Five Foods That Secretly Contain Caffeine

If you are the parent of a child with attention deficit disorder (ADD) in Foxboro, especially the hyperactive subtype of ADD, you’re probably careful not to give your child foods or drinks that contain caffeine. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, and can sometimes exacerbate hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention in children with predominantly hyperactive ADHD. If you’re familiar with ADD and ADHD medications, this may surprise you. After all, the medicines that treat ADD and ADHD are also stimulants; however, unlike the methylphenidates and amphetamines used in ADHD drugs, caffeine doesn’t target the parts of the brain to have the same counterintuitive effect on hyperactive ADD symptoms.

Of course, you know that coffee, tea, and cola contain a significant amount of caffeine—often in combination with high levels of sugar that further contribute to your child “bouncing off the walls.” However, there are other products on the shelves of Foxboro grocery stores that secretly contain caffeine, although you might not realize that they do. These five foods actually contain caffeine, so you may want to choose other options for your ADD child to keep their energy levels in check. 

#1: Non-Cola Soft Drinks 

Most people in Foxboro are aware that colas like Coca-Cola and Pepsi contain a sizeable amount of caffeine. Not every soft drink contains caffeine; many lemon-lime sodas like Sprite and 7-up, as well as some grape and orange sodas, are caffeine-free. However, many other non-cola soft drinks do contain some amount of caffeine. You may want to avoid these or choose a caffeine-free version or alternative. Some of these sodas include:

·         Sunkist: 41 mg/12 oz

·         Dr. Pepper: 41 mg/12 oz

·         Barq’s Root Beer: 22.5 mg/12 oz

·         Mountain Dew: 54 mg/12 oz

·         Mello Yellow: 52.5 mg/12 oz.

Most soft drinks list the caffeine content on the can or bottle, so it always helps to check before letting your child drink it.  

#2: Chocolate 

Caffeine occurs naturally in cocoa beans, so most chocolate products contain some caffeine. The caffeine content varies from product to product, ranging from 9 or 10 mg in many products to as much as 31 mg in a bar of Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate. Dark chocolates tend to have more caffeine than milk chocolate. Most chocolate purchased in Foxboro doesn’t contain quite enough caffeine to present a real problem for children with ADHD, but you may still want to limit chocolate because of the high sugar content. 

#3: Chocolate or Coffee-Flavored Ice Cream 

Many ice creams that have chocolate, as well as those that are coffee-flavored, actually do contain some amount of caffeine.

#4: Pain Relievers 

You may be surprised that some over-the-counter pain relievers in Foxboro have caffeine in them, especially pain medicines designed for headache and migraine relief. You may associate caffeine with causing headaches rather than curing them, but caffeine can actually help increase the effectiveness of the active ingredients (usually an NSAID) for treating headaches, as well as helping the body absorb the medicine faster. Some over-the-counter pain medicines that have caffeine include:

·         Excedrin Migraine Relief: 61 mg

·         Aspirin-Free Excedrin: 65 mg

·         Bayer Select Maximum Strength Headache Relief: 65.4 mg

·         Goody’s Extra Strength Tablets: 16.25 mg

·         Goody’s Headache Powder: 32.5 mg

·         Midol Menstrual Maximum Strength Caplets: 60 mg 

#5: Energy Mints and Energy Gum 

This one is probably obvious, but watch out for products with “energy” in their name if you’re trying to avoid things that contain caffeine. There are several kinds of mints, gum, and even chocolate candies that have added caffeine. They can be potent, with some containing as much as 50 mg of caffeine in a single breath mint.

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE FOR ADD IN FOXBORO