**5. Conclusion**

Caffeine is a compound that is legal, easy to obtain for the general society, socially acceptable to consume, found in many foods in our daily diet, and generally known for its stimulant properties. Caffeine, whose consumption has increased especially due to the changes in dietary habits in recent years, is a compound that still remains popular today. In this sense, both nutritional caffeine intake and the correlation between caffeine and health have been studied from many different angles. The effects of caffeine consumption on health are still a matter of debate. Although caffeine is generally considered safe except for excessive use in adults, studies on this subject are still insufficient for children and adolescents.

Individuals' daily caffeine intake varies depending on many factors such as the source of caffeine, age of the individual, breed, dietary habits and culture. In general, it can be said that the level of caffeine intake increases in proportion to age, and males consume more caffeine than females. It is understood that coffee and tea in adults and tea, soft and energy drinks in children and adolescents play an important role in caffeine intake.

In the light of the data given in **Table 2** and considering the changes in the consumption patterns regarding foods in recent years, it can be easily said that individuals' daily caffeine consumption is much more than 400 mg/day which is usually considered to be safe. But it should be noted that caffeine intolerance can vary from person to person. Even very small amounts of caffeine can negatively

#### *The Importance of Tea in the Correlation between Caffeine and Health DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93287*

affect pregnant women, children, the elderly and individuals who are caffeine intolerant. This is why caffeine intake of these individuals should be limited. For this purpose, popularizing caffeine-reduced products on the market can be considered as a strategy for limiting caffeine intake through nutrition. The literature review reveals that tea ranks second in caffeine intake in adults, children and adolescents. Therefore, tea plays a significant role in caffeine intake. But tea has significant differences distinguishing it from coffee, soft drinks and energy drinks that are other sources of caffeine.

Coffee is a drink that is generally perceived as healthy. However, it is also rich in acrylamide that was found out to be contained in food in 2002 and identified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a possible carcinogen for humans. Carbonated soft drinks and chocolate foods contain many additives in addition to high levels of sugar. Many researchers and institutions approach energy drinks with suspicion due to very high caffeine content. Early acquaintance of individuals with carbonated soft drinks and energy drinks also increases the likelihood of addiction. In general, it can be said that the dietary quality of individuals who consume this type of drink frequently decreases.

Tea is a plant rich in phenolic compounds, especially catechins, and has many benefits on human health due to its antioxidant, antibacterial, anticarcinogen, antimutagenic, and antiallergic effects. Therefore, for conscious consumers, tea is positively different from other foods and drinks due to caffeine and phenolic compounds and is thought to do more good than harm to people. Green tea stands out among tea types with the lowest content of caffeine and high phenolic content.
