By Brandon Maher,Tripp Middle School

Kids drink a lot of soda today. On average some drink three cans a day, and three-fourths of all kids have regular caffeine in their diet. Since 1977, the consumption by children has increased tenfold. The preferences of our grandparents was simple coffee and tea; the new generation goes for coffee and cola, and it’s kids who drink most of the soda.

In recent studies, caffeine has shown the ability to lower the risk of gall bladder disease, Parkinson’s Symptoms, Type two diabetes, and some cancers. I never knew that, but I found out that for this to work you have to only consume a safe level of 200 mg a day.

As a general rule it is safe to consume 200 milligrams a day. That is equivalent to four cans of cola, two cups of coffee, or three cups of tea. While this is a safe level, most people consume way more than that and it is hurting their health.

What I learned was this really doesn’t mean much, because you can live without caffeine I get up at four in the morning, go to work, come home, take a 30 minute nap, charge full into school, then go for three sports a year, and other extracurricular activities. All that you really need is that 8 to 9 hours of sleep a night and you are fine. And while four cans of soda is a safe level in caffeine, sugar is what will hurt you. The sugar in the soda can do more damage than the caffeine could help.

How this article could help people in Maine is by really raising awareness of the potential good and bad points of caffeine. If some people went through life not knowing this, they could dramatically hurt their chances of living a long healthy life.

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