It is given to guests at weddings, funerals, and naming ceremonies, and it is used in medicine. Ceremonial breaking of the kola nut is important for making people feel welcome in a village or gathering. The kola nut has some reported benefits for health. Here we explore those benefits and other information about this tropical nut. The health benefits of kola nut align with those of coffee. Although extensive studies have not been conducted, early research indicates that certain compounds found in the kola nut may decrease the risk of prostate cancer.
The research is still being debated, but it is thought that the phytoestrogens in kola nuts may kill cancer cells and stop tumors from growing. The kola nut may be helpful for people who have migraine headaches.
Migraines often affect the blood vessels in the head and caffeine has been used for headache pain. The theobromine and caffeine contained in the kola nut may dilate or widen blood vessels in the brain, which might decrease migraine pain. Although it may not be recommended as a treatment for respiratory conditions, kola nuts might be useful for people with certain breathing problems, such as asthma. The caffeine in kola nuts may act as a bronchodilator, which means it opens the airways to make breathing easier.
In certain African countries, the kola nut is chewed during ceremonies and rituals. It is also used to sweeten breath. Another application of the kola nut in the western world is as a flavoring agent for sodas. The kola nut is also used as an additive in energy drinks and performance enhancers.
In some cases, it is used in the form of an extract or powder. The nut is boiled to extract the kola or it can be ground into a powder. In certain parts of the world, the nut is used as a type of alternative medicine. In West Africa, the kola nut's native habitat, people have long chewed them as stimulants. That's because the nuts contain caffeine and theobromine, substances that also occur naturally tea, coffee, and chocolate. They also have sugar and kolanin, said to be a heart stimulant.
Traders used to carry kola nuts hundreds of miles because of their enormous value Credit: iStock. There's plenty of pick-me-up in them, and their cultivation in West Africa is hundreds and hundreds of years old. Historian Paul Lovejoy relates that for many years the leafy, spreading trees were planted on graves and as part of puberty rituals.
Even though the nuts, which need to stay moist, can be somewhat delicate to transport, traders carried them hundreds of miles throughout the forests and savannas. Their value can be understood by the company they kept: In , the ruler of the Songhai Empire in the western Sahel sent to Timbuktu on the occasion of a mosque's construction a sumptuous gift of gold, cowrie shells — and kola nuts. Europeans did not know of them until the s, when Portuguese ships arrived on the coast of what is now Sierra Leone, Lovejoy relates.
And while the Portuguese took part in the trade, ferrying nuts down the coast along with other goods, by , when English explorer Richard Jobson made his way up the Gambia, the nuts were still peculiar to his eyes.
Of course, this ignorance did not last. By the late 19th Century, kola nuts were being shipped by the tonne to Europe and the United States. While kola nut may have health benefits, they have yet to be scientifically researched and proven. Most of the benefits of kola nut are connected to its high caffeine content, which increases energy and reduces hunger.
Americans have a long history of consuming kola-containing sodas without any adverse health effects. The side effects of kola nut and kola nut extract parallel the effects of a comparable dose of caffeine. Caffeine has many effects on the body, including:. Most people can safely tolerate about milligrams of caffeine per day. But caffeine can affect some people differently than others. Energy drinks are not required to list the caffeine content of herbal ingredients, so an energy drink with kola nut extract may have much more caffeine than the label indicates.
Too much caffeine can produce unwanted side effects, such as:. Too much caffeine can cause health problems and is particularly dangerous when combined with alcohol. Kola nut and kola nut extract are generally considered safe by the FDA and other governing bodies around the world. Kola has been used as a food additive in the United States since the late s and has caused little problems. But, be mindful of the caffeine content of kola supplements and kola-containing energy drinks.
Too much caffeine can be dangerous and lead to unpleasant side effects. Discover a list of foods that can give you energy and help you beat fatigue. The recommended amount of caffeine is usually mg per day for healthy adults. Caffeine overdose may occur if you ingest more than this amount. A An average cup of coffee contains 95 mg of caffeine, but some types contain over mg. This article lists the caffeine content in different coffee…. If you're wondering about energy-boosting foods, you're not alone.
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