The Dirty Business Behind Caffeine 

Hi 👋Visit fern.deals/brilliantfern for 20% off of a premium subscription. Start learning new skills today! It's also a great way to support our channel. (ad) Correction: The logo at 11:18 is the logo of the American Bar Association. We meant to show the logo of the American Beverage Association: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/American_Beverage_Logo.png/1920px-American_Beverage_Logo.png

In Poland energy drinks became 18+ with the beginning of this year actually. It’s funny when buying one energy drink at self serve register and having to wait for a staff haha

I’m a coffee drinker and for a few years I started to get into energy drinks really heavily. As of a few months ago I started lowering my consumption because I kept feeling so exhausted all the time and unable to sleep very well (a problem I’ve always kind of had). Nowadays I usually have my one cup of coffee in the morning, or none at all if it’s after noon, and immediately I feel like my sleep is more restful and I have slowly been having a stronger surge of energy throughout the entire day instead of until early afternoon. It’s been legitimately life changing in such a short time. I don’t think I’ll ever give up coffee entirely, I like the flavour a lot, but I’m glad I’m sticking to reducing my consumption of caffeine entirely as I get to being healthier

3:10 The beer taste part was not entirety correct. Beer was also cleaner than water because of the alcohol. No harmful bacteria in beer, hence better chance of survival.

I quite like the measured response you gave here - that caffiene itself isn't nearly as dangerous as the things that companies package with it or use it within, like sugar. I'm a coffee a day guy but used to have 1 or 2 energy drinks a day and although I thought I felt fine when I was doing that, now that I've stopped it's clear that they really mask some of the things your body tries to tell you - I'm less tired now and wake up feeling more refreshed. There is something to be said for the health benefits of caffiene but those are typically in regards to the caffiene itself, and are usually outweighed by the unhealthy shit that companies put with it in other drinks. But yeah great video as always gang!!

Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi sell no-caffeine versions now. They taste identical and I'd recommend anyone who is able to, buys these instead. If I want caffeine I have coffee.

It took me multiple months to slowly reduce the amount of caffeine I drink everyday, after consuming it daily for years. After 3 months of slowly going lower and lower using green and black tea, I finally managed to cut it out. Now I'm so sensitive to I again that a glass of coke is enough to get me through a night. I regret nothing and I honestly can't even say that I'm any less productive, just less stressed.

11:19 The logo you showed of the ABA is the one of the American Bar Association (the bar as the one the lawyers have to pass to practice law), and not the American Beverage Association.

I’ve been binging your vids all week, rewatching them for the second time and having a new upload makes me so happy

This video is very well timed for me. I had been debating quitting coffee, and I know its gonna suck bc my withdrawals are terrible (the reason why I'm quitting). I honestly drink coffee for fun and for the flavour, but it's just not worth it anymore. I hope I can sleep better without it.

Who else came across this video at 2am?

Man I love fern. They make high quality, original content and bring up topics one would hardly htink of. Keep up the good job

Like if you also want the cocaine back in Coca-Cola!

... as I watch drinking an energy drink to feel not depressed.... I.... Might need to find another drink.

I am just coming out of a coffee addiction and would like to comment on this. Caffeine can be good for you, in small amounts and especially not regularly! I drank energys for years, not because I liked them but because they made me happy, they gave me the drive I needed in my everyday life. But i always had to increase this to be happy until my body couldn't take it anymore. i passed out 3 times, had extreme mood swings, outbreaks of sweating, concentration problems and sleepless nights. this is not ideal in a working environment. I went cold turkey for 2 months and I'm fine. Sometimes in "bad" times the urge for energy is still there, but I resist it. I think it's a very good video, keep up the good work. (Sorry for my bad english)

You guys do fantastic videos. Really would like to see more like the hidden bunker, fortress train, etc. Thank you - good stuff!

This was a great video! I’ve got a habit of drinking one to a few cups coffee as a wake up “ritual” in the morning at the start of work on weekdays, or days when I know I’d be busy or haven’t gotten enough sleep. And I get milk tea now and then since it’s a nice treat. *But* I’m always keeping the risks of caffeine in my mind because I know too much could really hurt something in my gut if not careful. And of course, I don’t indulge in any caffeine way too close to bedtime. (And I also don’t touch any energy drinks; not my thing personally and they just seem like too extreme of a caffeine shot.)

Great video, as always. Thank you!

I love coffee but i started having long-term fatigue issues as well. Now i don't drink coffee any later than 2pm so that most of my sleep is unaffected by it at night. It made a massive difference as i felt relaxed and comfortable going into a deep healthy sleep each night knowing i could still enjoy my coffee boost in the morning. Caffeine is fine in moderation as long as you know when it's okay to have it, similar to alcohol. Oh and i only ever have an energy drink if i'm on a long journey and need to stay alert for safety

Having watched the German version a few months back and not remembering it quite clearly feels I'm being gaslit by 2BoredGuys :D

0:40 - It's 0450 here in Victoria, Australia and I feel called the hecc out.

I think of caffeine like NOS for an engine,it can give you a hell of a boost,but if overdone it will effectively melt your engine(your heart stops)

Such an interesting video. I can give you my experience with energy drinks. (I'm 18 now). I used to drink a lot of energy drinks when I was 14-16 years old. I drank roughly 2 cans a day, sometimes even more. I couldn't get ANY quality sleep and It was SO BAD FOR ME. Almost everymorning I woke up with a feeling that a truck would have drovwn over me. I was so anxious. I was so nervous. Now. I've quit them mostly. My life is going really great. I don't actually need them. I still drink 2 cans a WEEK but that's okay for me.

I usually drink only two cups of coffee a day, sometimes only one. Some time ago i decided not to drink it for a few days and I actually experienced mild withdrawal symptoms. That made me realise how addictive and powerful this drug really is.

Hey Fern, I am a giant fan of your channel. I just wanted to point out something I noticed. The ABA logo you used is actually the one for the American Bar Association, not the American Beverage Association. As a lawyer, I had to nitpick. Keep up the great work!

Thanks for reminding me why I have a headache. Will watch the rest once I get my afternoon coffee!😁

Very well produced and researched video. Thanks.

Coffee doesn’t give you magic energy it just takes energy you already have and gives it to you immediately but then when you need that energy later you don’t have it, so you need to drink coffee again and again.

I've been caffeine free for 1 month. I have to say I get happier easily, and things used to stress me out isn't that stressful anymore, although the withdrawal stage is really annoying, especially the random anxiety but it easily avoidable if you go fix what causing your anxiety which majority of the population isn't capable of

I'm here since this channel had

I love these videos and ur voice is perfect

I find your video very well made all was really good researched and looked into. 2 things I still want to add as critique: 1. When you put your own opinion inside which is perfectly fine but you should flag it better on the side. The grey box was basically unnoticable to me. Bright or contrasting colours work very good here. 2. This is actually not real critique maybe but a sidenote. You did include the health risks for dangerous teenage caffeine consumption but the actual health risks for adults when they drink over the dose of those for cups or two cans were not mentioned or forgotten if I recall this right. I would've actually really liked to see them mentioned there and was curious about that topic. But like I said. Very good video and I am going to harshly tighten my caffeine consumption and try to be more wary of the effects. Thank you

It is unbelievable what caffeine does with our health. There should be not advertising for products like coke or energy drinks. Children must be protected by banning especially advertising on social media. In addition the government should also ban advertising on public websites in order to avoid consuming caffeine drinks.

Now I want a pepsi.

This video makes me want to make a coffee so bad ! 😅 I have quit caffeine for a month recently which in return, when I drank a cup of coffee i had a massive euphoric reaction ❤

Got an ad for Coffee at the end of the video. Nice! 😅

I've been weaning off of caffeine and swapping to decaf has made a huge difference. I still get to drink coffee or tea when I crave it, but I don't have nearly as many of the problems any more. I have one cup of normal coffee when I get up, and will be cutting it slowly with decaf over time to avoid the worst of withdrawals.

This was a well documented video, fantastic.

I feel blessed for having this channel in my life

Had wise parents , who refused to allow me to drink coke - no pepsi etc then , but coffee & tea were about , and those were sugared up initialy , with a gradual cut back on sugar & tea , but an increse recently in coffee , smelall teaspoons of instant , 1 only per mug , with cream or a half - half blend of dairy . No other caffine is consumed , and i also watch pharmacutical prescriptions side effects - sme of which are very caffine like , which i dont like , having tried no doze , once , never again .

In short: caffeine is okay... *in moderation.* Don't go downing it like water, and especially not within 6-7 hours of sleep.

As a person who drinks 5 cups of coffee a day.I see this as an absolute win

I used to be a daily coffee drinker up until the past month. My energy levels are now more consistent throughout the day thanks to me no longer being dependent on caffeine.

One thing both my parents told me when I started drinking coffee is that I’m borrowing energy from the next day. That 12:20 really is a good way of showing it. I type with my coffee next to me 👀 one thing I notice with coffee, when I stop drinking it particularly, is the polyphenols that the gut bacteria eat are subtly not producing what ever nutrients they normally do and I feel better when they are. Like when having switched to tea or energy drinks in the past and switching back to coffee it was like taking a mood stabilizer as well as a stimulant 🤷 what ever those polyphenol eating gut bacteria are producing is subtle but very nice. Your guts like eating strongly colored foods, I think coffee being black is ironically the best 😂

I've always thought of starting to drink coffee because everyone else in our office does. However, the more I think about it I think I'd be better off by just continuing to drink tea which I can recommend a lot.

very well made video, loved it.

New vid and you know its gonna be a blast watching it

I wish there was more info on caffeine on RU-vid but this is really the best summary I've seen. Recently went 1.5 years with no caffeine after being a really heavy user of it and the benefits are easy to see. If you can do it in moderation (only a few days a week) it's great. But even one cup a day everyday will mean you get withdrawal effects when you eventually go without it for a day

Great video! Can you talk about alcohol next?

here in canada. Its 14+ for energy drinks. ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF CANADIAN RULES THAT ARE GOOD

The ad before the Video: café ad haha

sugarfree energy drinks are not that bad actually if you don't drink more than ~150mg caffeine a day (100-300 depending on person)

Wait until he hears about pre-workout

I’m in my early twenties and have sometimes been on the verge of beginning a lifelong caffeine addiction. Thankfully in the past couple of years I’ve got my nutrition and exercise in order to the point where my energy levels are so good that it would be dumb to start having caffeine.

My dad started me on coffee before I could remember, if I had to estimate about 6-8 years old. He'd put creamer in it since I didn't like the taste. (I think his parents raised him on it early so he insisted on the same for me.) I still drink it all these years later, turning 22 in April. Now I drink mine black and he's a big fan of creamer.

I was addicted to caffeine (mostly in forms of daily cups of coffee / espresso) from the ages of 18-21 during university. I still love the taste and aroma of coffee, but was luckily able to ease off of it and feel a lot better overall in daily life.

Having watched both my parents consume caffeinated beverages daily growing up, and being aware of both the benefits and dangers of caffeine (and added sugar), my relationship with caffeine is a careful one. I never had a full caffeinated beverage until I hit adulthood, and the first time I tried an energy drink I asked around for advice on how to do so safely. A bit overly cautious, perhaps, but I'm glad I did. Caffeine affects everyone differently, as you said, and everyone has their own limits. I've found I can only consume up to 200 mg before energy drinks teeter into anxiety juice territory and my heart starts doing some funky things it probably really shouldn't. However, at 200 mg or below it can be a help, used responsibly. I'm neurodivergent (primarily ADHD-C), which also is a totally different thing for everyone, and for me caffeine sometimes assists me with my more-lacking-than-average concentration abilities. That said, I look for energy drinks with very low sugar contents or natural sweeteners, or just outright opt for a cup or two of black tea with a little honey. And when I do consume energy drinks, I try to give myself at least a day's worth of a break before having another one, if not going multiple days without an energy drink to avoid developing severe withdrawal symptoms. Sometimes I'll even split an energy drink with a friend for a slightly lower caffeine intake. And no caffeine for me at all after five in the afternoon. Heck, I try to avoid caffeine anytime in the afternoon if I can. Thank you Fern for another delightful and well-put-together presentation. And to all of you out there facing your own journeys with caffeine, be it consumption or dropping it altogether, I wish you the best of luck and good health.

I once thought coffee is a doping mechanism, meaning coffee = staying awake at night, but then I fell asleep 5 to 10 minutes later after consuming caffein related drinks, rendering caffein to be useless or doesn't work on me. So does that mean my genetics are weird lol.

I've heard in research up to 400mg is okay per day but that seems high to me. I'd say no more than 2-300 & no later than 1-2pm. I have stomach issues & it does upset that but I do need it for my workout so I stick to 100mg upon waking & work out in the morning & I don't have come down or sleeplessness because that is a pretty low dose used in AM.

It's really not that great for you. But it should be used properly when used. I.E 1.5 to 2 hours after waking up (after a proper nights sleep)

Actually i got anxiety disorder because of it

Very well made video. Informative

I never ever comment on videos or anything. But damn you guys are so awesome at what you are doing. Thx for the amazing content you give us!

Caffeine made me nervous so much i was slightly shaking all the time but i was drinking up to 5 coffees a day. Now im back to 0-1 a day

I dont view myself as a caffeine addict. I sometimes drink caffeine everyday, other times i got full days without it with 0 difference

I used to be very addicted to caffein, if i didn't get my coffee in the morning i was guaranteed to get a headache shortly after lunch. When my wisdom teeth got removed i saw the perfect opportunity to get "clean" because my dentist told me not to consume any and also i was on ibuprofen the whole day anyways. Now i'm not consuming caffein during the week and i also don't feel any need to.

Amazing video, well done man

I went through a phase where I drank a cup of Earl Grey tea every morning, then one day I felt like I needed that cup to survive, so I decided to stop with the morning tea my next day off work, I basically just watched TV that whole day only drinking orange juice and water, having a few beers after dinner, the next day I woke up feeling fine. Every once in a while I'll drink a cup of green tea but that's about it as far as caffeine for me, I still like beer and I feel I get better sleep and wake up with more energy if I have a few drinks before bed (but not too many lol) than if I don't have any drinks at all.

"Naturally" medium high caffeinated drinks like coffee or green/black tea should only be consumed by people age 12 and over. Artificial or fortified drinks with more than 120% the amount of caffeine of strong coffee per volume as well as caffeine pills should be strictly 18+ like hard liquor.

Found out why that topic and intro felt so familisr. I've seen it already at Simpli last year

Amazing video as always

The only reason I can get up before 7 is caffeine. I don't like coffee, but it gets me awake enough to get ready for school. Nothing is going to change here on that. But the peddling of energy drinks to kids worries me.

Me watching this video while drinking coffee☕🪨

If it were not to lobbying, drinks/substances with caffeine would be in the addictive alcohols/drugs category

I drink like 3 liters of water a day and 1 energy drink and 1 coffee a day for years and I’m totally fine. I think drinking too much sugar is way worse. Drinking 1 liter of coke (100g sugar) is worse than 1 energy drink(40g sugar) regardless of the caffeine

so i've never drank coffee so yay!....but i do drink pepsi/rc cola so....(at least i mostly drink water and only sometimes cola for more flavor)

I got a question, is water poisonous.

Was not expecting this video to start in my hometown lmao

This should open a wider discussion about the role of psychoactive compounds in our society. It’s honestly fascinating how caffeine and ethanol (as well as nicotine for that matter) are not only legal, but fully integrated into our lives while other much safer substances are entirely sidelined. Can you imagine how far ahead in science we would be if LSD wasn’t haphazardly scheduled and research was allowed to continue?

I just don't get why so many people drink so much sugar. A good coffee is very delicious with just milk and I really don't like how most energydrinks taste at all. For when you are thirsty water is just the best. One or two cups of coffee a day is no problem if you don't drink them to late.

caffeine isn't nearly as bad for you as most of the things people do on a daily basis. i drink a lot of coffee in the morning but i know its much healthier than consistently drinking any kind of soda caffeine or sugar free. i don't know why people think replacing caffeine and sugar which a bunch of different chemicals is healthier.

I’ve been a coffee drinker for nearly all my adult life and have generally never noticed any side effects - except with one kind of coffee. Most of the time I can easily fall asleep under the right conditions even after consuming a cup of coffee. Often I’ll start to fall into a nap after eating lunch and having a cup of coffee. The warmth of the drink overcomes the caffeine, and eases me into a cozy sleep. But whenever I have a Keurig cup of coffee (8 oz store brand medium roast) my skin flushes, I begin to sweat and itch, and my heart races. Why? What is it about Keurig coffee pods (store brand no less) that creates such a strong reaction in me? I normally drink drip Gevalia medium roast. I add 2 Tbs per 6 cups of water and have a mug or two at a time - daily - with no reaction. Often falling asleep, like I mentioned. But the moment I have a Keurig cup at my parents house (multiple times a week) I have a very strong reaction. It’s not like I don’t have a tolerance. And it’s not like this is a new thing. I’ve been doing this for years. So what is causing this kind of reaction from Keurig?

Me, having never drank coffee: Pathetic

I have only taken a few cups of coffee my whole life, mostly because I had bad experience the first time I did. So it's been years since my last one but around last week I thought it might be okay to try a small portion. Boy was I wrong 😂 I became anxious, my heart beat went crazy, wasn't helpful that I had a meeting as well in like 10 mins then. I guess that's gonna be the last of it.

Back when I was in High School (early 2000s) they had a whole vending machine with 'Water Joe' caffeinated water. I drank that so often! We also had Monster and RedBull and a massive amount of candy and chocolate at the school store. Crazy...

this video feels like a „Betterhelp“ ad could’ve been integrated

Watching this video while drinking my evening coffee :)

Bro the quality of this video is 100/100🔥🔥

Absolutely love this channel

I'm convicned most people aren't addicted to coffe. Just the routine, it's something to hold, part of a daily routine on the way to work/school/social outings etc. I say that as someone who used to spend £150-£250 a month on coffee/snacks at such shops during my daily routine at university. Yet when home for holidays 1 cup of tea was enough or 0 when travelling abroad for long periods.

I can't feel caffeine anymore.

Prolly bad

Yo thanks dude, I’m 17 and I drink coffee from time to time this really warned me tyvm!!!

Switching to decaf coffee was the best move I ever made, still get a little tiny dose of caffeine from it in the morning but nowhere near the crash later in the day and if I have another cup in the afternoon it doesn't effect my sleep at all. Prob the best sleep I have gotten has been the last 3 months off caffeine and I prob only drank around 1/3 what most people I know drink.

I haven't had a cup of tea, coffee, energy drink or anything of the sort in well over 2 months (I did have them maybe once every week or few weeks in the past) and the reason is because I don't enjoy any of those drinks that contain it enough, so i end up never having caffeine. I've also always been very sensitive to it throughout my life and can only have like 1 cup of tea, anymore and I start to get very anxious.

It's kind of sad. I'm studying to become a doctor and many of my classmates they say they will go through the night studying while having many cups of coffee, one or two cans of energy drinks and one ritalin which is pitiful for me because it's a vicious cycle of always being tired and always needing to avoid being tired.

If Red Bull gives you wings, what does Monster give you? Claws? 🤔 🤣

People frequently ask me how I can get so much done without drinking caffeine, or doing drugs. Seriously. When I tell them they I hate coffee (and alcohol) they look at me like I told them I own a dragon or something. Then they think it’s a religious thing. Nope. I don’t like the taste or effect, and never had a good enough reason to set those aside. Same reason I never smoked. A friend once asked me if I only did things for which I had a good reason. The weird thing is they had a day job, and I’m the freelance artist.

My hightened caffeine consumption started when I started to work. I NEED to be productive for 8h, non-stop churning out translations for my company, so I don't have a choice. I almost got fired, because someone from HR thought I looked like I was sleepy at my desk (didn't even check if I was). If that bloody coffee machine can stop me from suddenly loosing all my income, so be it.

I would say smart planning of caffeine intake is the best solution to combating its side effects. For example if I have an exam in 4 days I would stop consumption until the day of the exam to maximize its effect.