Is There Such Thing as Too Much Coffee?
Coffee is known as the world’s most common energy boost. Now a new study suggests there should be a limit on your daily coffee intake.
Coffee provides an energetic lift for the most tiring parts of the day. It does more than just a cozy feeling. The caffeine physically warms our bodies by entering our blood streams, causing the blood to flow throughout the body. The flow gives off a warm fuzzy sensation, essentially putting us in better moods.
In addition, previous studies have found that coffee consumption “may help prevent several chronic diseases, including Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Parkinson’s disease and liver disease.” In addition, there is little to no evidence that drinking moderate amounts of coffee (three to five cups a day) poses any health risk.
Now, a new study from the University of South Australia suggests there is a point where drinking coffee might be a health risk for you. Are you not ready to give up your cup of coffee just yet?
We feel energized after drinking coffee because of the caffeine in a typical cup of joe. Caffeine is a type of stimulant drug, which speeds up the messages traveling between the brain and body. Caffeine affects the nervous system, heart, and muscles. A cup of coffee allows us to feel alive and awake again exactly when we need it the most.
Coffee makes you feel better? You are not a lone. When we say that a cup of coffee makes us feel warm inside, we aren’t necessarily referring to the temperature of the coffee, the same can be said whether or not the coffee is hot or cold. What we mean by this is that the caffeine that has now entered our blood streams makes us feel warm since the blood begins to flow more rapidly throughout the body. The rapidity of blood flow causes us to feel a sensation of warmth.
Coffee is also filled with antioxidants that you would usually find in a typical bowl of fruit or vegetables. The type of antioxidants that coffee has are hydrocinnamic acids, which neutralize and prevent stress, and polyphenols, which can help preventing type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.
WHAT IS CONSIDERED AS TOO MUCH COFFEE?
If you’re the type of person that strives on multiple cups of coffee to get through the day, you might want to rethink your methods. Too much coffee can pose potential health problems.
"Coffee is the most commonly consumed stimulant in the world - it wakes us up, boosts our energy and helps us focus - but people are always asking 'How much caffeine is too much?'" says professor Elina Hypponen from the University of South Australia.
Researchers at the university analyzed the health records and the self-reported coffee consumption of 347,077 people between the ages of 37 and 73 in the U.K. Biobank. UK Biobank is a national and international health resource open to all bona fide health researchers. It is following the health and well-being of 500,000 volunteer participants and provides health information, which does not identify them, to approved researchers in the UK and overseas.
The results of the study shows that people who drink one to two cups of caffeinated coffee a day had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease than people who drank decaf or no coffee at all. However, when the coffee consumption increased beyond these levels the results were different. For individuals who consumed six or more cups of caffeinated coffee a day, the risk of cardiovascular disease increased by 22 percent.
"An estimated three billion cups of coffee are enjoyed every day around the world," adds Prof Hypponen."Knowing the limits of what's good for you and what's not is imperative. As with many things, it's all about moderation; overindulge and your health will pay for it."
This research analyzed people between the ages of 37 and 73, but how much coffee is too much for a teenager? For the developing young brain, caffeine might pose a problem as it has an effect on the developmental process. According to a 2014 study in the journal Pediatrics, approximately 73 percent of children consume caffeine on a given day. Most of this caffeine comes from caffeinated sodas or energy drinks. In addition, coffee and coffee-based drinks are also an increasingly prevalent source of caffeine in children’s diets.
Major health organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics suggest that children under the age of 12 years should not eat or drink any caffeine-containing foods or drinks. For children older than 12 years, caffeine intake should fall in the range of no more than 85 to 100 milligrams per day. For example, a cup of Waka Coffee has about 70 mg of caffeine in a 8 fl oz cup.
RISKS AND SIDE EFFECTS OF TOO MUCH COFFEE AND CAFFEINE
A typical cup of 8 oz. brewed coffee holds 70-140 mg of caffeine. Too much caffeine can lead to severe risks and side effects that would be best to avoid.
If you are a person who has more than 4 cups of coffee per day than you should consider taking a look at these side effects. Coffee side effects include insomnia, upset stomachs, fast heartbeats, migraines, and even muscle tremors. If you love the taste of coffee, but want to reduce the amount of your consumed caffeine, try decaffeinated coffee options as well.
Reactions to caffeine can differ from person to person based on the sensitivity one has to the substance. For sensitive people, even small amounts of caffeine (one or two cups) can trigger these effects as well. Additional factors include, body mass and anxiety disorders.
If you are currently taking any medications, you should consult with your doctor if any of them are affected by the intake of caffeine. Some medications are prone to cause high blood pressure, nausea, and heart palpitations.
DRINKS WITH NOT AS MUCH CAFFEINE
If you’re still finding yourself needing this many cups of coffee after trying to cut back, maybe it’s time to give decaf a go. You’ll still be drinking the same cup of coffee but it will have much less caffeine (0 - 7 mg) and have lower effects on your health - the best of both worlds! You can also try a delicious black instant tea that has about half the amount of caffeine per serving.
If you still feel like the lack of caffeine is having an affect on your energy boosts give Waka Instant Coffee a whirl for caffeine instant coffee! Our coffee has only 70 mg of caffeine, which is almost half the amount of a typical brewed cup!
