We sent out the this press release today to Bitcoin related and other news release distribution sites:

"Montvale, NJ - November, 25 2014 - Buying CaffeinAll™, the first non-bitter caffeine with Bitcoin is now as easy as using a credit card - but much safer - at Caffex.com.


You don’t have to be a libertarian anymore to support and enjoy the benefits of Bitcoin. From anonymity to minimal processing fees to widespread use, today it has it all.

What it hasn’t had till now is a way to make it a payment instrument that is as easy for customers to use as credit and debit cars, e-checks and other instantaneous methods online. This has changed almost overnight the last year, with major online payment processors, like SquareUp.com adding Bitcoin to their order processing services.

According to Steve Kingsley of HIP Caffex, “All it took for us to deploy payments with Bitcoin was to write about it’s availability on our website - the integration was seamlessly executed through our Square Market checkout pages on SquareUp.com. Even better for our customers, paying with Bitcoin is as easy now as clicking on a button. We invite the Bitcoin community to enjoy the convenience of buying CaffeinAll™ with their favorite cryptocurrency now and in the future.” 

Steve Kingsley is a serial inventor and entrepreneur. Just in the last four years he developed CaffeMallows™ caffeinated marshmallows, which were featured in the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg BusinessWeek; CaffeinAll™, that was the subject of articles in the Daily Mail UK, Examiner, Vice, C I Net, and other media; and his latest products, SUGARLESSe™ natural sweetener and Chocolate Naturals made with it. 

CaffeinAll™ is the first non bitter caffeine powder in a shaker, that turns any food into an instant energizer. Just sprinkle it on your favorite fresh and cooked foods, drinks, fruits, salads, even pizza or ice cream to make them into an instant energy food. And it is much less expensive than a cup of coffee, latte, espresso, or energy drink - only 9 cents for 100 mg caffeine, the same as in a cup of coffee. It is also environmentally friendly. The shaker is, of course, recyclable — and it replaces up to 200 coffee cups and energy drink cans.

Bitcoin is a software-based online payment system first described by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 and introduced as open source software in 2009. Payments are recorded in a public ledger using its own unit of account, which is also called bitcoin. Payments work peer-to-peer without a central repository or single administrator. Bitcoin is the first fully implemented decentralized cryptocurrency; most other cryptocurrencies are similar and derived from it. It is also the largest cryptocurrency in terms of total market value. (Excerpt from Wikipedia.)

CaffeinAll™ is available at Caffex, Amazon, eBay, Square Market, and other online stores — but with Bitcoin payments only on Caffex.com.


Caffex is part of HIP Brands in Montvale NJ, which produces and markets CaffeinAll™, SUGARLESSe™, and SUGARLESSe Chocolate Naturals. Visit Caffex.com and SUGARLESSe.com for more information, or call 201.399.4313. We do look forward to hearing from you!"

About 90 percent of Americans consume caffeine daily. More than half of all American adults consume 300 milligrams or more caffeine every day, making it America's most popular drug, according to Live Science. The world’s too, by the way. 

Numerous scientific studies and common experience tells us that for most of us, 200 to 300 milligrams a day are mostly invigorating, not harmful. That’s most of us - how about the ones who exhibit or are in the process of developing sensitivity to caffeine? 

We all know that caffeine can cause restlessness, anxiety, irritability, muscle tremors, sleeplessness, headaches, nausea, diarrhea and abnormal heart rhythms. Unfortunately, these symptoms are not specific only to caffeine but to a host of other conditions and ailments. So it has been very hard till now to connect them. No longer, thanks to rapid advances in genetics.

The metabolism of caffeine in our body

Let us look at a more scientific side of what happens to caffeine inside our body. We will also use this as a means to compare the metabolism of children to adults. 

Caffeine is metabolized in the body by the enzyme Cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) in the liver. Every person has two copies of the gene which makes the enzyme CYP1A2 (one copy from each parent). There are 2 variations of this gene which affect how quickly a person metabolizes caffeine. The CYP1A2*1A variety (“allele”) makes an enzyme that metabolizes caffeine very rapidly. However, the CYP1A2*1F allele metabolizes caffeine slowly. The difference between these two alleles is one single nucleotide, an A to C substitution at position 734 of the CYP1A2 gene.

Individuals who have two copies of the fast CYP1A2*1A allele are fast caffeine metabolizers; whereas people who have at least one copy of the slow CYP1A2*1F allele are slow caffeine metabolizers.

As caffeine is metabolized, it is broken down into theophylline, paraxanthine, and theobromine. These travel all over our body and influence many body organs and functions. These also sway moods and prevent the calming effect of dopamine. Theophylline causes smooth muscles to relax and that is why we usually feel like going to the comfort room after ingesting caffeine. On the other hand, theobromine adds to the oxygen and nutrient levels in our body which are used by muscles and the brain.

Stimulation by caffeine increases the rate of metabolism

Although stimulation from caffeine increases the rate of metabolism, it can only achieve this effect when the metabolic support for it is there. The most important element of this support is sufficient blood glucose - blood sugar - in our body. Feeling anxious or shaky is, in most cases, a result of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).

Add to this that once caffeine is in your system, even more glucose is removed from the bloodstream, since caffeine further stimulates the body’s metabolism. Problems begin when our body cannot provide enough fuel for cells, given the level of stimulation. If too much stimulation occurs, a stress alarm goes off, that mobilizes resources to provide energy to cells. Your body says, “We’ve got lots of stimulation going on here; we need to mobilize resources right now.”

The stress alarm’s basic function is to raise the blood sugar level. This involves the release of glycogen from the liver under the direction of adrenaline and glucagon, and the conversion of body fat first, and protein after that, into glucose using the liver’s help, as it is intimately involved in blood sugar regulation.

Combining low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and being a slow caffeine metabolizer may give us the explanation as to how people could become sensitive or allergic to caffeine.  

Measuring caffeine sensitivity

Caffeine sensitivity is the inversely proportional with the amount of caffeine that will affect a person. The more caffeine needed to produce an impact on someone, the less sensitive he or she is to caffeine. It is common to say that the smaller or older the person, the less caffeine required to make an effect.

Unfortunately for many of us, sensitivity to caffeine does tend to increase together with increase in age. Children metabolize caffeine quicker than adults. Since children have faster metabolism, they also process the caffeine faster while older people with slower metabolism become somewhat thin-skinned to caffeine and store it for a while.

Other helpful information

Caffeine metabolism DNA testing 

The CaffeineGEN™ test by  Consumer Genetics  is a simple, accurate genetic test that will tell you if you have the fast or slow caffeine metabolizing gene. All you need to do is collect a simple cheek swab sample in the comfort of your home and just days later you will be ready to make positive changes in your life based on your personal genetics.

By knowing your genetic makeup, you can adjust your daily caffeine intake accordingly and manage your overall well-being. 

Genetic links to caffeine sensitivity

Ted Kallmyer of CaffeinInformer.com is one of the foremost experts in all things having to do with caffeine. As he describes in his Caffeine Sensitivity article (see link below):  
"Caffeine is metabolized in the liver using the enzyme CYP1A2. The ability to produce this enzyme is regulated by the CYP1A2 gene. Slight changes in the DNA sequence of this gene determine how efficiently a person can metabolize caffeine and thus eliminate it from the body." 

The Cornelis study

According Cornelis et al. a person who is a fast metabolizer of caffeine can drink up to 6 cups of coffee a day and have no effects. However, bear in mind that the lethal dose is 2 grams of caffeine per day.*

Additionally, the Cornelis et al. study finds that people who have the slow caffeine metabolizing gene can still enjoy caffeinated food and beverages so long as their caffeine consumption doesn’t exceed more than 200 mg per day or more than 2-3 cups of coffee per day.

* Other sources give different values. Some even go up to 14 grams a day! 

References

http://www.caffeineinformer.com/caffeine-sensitivity

http://www.livescience.com/6252-caffeine-sensitivity-increase-age.html - Fred Cicetti

http://www.functionalps.com/blog/2014/06/04/coffee-done-right-tips-to-help-avoid-coffee-intolerance/ - Team FPS

http://www.consumergenetics.com/DNA-Tests/Caffeine-Metabolism-Test.php

Cornelis MC, El-Sohemy A, Kabagambe EK, and Campos H. “Coffee, CYP1A2 genotype, and risk of myocardial infarction.” JAMA 2006, 295:1135-1141

As part of the comprehensive care for the tiniest babies, doctors at Nationwide Children’s Hospital use caffeine and Viagra® as medications, according to a news release timed to World Premature Day. 

Who knew there was such a day — and it is today, November 17. What’s more, it is part of Prematurity Awareness Month. 

Since two teenagers in our family are preemies, I feel funny about not be aware of them. But then again, neither World Premature Day nor Month were known and celebrated fifteen years ago, as far as I can remember.

Premature babies may stop breathing continuously, if their brains forget to send signals to their lungs. Caffeine has proven very helpful in this condition, by stimulating their brains, diaphragms, and lungs. 

Hence caffeine is given to nearly all of the babies in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) as they come off ventilators. “The better their lungs works in the short term, the better their brain health will be in the future, preventing lifelong neurologic problems,” Dr. Edward Shepherd, section chief of neonatology at Nationwide Children’s, said in a news release. “Consistently giving these little babies the equivalent of a cup of coffee can have remarkable results.”

Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t approved its use in newborns, the drug can be used in intensive care settings. When used in preemies, it reduces pulmonary vascular resistance, relaxing the lungs and keeping the heart from having to work as hard. 

“Caring for babies born prematurely is different than caring for adults or older children. We adapt what has been learned in adults and pediatrics for our very special, unique neonates,” Shepherd said. “These babies’ lives depend on medication that is reliable and can help lead them into a healthy childhood.”

The hospital treats more than 4,400 preemies every year.

You can read the full news release by Nationwide Children’s Hospital here: 
http://newswise.com/articles/caffeine-to-viagra-the-medications-saving-preemies-may-surprise-you2

Monster’s products seem to get a lot of bad publicity. With their high amount of sugar, combined with caffeine, the Monster energy drink, according to some customer advocates, pose a high risk to members of the public. 

Let’s see… is this negative publicity really justified?

Monster’s drinks were introduced by Hansen Natural Corp. in April 2002. Hansen Natural? What’s natural about formulated and mass-produced drinks in aluminum cans?


Never mind… the energy drink has been very popular for its black can and its green M logo. It is a huge market share holder in the energy drink sector, the fastest growing segment at the moment. Hansen is taking advantage of this trend by sponsoring extreme sports such as skateboarding, snowboarding, BMX and motorcross, like Red Bull. They certainly have learned from the master!

Their ingredients include carbonated water, glucose, sucrose, natural flavors, sodium citrate, added color, caffeine, panax ginseng root extract, benzoic acid, sorbic acid, inositol and guarana seed extract, among other things. They have been posited as the main cause why these, and energy drinks in general, are harmful for our health. 

Now, for sure there are people who died after consuming the energy drink. In response, the FDA is carrying out research on multiple stories about the energy drink that have resulted in the deaths of certain persons. 

So… how harmful are the suspected ingredients? Take a look:

Sugar

The sugar content in each drink is about 5-6 teaspoons, making the drink a no-no for diabetics or anyone sensitive to sugar. More importantly, refined sugars and carbohydrates unhealthy over 3-4 teaspoons (1/2 oz) a day for anybody.

Caffeine

A 16 oz can contains about 160 mg of caffeine. That is about on a and a half times of the caffeine in one cup of coffee and twice as much as is recommended for older children and teenagers. 


Other ingredients

Besides the ginseng root and guarana seed extracts, none of them contribute to a healthy diet. However, the amount of these extract is much less than required to be effective - essentially they are added for marketing, not health reasons

On the other hand… why bother with, say, “semi-healthy” energy drinks, like Monster, when you can have the real thing with CaffeinAll?

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health discovered six “coffee genes” after reviewing 28 previous studies on the genetic makeup of more than 120,000 coffee drinkers. They compared each person’s genetics to how much coffee they said they regularly drank each day.

“Out of 2.5 million variants in the genome, we found a handful that were strongly linked to coffee consumption. Two other genes appear linked to the kick that a person receives from caffeine. These genes are tied to the brain’s pleasure centers and likely influence the amount of stimulation or enjoyment that caffeine provides,” Marilyn Cornelis says in the article.

Two of the genes are related to the way a person’s body metabolizes caffeine, the study reports. This indicates that the genes might affect the brain process that senses blood glucose levels, which may, in turn, influence a person’s response to caffeine.

The final two genes “were really unexpected,” Cornelis says. Those genes previously have been linked to metabolism of fats and sugars, and they had not been suspected as influencing the body’s response to coffee.

“Individuals who consume larger quantities of coffee may metabolize caffeine more quickly than others, and this could be due to their genetic makeup,” according to Poole, another researcher who participated in the study. He warns that while these specific genes respond to caffeine, there likely are other factors that influence a person’s love of coffee.

“It would not be correct to conclude that coffee consumption is driven solely by genetic responses to caffeine. There are many bioactive compounds in coffee that could determine coffee consumption,” she says. 

The article was published in the Molecular Psychiatry journal, 10/7/2014.