Caffeine is naturally available in tea, coffee, guarana, cocoa, and yerba mate. However, it’s also often included in energy drinks, sodas, as well as weight-loss supplements. Generally, most of you take some caffeinated drinks. In fact, every year, people consume millions of tonnes of coffee and energy drinks. If you check the beverage section at your local supermarket, you’ll realize that there’s a rise in the number of energy drinks.
The Content of Caffeine in Popular Drinks
Coffee – the amount of caffeine in brewed coffee varies between 70 and 140mg for every cup (8 oz) depending on the bean and brew.
Espresso – it contains 64 mg for every 1 oz
Black tea – 50 milligram for every cup based on variety and steep time
Decaf coffee – 12 to 15 mg for every cup
Green tea – 35 -50 mg for every cup depending on the variety and sleep time
Coke soda – 36 milligrams for every 12 oz can
Diet coke – 46 milligrams for every 12 oz can
Pepsi soda – 39 milligrams for every 12 oz can
Mountain dew – 54 milligrams for every 12 oz can
Coke zero – 36 milligrams for every 12 oz can
Monster energy – 145 milligrams for every 12 oz can
Red bull – 76 milligrams for every 12 oz can
What Amount of Caffeine is Excess?
The safety of caffeine is relative, and it depends on the dose as well as your well-being. While some individuals do not show any adverse symptoms from several cups of coffee every day, others cannot consume a single cup of coffee without experiencing irregular high spikes in blood pressure, nervousness, irritability, or even headaches.
Remarkably, the same symptoms have been recorded by the individuals undergoing caffeine withdrawal, besides fatigue, drowsiness, yawning, impaired concentration, decreased motivation to work, flu-like symptoms, muscle stiffness, and impaired cognitive performance. Here, we have categorised the caffeine safety recommendations. However, it is essential to note that personal mileage may differ since they’re just guidelines.
Healthy Adults
The EFSA (European Food Safety Agency), Health Canada, and NAS (the US National Academies of Science) have settled that healthy adults need to limit their caffeine intake to a maximum of 400 milligrams per day to avoid any negative symptoms. While some people can consume more than 400mg, it is essential to restrict yourself to this intake.
Breastfeeding or Pregnant Women
A study by the experts shows that pregnant or breastfeeding women need to restrict their caffeine intake to a maximum of 200 mg per day. However, some reviews show that these women may extend this limit to 300 mg. However, you may need to keep it as low as possible to avoid an increase in nausea or even miscarriage.
Adolescents and Children
EFSA suggests that young ones aged between 4 and 6 years need to limit their caffeine intake to 45 mg per day, 7 to 9 years should limit theirs to 62.5 mg per day, while those aged between 10 and 12 years should limit theirs to 85 mg per day. However, the debate regarding the caffeine intake that these young ones is yet from being over. For instance, there is a debate that children should not be indulged in taking energy drinks since it contains exceptionally high levels of caffeine.
Individuals with Cardiovascular Health Issues
It is proven that caffeine increases blood pressure for about 3 to 4 hours. However, as a healthy adult, the intake of up to 400 gm of caffeine may not increase the blood pressure. However, people suffering from blood pressure and cardiovascular-related conditions may experience some side effects. Thus, the intake of caffeine in this group of individuals needs to be moderate.
Side Effects of Caffeine
Common side effects of excessive caffeine consumption include:
- Headache
- Anxiety
- Fatigue
- Irritability
- Reduced concentration
- Tremors
- Digestive problems
- Insomnia
- High blood pressure
Final remarks
Light to moderate intake of caffeine seems to offer incredible health benefits in many individuals. Extreme intake, on the other hand, may result in side effects that affect daily living and may even lead to severe health conditions. While the response to caffeine varies from one person to the other, the impacts of high consumption show that an increased intake isn’t the best.
