Scientist Develops Caffeinated Baked Goods

Zephyros writes "The AP is reporting on a scientist who has found a way to get caffeine into donuts, bagels, and other baked goods without the bitter flavor. Each piece has as much caffeine as two cups of coffee. No word on when or where they will be available, but for those of us that just don't get the same kick from the morning cuppa that we used to, this may be another tasty delivery vector to look forward to for that jump-start."

Insubstantial Article

[x_MeRLiN_x]

Whole article:

DURHAM. N.C. (AP) -- That cup of coffee just not getting it done anymore? How about a Buzz Donut or a Buzzed Bagel? That's what Doctor Robert Bohannon, a Durham, North Carolina, molecular scientist, has come up with. Bohannon says he's developed a way to add caffeine to baked goods, without the bitter taste of caffeine. Each piece of pastry is the equivalent of about two cups of coffee.

While the product is not on the market yet, Bohannon has approached some heavyweight companies, including Krispy Kreme, Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks about carrying it.

Not much of an article.. No substantial information regarding caffeine content. I was looking forward to comparing this to Sky Rockets [thinkgeek.com] and Bawlz [thinkgeek.com]. :(

Great...

[Tadrith]

Given how many products are suddenly having caffeine added to them, I wonder how long it will take before somebody does something really stupid with all of these products, and deliberately or inadvertently manages to harm themself or someone else. It doesn't take all THAT much caffeine to cause some pretty nasty side effects, especially if you don't drink it all that often.

Obesity crisis? What obesity crisis?

[suckmysav]

Just what the world needs.

As if sugar-soaked foods like donuts and those goddawful "Twinkies" aren't bad enough, some moronic scientist has to discover another addiction vector to get weak willed and stupid plebians hooked on their diabetes and heart disease industry recruitment products.

How come /. doesn't have an "Only in America" tag?

Time for a new science icon

[rmpotter]

It's time Slashdot introduced a new icon for stooopid bad science. Maybe Einstein with wearing a dunce cap? Or Homer Simpson wearing lab coat?

Re:Still no cure for cancer

[CosmeticLobotamy]

There's another article on this somewhere that says caffeine isn't soluble and tastes bad, and the work went into encapsulating it.

Thanks...just what I needed....

[queenb**ch]

It's just something else to keep me awake and make my butt bigger....

Now, if they can do it in a calorie-free version, I'll be impressed.

Re:One thing is for sure...

[TubeSteak]

Army tests show that 200mg every 2 hours (for up to 8 hours) is the optimal amount to keep soldiers alert.

http://www.armytimes.com/offduty/health/ONLINE.HEA LTH.CAFFEINEGUM/ [armytimes.com]

So well metered amounts of caffeinated products really would be a boon to police doing the graveyard shift.

Re:Great...

[Kattspya]

Not really. You would need about ten of these donuts (if each donut contains 200mg of caffeine) to experience some nasty side effects. When I was young I popped twenty or so 100mg caffeine pills in about an hour. I was jittery and sweaty for about five hours then I got a severe stomach ache, diarrhea and fell asleep at about seven PM.

You would have to try really really hard to do yourself in with this.

Re:Great...

[Anonymous Coward]

I take over 1g of caffeine pretty much regularly. I'm the type of total caffeine addict -- I wake up, and have a glass of diet cola before I do *anything*, in a single shot. Then I make myself coffee -- Drip, double espressos, lattes, you name it. I *LOVE* coffee! I got this gigantic mug (I might as well just pour milk right directly in the pot really) for "normal" coffee, got my cup warmer on the desk, got over 2000$ of coffee stuff (espresso machine, nice burr grinder, tampers, drip machine, Bodum french press, Ibrik for Turkish coffee, lots of nice cups, etc) an and all that. I have over a dozen different types of coffee. I've roasted coffee before. My favorite shopping destination is coffee shops. I love to have a nice cup of coffee to relax before going to bed (yes, seriously). I'm always very thirsty throughout the day, and somehow only diet cola seems to quench that thirst (never understood why) - it's like I'd drink a hundred gallons of anything else and I'd still feel thirsty. I don't think I ever have less than two 2L bottles/day. Not counting anything else like chocolate or such I might eat (and I love 70% chocolate!). I even take caffeine pills sometimes (ECA stacks - totally dig it!)

I guess by now you've figured out I'm very much into caffeine (and a bit of a coffee geek/lover). I'm almost certain I hit 2g some days (most days?), and I never had problems caused by it. I never have any evident side effects (no headaches, no shaking, no problems sleeping or anything like that). I'm sure it's TOTALLY unhealthy though (gotta die of something, right?) Doubt it's much worse than smoking, eating at McDonalds or such all the time though.

Re:Why is caffeine not a drug in America?

[ciggieposeur]

I gradually came off caffeine last year after having had sodas, coffee, espresso, and tea off and on for 14 years. Two days after switching from small caffeinated sodas to small decaf sodas, the caffeine withdrawal headache began.

The headache was 5 days long and required 800 mg ibuprofen (4 Advil) + 440 mg naproxen sodium (2 Aleve) every 3-6 hours to relieve the pain. I could not sleep without painkillers, I could not think or go into work without painkillers. On the last day I actually went to a doctor seeking a better painkiller because I was down to 3-hour cycles on the Advil+Aleve and was worried about screwing my kidneys and liver. Fortunately that day the pain finally eased off and over the next three days the "memory" of the headache faded. However, I still felt sluggish and "off" for about eight weeks.

I discovered some interesting things during this time. First, some argue that no good studies about caffeine addiction have been produced in the Western world because over 90% of the population is regularly exposed to caffeine and a fully-caffeine-free control group cannot be assembled. Second, caffeine crosses through the placenta easily so most newborns are already exposed. Finally, one class of migraine headaches might be entirely explained as caffeine withdrawal, especially since caffeine is a major component of migraine treatment. I won't go so far as to say that all things non-"natural" are evil, but caffeine is definitely an insidious influence in American society. We don't need it like electricity, it provides zero value if taken daily, yet if most people went a few days without it they would be surprised at the intensity of the withdrawal effects.

Since getting off caffeine, I have noticed that I sleep much deeper and in general learn and retain information better, but my thinking speed is sometimes noticeably slower. I've had caffeine a few times to speed up when I need it, but I also taste the caffeine now clearly in sodas.

For me, I have to be careful with caffeine. I do NOT want that five-day migraine again, and the benefits are only rarely needed. My brother had a similar experience getting off, and my mother still cannot get off caffeine after using it for close to thirty years.