 10 years? Thanks so much for your time and effort! Looking forward to some knowledge!

Nature does not make caffeine or any substance in mono-structured form, including caffeine. Caffeine consumed by itself is harmful (a la caffeine pills -- nature does not produce caffeine pills). Caffeine pills are INORGANIC and thus not absorbed by the body (the cells). Bio-caffeiene from plant sources is ORGANIC and thus absorbable. Organic substances can be absorbed through the cells. Inorganic substances cannot. Inorganic caffeine blocks reuptake of glutamate, and that's another reason why synthetic caffeine is harmful. Organic caffeine does not block reuptake of glutamate.