Caffeine intake and potential effect on health of a segment of northern Canadian indigenous people.

There are strong indications that the caffeine intake of Canadian Northern Indigenous People is very substantial. Tea is the main contributor. Preliminary calculations show that daily ingestion of caffeine among these groups is much higher than ingestion levels known to have adverse medical and behavioral effects. Of particular concern is the interaction of caffeine and carbohydrate metabolism, already known to be under stress due to increases in sugar and carbohydrate intake. Symptoms characteristic of unduly high intake of caffeine are also found to a large extent in hypoglycemia, mercury intoxication, and various nutritional deficiencies. There is a need for a substantial research effort to further delineate the caffeine problem and to develop alternate beverages containing reduced amounts of caffeine.