How Much Coffee Is Too Much?
It’s really nice, this coffee stuff, ain’t it? Warms you up on a cold day, keeps you going when the temperature rises, grinds away the rough edges after a hard night and makes the hours at work seem like minutes. The temptation with coffee is to just keep pounding it down but you might not want to do that.
According to the American Dietetic Association’s Complete Food and Nutrition Guide, which isn’t much of a bedtime read, “for most healthy adults, moderate amounts of caffeine 200 to 300 milligrams a day, or about two cups of coffee poses no physical problem.”
Okay, so two cups is good. But is three cups of coffee too much? In a word – yes.
According to the boffins who study this kind of thing for a living, you should not only keep it to two cups per day, but you should also actively seek to reduce your caffeine consumption in soft drinks and chocolate, and even over-the-counter and prescription medications. In fact, if there are other factors influencing your health, you might want to go even a step further and reduce the caffeine in your caffeine.
If you-
- Have been substituting coffee in place of water and juice in your diet
- Are having trouble falling asleep
- Are pregnant or nursing a child
- Have a medical condition such as high blood pressure, gastritis, or ulcers
It’s time to switch to decaf, or even give coffee a miss altogether for a while.
Look, we’re all big fans of the brewed stuff around here. We send it down like water, but we also go to the gym, eat healthily, and take a few hours each night to just sit and relax. Coffee can get you through the stressful times, but if the stresses aren’t dealt with at their root cause, then you’re only going to be stressed again tomorrow.
Make sure that for every coffee you drink, you drink two full glasses of water, to help your system replenish what the caffeine takes out. For every cup of coffee that you NEED to get through the day, sit at home on the couch for one hour every night and read. Doesn’t matter what you’re reading (magazines, books, the back of a cereal box) the point is, you need to give your body a chance to slow down and relax naturally.
And, on top of that, ditch the sodas and chocolates altogether. Sure, we know you enjoy them, but you also know full well that they’re doing bad things to your insides.
Ultimately, coffee has to be seen as a trade-off. If you want to enjoy a cup of Joe, look after yourself in other areas and you’ll be sucking down the espressos for decades to come.
The National Soft Drink Association resource of caffeine contents.
A 7 oz cup of coffee has the following caffeine (mg) amounts:
Drip 115-175 mg of caffeine Espresso 100 Brewed 80-135 Instant 65-100 Decaf, brewed 3-4 Decaf, instant 2-3 Tea, iced 70 Tea, brewed, imported 60 Tea, brewed, U.S. 40 Tea, instant 30 Mate 25-150
The variability in the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee or tea is relatively large even if prepared by the same person using the same equipment and ingredients day after day.
Caffeine is present in tea leaves and in coffee to the extent of about 4%. Tea also contains two other alkaloids, theobromine and theophylline. These last two relax the smooth muscles where caffeine stimulates the heart and respiratory systems.
The effects of theobromine are, compared to caffeine and theophylline, relatively moderate. However, cocoa contains eight times more theophylline than caffeine. As well, caffeine has been shown to combine with other substances for added potency. Thus the effects of theobromine might be enhanced by the caffeine in chocolate.
Theobromine is highly toxic to dogs and kills many dogs per year via chocolate poisoning. It takes quite a dose to reach fatal levels (more than 200 mg/kg bodyweight) but some dogs have a bad habit of eating out of garbage cans and some owners have a bad habit of feeding dogs candy. A few Oreos won’t hurt a dog, but a pound of chocolate can do considerable damage.
CONTINUED AT How Much Caffeine In A Cup Of Coffee, Tea, Cola or Chocolate Bar
May 31st, 2008 at 2:28 am
Gracias por el art?Âculo. Buen?Âsimo, se lo recomendaré a una amiga m?Âa que le encanta tanto como a mi el café.
September 16th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
espeacially since my divorse, i tend to have between 2 – 4-5 cups of brewed coffee a day, is this too much?….
October 16th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Hello i was just wondering on a question of:
What happens when you drink too much coffee??
and i would just like an easy answer because im doin a project on coffee overload and yea please answer with an easy answer. grazie. Ciao
October 20th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
@Laura,
The simple and fast answer for you is go do your research yourself! You could spend sometime reading this article or other source stop being lazy
November 22nd, 2008 at 8:27 am
Maybe Laura’s lazy because her caffeine intake is too low. She doesn’t have the energy to properly capitalize her I’s much less look up some information on Wikipedia or even *gasp* an online or print journal! Here’s what happens to me when I drink too much coffee: I cry tears of espresso because my head starts to hurt when I’m coming down from the caffeine buzz. Then I lick up my tears, because I need the caffeine. Clearly, I have NOT had too much caffeine at this moment AT ALL.
December 14th, 2008 at 12:12 am
Bah, 2 cups barely wake me up in the morning. It takes at least 3 and usually a 4th before being what I call “awake”. Then of course, I typically switch to sodas until the afternoon, in which case I have a few more cups of coffee. In the evening, it’s usually another soda or two before bed.
I hate it when I have too much blood in my caffeiene system.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:22 am
Two cups is just fine for me, but then you should see the size of the cup I use.
January 26th, 2009 at 3:49 am
My step father drinks about 15-20 cups of coffe a day. He also drinks about 3 liters of water and atleast 1 pepsi. He smokes about a pack and a half of any type of nicotine that comes his way. I don’t think that is healthy. Is there anyone who agrees with me….If so please help me try to convince him that it is not healthy
January 26th, 2009 at 10:50 am
@Mechille
This is only possible if your uncle is some super man (which I doubt).
someone doing what you said above should be dead in less than 1 week.
February 5th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
I’ve been a coffee adict for 27 years. My highest consumtion was two pots, about 10 cups, per day. Now I’m at 2-3 cups. They’re actually mugs, big difference. I know, though, that all attempts at reducing were hard, and all attempts at eliminating coffee from my diet were impossible. I can drink a cup before bed and will sleep soundly.
February 13th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
I normally pour down about 2 liter of coffee per day!
In weekends I tend to end up with making 2 full pots, about 2.5 liter!! I know it’s to much, but I’ve lived on the brewed stuff for about 24 years now!
I have my own cappuccino, nespresso ( pods ), normal brewer and press machines.. where at work days stay on the brewed, and weekends use almost all the others, depending on the time of the day
February 16th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
I’m beginning to think that coffee addiction is hereditary. My 16 year old daughter got hooked after the first cup. She’s been trying to go clean for two weeks and is having trouble even though her “addiction” was short lived. I’ve tried to reduce and have been only mildly successful. The idea of going caffeine free is not considerable.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:56 am
I’m glad i only drink one cup a day…on weekdays!
March 30th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
haha just a government conspiracy. im drinking my 5th cup now and im fine, just scared im gonna lose my memory from a splenda over dose
April 2nd, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Caffeine free for four weeks! For 27 years I was a heavy coffee drinker. It took two weeks to get my system adjusted, headaches finally gone! But now, I sleep well, wake refreshed, have no lull in the morning, afternoon, or evening. I still drink about three cups of decaf a day, surely out of social habit, but I tell you, I don’t miss the caffeine. What a difference!
April 5th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
I usually try to stop before 3p. After that I usually wake up the next day feeling exhausted and that I need more coffee. And remember to drink a lot of water, so you can drink more coffee.
When you are young you don’t think of the problems that might occur later, but if you want to continue enjoying coffee until you are dead, start a limit. Just like anything.
June 9th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
I love coffee! My great-grandmother raised me from age 3 until she died at age 93 in 1998. I remember her drinking very strong brewed Folgers daily. When she tried to stop in her 70′s she had headaches but was not aware of the reason until my sister told her, after that she went back on and lived happily ever after. Again, I love the stuff but can go some time (1-3 days) without it. The drug feels good, doesn’t it? Its legal so no worries. Everything in moderation=good health so I try, TRY to limit myself to 2 cups per day.
June 18th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
One pointer I could give is to get a mini coffeemaker, one that only makes 4 cups. That’ll typically limit you to two mugs at a time, rather than just have a giant pot that you’ll spend all day drinking.
Also, maybe use decaf as a substitute for times when you don’t need the caffeine and want to just drink mainly for taste/enjoyment, like with dessert or whatever.
June 25th, 2009 at 8:28 am
It is a shame that I started coffee again..after 6 months without it, I now feel incredibly ashamed of starting back. My health is top notch..I am a non smoker, have a sensible diet, workout daily, and have quit alcohol altogether 10 months ago…
No I cannot keep from drinkin upwards to 4 cups a day for the past 3 days…what can I do to kick it before it get’s outta hand?
June 25th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Mitch, find yourself a good decaf. I kicked the caffeine habit months ago, occasionally having one cup when I really need to wake up. But to satisfy my “need” for coffee, I switched to decaf. I still “need” my coffee in the morning, but now just for the enjoyment of the warm brew. You kicked a lot in the last year, you can do this, too.
July 19th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
@michelle #8 post & @Zizza #9 post
I do believe that drinking and smoking that much is pretty bad, i know people here, Eastern NC, that drink that much or more, and smoke that much or more. One thing that gets me is when you see a 90 year old man who would kill you if you took those away from him, Addicted yes, dead…. No..
August 2nd, 2009 at 4:00 am
That’s why half the coffee I drink overall is decaf. And besides if all the coffee you drink is caffeinated, then you get too used to it & don’t feel the kick as much anymore. So when I do drink the ledded stuff I get the punch I’m looking for.
August 7th, 2009 at 6:31 am
Hi, I’m 14 years old and I drink an average of 16 cups of coffee per day. I’m very healthy, and am wondering if I have developed a resistance to caffeine.
August 18th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
I like coffee but I found when I was drinking a pot ( roughly 3 mugs or 6 cups) I was not getting proper sleep even though I had my last cup around 4 pm.. In the days that followed I actually felt more tired because the lack of proper sleep. The diarehha too was uncomfortable.
However, I had now reduced to 2 mugs a day (about 4 cups). I have it with meals now to make my digestion work better.
However, the real reason I liked coffee is because it made my squinty chinese looking eyes (I’m not chinese I’m east indian) much bigger and more attractive (so says my wife). I find when reducing to 2 mugs a day I don’t get this effect anymore.
Any suggestions how to make the eyes big and awake without going over 2 mugs?
Thanks
Adrian
August 25th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
My daughter says I drink too much coffee (2 large carafes!); so to compromise in the morning I make a carafe of decaf green tea in the coffee maker for us both. Then after she has left for school I make my own carafe with 2/3s decaf and 1/3 regular coffee and start my work in the home office.
But after researching the relationship of caffeine and osteoporosis (which I have at only age 45 due to cancer treatments!) I am trying to eliminate all caffeine. Caffeine flushes out the calcium in your body. I have been feeling so much better (more alert during the day and sleeping better at night). My daughter was right!
August 28th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
Sonja
A cup of coffee is not going to make you lose much calcium. In fact if you’re worried about the calcium, just put some milk in your coffee each time you drink to offset the calcium loss.
I also drink 4 cups of soya product (loads of calcium) a day, in addition to training with weights to keep the bones strong.
I have great teeth and bones, and do not blame coffee at all.
Adrian
October 11th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
I have been drinking coffee since I was 7. I am now 43. I use creamer (half-n-half) and real sugar. None of that manmade garbage for me. I drink about 10 cups a day and have no real problems. I am bald though, I wonder if caffiene caused my hair to fall out??
Oh, I sleep fine at night. So, I say, enjoy the coffee, you only live once.
November 19th, 2009 at 6:45 am
People like you, Mr. KeithF, crack me up.
You’re right, you do live only once, so why not take care of yourself while you can? It doesn’t make any sense to risk shortening the already miniscule lifespans we have, does it?
As it is I am 20 years old, and have never consistently consumed any caffeine product. But as of late, I’ve found myself increasingly attracted to these “5 Hour Energy” shots.
Supposedly they aren’t that bad, if at all bad for you. And with only four calories, and a load of viatamins and minerals, I’m having a hard time finding a reason to not drink them when I need a boost.
It’s not something I take daily, but I definitely have one or two of them a week. Especially lately with these college courses I’m taking.
Does anyone know of any reasons I should lay off them? They’re listed as only having as much caffeine as a single cup of coffee, so…
Thanks in advance,
Chris
November 25th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Well, I work in a Expresso Machine factory, and I drink EXPRESSO probably 3 or 4 times per day. I do not have any kind of health problems (that is coffee related). I wonder why some people make these kind of comments about health, coffee and so on, when they eat fast food wich is ten times worse. I don’t eat fast food or saturated fat and I drink coffee and tea on a regular basis and I am ok…
November 29th, 2009 at 1:00 am
I have 6-8 cups a day, some water every now & then, but i’am only 20 i been drinking this stuff for all my life when i was a baby i had it in my botle! so should i slow down,will i die from it? lol just let me know it’s bad or what thanks
December 11th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
I drink alot of coffee, and I’ve heard from some that coffee, and not just caffeine can rob you of
calcium and make your bones weak. Do you know if this is true?
December 19th, 2009 at 11:05 am
One day, we went to a local coffee shop. A small group of people were supposed to be “right behind” us. I thought it would be nice to buy everyone a cup of espresso, so I bought like seven double-shots of coffee. Well the other folks didn’t show up, and the one person with me only drank one cup. I drank the other six “doubles”. I got dizzy and felt all weird. Then my heart started to “palpitate” or whatever (my heartbeat was all over the place). I felt all jittery and just about had a panic attack. My buddy drove me to a hospital nearby, and we just sat in the car in the parking lot for about three or four hours until I felt good enough to go home. I still drink coffee now and then, but I found MY limit. Too much caffeine is NOT fun.
December 31st, 2009 at 7:11 am
I have been drinking at least 16 cups of straight coffee a day for years now. sometimes even more, up to 100 oz. a day. I am 29 years old and have been drinking coffee since i was 17-18 years old. I really do believe coffee is more beneficial to health then they can even comprehend. Have had panic attacks, but didn’t go to the hospital over it.
January 19th, 2010 at 6:26 am
I go through 2 pots a day and hardley no water then soda at night and 6 sleeping pills this article is making me think I am hurting the insides of my body. does it effect the kidneys to and liver like alcohol? I replaced coffee with alcohol because the DR said I am drinking to much liquor . which is harming me more?
February 9th, 2010 at 11:16 pm
I also drink 8 cups of coffee a day and wonder if this is too much. Although, I walk 5-8 miles a day and follow a low-carb lifestyle. None of the white stuff…I don’t consume any alcohol either. I feel that coffee is the one thing I enjoy although I know I consume it in excess. Any thoughts on this????
March 25th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
Isn’t there 100 mg of caffeine in 2 oz espresso serving? Not 100 mg in 7 oz espresso serving.
March 29th, 2010 at 11:15 pm
For all those who suffer from heartburn and other effects associated with coffee….. Try this, it worked for me.
Skip the milk and sugar!
April 6th, 2010 at 8:01 am
My mess coffee is very bad, sometimes it may sweet,sometimes the coffee powder will become more in coffee.
April 15th, 2010 at 1:31 am
I found this late, but have many thoughts on the matter.
Please rest assured, that if you drink coffee, the chances are good you will live forever, and I will tell you why.
Coffee is an alkaloid, a class of naturally-occuring compounds unsurpassed in their beneficial impact on human health.
Time after time, for the past 10 + years, every supposed clinical study looking at coffee consumption that intially claimed some detrimental effect or other, has been debunked.
Coffee, for many people that suffer from cyclic or low-grade depression, is an outstanding natural antidepressant: I can attest to this after years.
I have one very strong suggestion for those people worried about their intake of caffeine, which I agree should fall within a reasonable limit.
Stay away from Starbucks coffee especially! Why?
They make an exceptionally, too strong, imo, brew: cleary a very high ground to water ratio.
Far better is, as has been commente on above, to brew a weaker pot of coffee, maybe half the strength of Starbucks, and you can enjoy this all day without becoming too jittery.
All the other compounds that make up brewed coffee are safe, and the mental edge and feeling of well-being are worth their weight in gold!
April 17th, 2010 at 5:27 am
I have two cups of coffee for every hour that I am awake and have been for fifty years,I am now seventy two years old and still capable and able to live alone and look after myself therefore I would say that consumption of coffee is different for all of us and we are all affected in different way’s
April 18th, 2010 at 6:29 am
Coffee gets a bad reputation. Maybe because coffee addicts tend to be smokers, or overeaters, or low blood pressure, or…all the people who shouldn’t be drinking caffeine in the first place. You know, people whose problems are already so big that adding a coffee adiction is the last straw. Blaming coffee for a high strung chain smoker’s inability to sleep at night? Right…
As one of those people who drink coffee as a substitute for juice (which is acidic and can be really hard to digest in large quantities, hard coming out, too, if it’s loaded in Vitamin C) and water (which tastes gross out of the tap and costs a fortune at stores), I don’t see any problems personally. I’m 30, so I’ve only been drinking coffee 24-7 for about ten years so far. I may develop problems when I’m older. We’ll see. In the meantime, my advice for the coffee addicts is to avoid adding anything to it. It’s the sugar and creamer and cappuccinos that are the problem. Once you add sugar to that coffee it becomes just as acidic and bad for you as soft drinks. If you’re getting headaches after 18hrs of coffee drinking, then you’re making it too strong. Then, yes, you need to drink some water in between pots or drink some weak ice tea (with little to no sugar) in between the coffee. Weak unsweetened ice tea will let you avoid the headaches (dehydration) and still give you your caffeine. As for caffiene crashes, I think once you can down four pots in a day you don’t have to worry about that any more. After a while you can consume as much as you want and your body won’t even notice. Then you’re just drinking it for the taste and the habit and it shouldn’t affect your sleep at all. If it still does, it’s probably pyschosomatic – you’re just blaming it instead of acknowledging whatever real stress is keeping you up. It’s kinda cheap to blame caffeine for your own problems when you know darn well your body is so used to the stuff it just flows right through you.
That’s my personal experience, anyway. I don’t drink coffee in the mornings unless I’m loading it with sugar and calories and calling it breakfast. I much prefer an actual meal to give me energy in the mornings. I haven’t used coffee as a “pick me up” in years. It’s not. My caffeine tolerance is just too high for it to affect me now. It’s my non-acidic beverage of choice, that’s all. I especially enjoy it in the evenings. I fall asleep the fastest if I drink a strong pot of coffee before bedtime. I may wake up thirsty/hungry with a full bladder, but it does make for a nice alarm clock if you have a tendency to oversleep. And a nice compulsion to eat in the mornings, since a good meal really does give you more energy than caffeine/nicotine ever will.
May 2nd, 2010 at 11:14 am
I just try to stay away from anything too regular, so I drink coffee, but not every day, and not at the same time of day, like some people “have to have” coffee in the morning to wake up. Sometimes I don’t drink coffee for days, another day I might have 2-3 cups. I believe if it becomes a strong habit, it’s really an addiction and can’t be good for you.
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:57 am
To be honest i have drank coffee now for over 30 years about 8 mugs a day and never had a problem. Normally about 2 when i wake up and the other 6 or so throughout the day. At the end of the day as long as you are healthy it wont cause you any damage. These days studies say this is bad for you etc etc now its coffee. Has not done me any harm!
June 3rd, 2010 at 7:58 am
To be honest i have drank coffee now for over 30 years about 8 mugs a day and never had a problem. Normally about 2 when i wake up and the other 6 or so throughout the day. At the end of the day as long as you are healthy it wont cause you any damage. These days studies say this is bad for you etc etc now its coffee. Has not done me any harm!
June 5th, 2010 at 7:31 am
Some people’s attitudes ,like No.34, are hilarious.Or “you live only once”…
Certainly all in moderation is okay,but each body is different and some people prove that extremes didn’t harm them so far.
Question is only :Should people who WLLINGLY and KNOWINGLY over due coffee or other substances,bad food,alcohol then should be helped by the health system which we ALL finance?? My answer is NO.
That should set some poeple’s records straight.
July 2nd, 2010 at 10:23 pm
I like my coffee everyday in the cold and when its warm,and you know how warm it can gets in Namibia. But lately i worry of when is enough enough? My hart beats is not normal anymore…but i love my coffee to much! Should i keep going or what?
August 21st, 2010 at 9:23 am
i heard on radio the other day that balzac died on account of drinking too much coffee. they said he would drink up to 40 cups, i believe, of turkish coffee (which is especially strong) every day. this is how much is too much.
personally, if i’m getting headaches on days i don’t drink coffee, because of the caffeine, i go off it for a day or two. if i’m getting addicted that is too much!
here is a little experiment i did about coffee and water. when i was in college i got dehydrated at one point and realised i didn’t drink nearly enough water. so for a week or so, every time i wanted coffee i reached for water instead. people underestimate how much of a difference in your energy there can be just from keeping hydrated. i felt just as much energy and just as refreshed from water alone (to be clear, several glasses of water in place of a cup of coffee. water’s not *that* good!) it was a lot cheaper and i felt a lot healthier! i still drink coffee now of course, and i know it too has health benefits, but i would just say don’t forget about water!!
August 23rd, 2010 at 3:05 am
i love coffee and i usually take a double shot,2 times a week,thin every time i drunk it i feel awake over having sweat in my forehead.what was the scientific explaination on that?
September 1st, 2010 at 4:08 pm
@Mechille @Zizza
20 cups of coffee a day may sound extreme, but I’m sure there are a lot of people doing it and I don’t think many die in the first week. I typically drink my coffee in a 20oz cup and drinking several of those doesn’t take long. I used to drink coffee throughout the day and typically worked anywhere from 15-30 hours straight. I had one of those large stainless steel coffee pots that held 42 cups of coffee and I would easily drink 20+ cups of coffee throughout the day and drank the entire thing on occasion.
I am not saying it’s good, healthy or otherwise, but saying it doesn’t take superman. I know many people that make their coffee double or triple strength and drink several cups.. so this would be equivalent to say 10 cups of coffee for a typical morning. I don’t know if they drink much coffee after that, but it wouldn’t surprise me, add in another cup an hour for the rest of the day and they would be drinking 20 cups of coffee as well. So there may be a great many of us.
These days I drink a couple of red line extremes. A little over 1000mg of caffeine in two and seems to work ok. I figure a few of those throughout the day and I have technically cut my caffeine intake down from what it used to be. And, again, not recommending it, just saying… still here a week later.
September 6th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
My nephew is addicted to coffee. My Grandmother used to give him sips of black coffee as a toddler. The fact that my sister drinks it morning til night doesn’t help and she thinks its “cute” that her 12 year old son drinks cups of coffee like a fish drinks water. Whats wrong with people? Is this what being social is about, having common addictions? How sad.
October 6th, 2010 at 12:46 am
I drink 3 – 4 cups sometimes in one day. However, I so very rarely drink cokes or tea. All of my caffeine comes from coffee. I see no harm in that. I also do not drink caffeine past 3PM usually.
October 27th, 2010 at 11:02 pm
coffee good not drinking coffee bad
December 2nd, 2010 at 1:22 am
Funny coffee story: It is possible to get high on caffeine. I did this by accident once; I had gotten very little sleep one night, and so the next morning I made myself some extra-strong mocha to pack in my lunch so I could stay awake in the afternoon. Trouble was, I was tired enough to forget that it takes 1/2 Tbsp instant coffee to make 1 cup, not a whole Tbsp. So I ended up chugging the equivalent of 5-6 cups of coffee in one lunch break–that’s 400-600 mg of caffeine!
What followed was about 45 minutes of hyperactivity and euphoria, about 45 minutes of feeling absolutely zonked, and after that a gradual return to normal, with slight feelings of sleepiness, lasting about 3 hours. I did not realize what was going on until about 20-25 minutes into the 1st phase, when I was talking with a friend about how sleep-deprived we both were, and remembered making the mocha! By about dinnertime I felt normal again.
I would not recommend caffeine as a legal recreational drug, however; it requires very high doses, which long-term would likely damage the adrenals, and possibly the liver, heart, and kidneys, and the high is very short and the recovery time relatively long.
So use a calculator for your coffee!
December 4th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
michell if your dad is going to leave you 5 million dollars tell him to keep doing what he is doing, if not he needs pro help he is killing him self i had five cups of coffee in one hour and ended up in the hospital /beware my friend beware
December 26th, 2010 at 1:45 am
I love my coffee. I sip it out of a straw so my teeth stay white.
I drink lots of it. I’ll drink hot coffee in the morning & afternoon, then switch to iced coffee. I drink plenty of water in between though, because I LOVE water, & I heard you’re supposed to re-hydrate if you drink lots of coffee. I drink ice-tea with dinner, & I don’t drink soda. I’m not much of a sugar/candy/chocolate person. I do have anxiety though, which is NOT from the coffee, & depression. I’m on meds for those. And I smoke, which I want to quit, but my dr. said “now is not a good time because of your anxiety”. I did not know that coffee causes more anxiety. I need to cut back a little I guess. I know it’s good though & this may sound gross, but I use the bathroom a lot, & doesn’t that get rid of toxins & help people lose weight? I’m underweight now, & need to gain a few pounds, which I’m working on, but when you urinate, you lose toxins, right? So, re-hydrate, etc…Sorry to sound like an idiot, just asking!
December 31st, 2010 at 1:03 pm
I drink a lot of coffee, at least 5 cups a day.I find that it helps to drink lots of water in addition to coffee. I usually only drink coffee and water during the day, maybe orange juice in the morning, but nothing else, definitely not soda. I’ve cut out all soda. I used to drink coffee + sodas + fast food. Bad combination. I would have no energy, even with the coffee, and in general, I felt like crap. So now that I’ve cut out the soda and fast food, in addition to drinking more water, I feel a lot better.
January 3rd, 2011 at 8:02 am
Hmmm ok i love coffee and i mean love the stuff, black and double strength, no sugar, i work nightshifts and used to drink about 10 cups a night – now at double strength that equates to 20 cups, i got real worried so stopped drinking that at work and switched to high caffeine energy drinks, so when i wake up its the black stuff and when i get to work i take a couple of energy drinks – 160mg caffeine per can, i drink 2 per night, when i get home i then switch to tea and i drink 3 to 4 large mugs of tea before bed, ive never had a problem before, and to be honest i was more worried that these energy drinks probably were doing me more harm than the coffee, but from the table up top im actually consuming far less caffeine than i used to but i dont feel any different – altho i think if i missed that first wonderful cup i’d probably chew someones head off
March 4th, 2011 at 10:15 pm
Okay I have read alot of the posts and I love coffee myself. My husband and I drink coffee every morning and when my husband is almost finished our Maltese/Chiwawa gets near him ready to finish off the rest of the cup. He gets about a 1/4c everyday with sugar in the bottom. He loves it! I always say the dog is not mine because I dont know if its good for him or not and I would not give him coffee or any dog and he’s NOT drinking mine
)
March 29th, 2011 at 5:49 am
I swear, some of you are nuts. Replacing other drinks with coffee? MAY effect you in the future? 20 cups, A DAY!? Let’s be reasonable and think for a moment. Does it even seem reasonable to consume that much caffeine? Keeping in mind caffeine is a drug? Your body needs water. I don’t give a damn if it tastes bad. it needs it. You are 70% water, not 70% coffee, no matter what you think. And to the crazy lady up top, sugar and milk are not acids. Sugar isn’t either an acid or a base, and milk is a base. Sweet does not equate acid. Yeesh. Just don’t drink any after 8, then after 7, then after 6… until you get to 2. 2 is said to be the limit. Start small. Do decaf. Drink tea. Tea often has half the caffeine. I drink coffee often, but I drink tea two, and I’ve drank coffee since I was 11, tea I was even younger. Moderation. And here is a proven fact to help you:
Fresh apples wake you up more than coffee in the mornings. So just try that. It would be one less cup. You’re not invincible and coffee can be really harmful to the body and mind.
March 29th, 2011 at 7:00 am
Crazy lady here! You’re right, I guess coffee is acidic, I looked it up and concede that point. Maybe that’s why I get the urge to sugar and creamer it down every once in a while.
I don’t know when we’re supposed to actually believe the health professionals. They keep changing their minds every few years. When I was in high school they said coffee was bad, would dehydrate you and pump you full of nasty chemicals. It was as bad as cigarettes! When I was in college they said it was a nuetral, neither acidic nor alkaline, just right for those who don’t want to push themselves in either direction. You can still find health books with this (false information?) today. After I graduated they pushed coffee further into the “healthy” category by saying it was as great an antioxidant as green tea, the number one antioxidant in the US since we drink so darn much of it. Unless you add sugar, which kills the antioxidant properties (this is what I was thinking of when I talked about sugar ruining the health benefits…I think.) Who knows. They’ll probably change their minds again in a few years, anyway.
I the meantime, just wiki the health benefits of coffee. This stuff is in health books, too, for those who don’t trust wiki:
“…current evidence suggests that caffeinated beverages contribute to the body’s daily fluid requirements no differently from pure water.”
How about that? They went from saying it’s a diuretic to saying it’s not one and it only took 12 years. It’s still speculation, of course, they could change their minds again in a few years, and they still want you to drink it in moderation regardless. But if you read through the list of benefits, especially for women, it’s easy to defend drinking 3-5 cups per day throughout your life.
March 30th, 2011 at 11:13 am
In response to #28 Chris, if you really want to get through those college courses start researching vitamins / dosages (not the fda dosages) and get lots of sleep. Real men drink coffee. You’re probably a great guy, but I fear that you’re not as well adjusted as your professors want you to believe as they cash your tuition checks. You should read more, because the answers are already out there.
March 31st, 2011 at 2:36 pm
I LOVE coffee! I could drink it all day, however I only have 2-3 cups a day as that covers the caffeine intake I can have in a day. I love the taste and love to try new brands all the time.
April 18th, 2011 at 2:35 pm
Bad habit but coffee is my boyfriend.my day is not complete and I can’t concentrate without it.
April 24th, 2011 at 6:18 am
Hello,
Can anyone tell me how can we calculate the amount of caffine in a coffee. Either it is per cup base or the amount of coffee you are using in the cup. Everyone talking in terms of number of cups but I think if your are putting coffee equal to two cups in one cup then?
So can anyone tell me how much on average, we use coffee?
I put usually, put three tea spoons in a cup.
May 12th, 2011 at 5:20 am
I recently had an aortic valve replacement. I also have an irregular heartbeat. I am otherwise a very healthy female in my late 50′s. Is it safe for me to have 50-150mg. of caffine per day?
May 14th, 2011 at 2:42 pm
Well, coffee is very good but it has to be limit. I think replacing your coffee for tea, as suggested on the post, is a great choice. Coffee is delicious but it can become a bad habit, as anything that can go out of control, when you get addicted.
August 3rd, 2011 at 4:56 pm
Im 11 and I love coffee, but I was wondering if it was possible that you can drink two cups of coffee and maybe have a stomach ache, or having and extreme headache or something, so I experimented and nothing happened. So I just stuck with one because that all we need to kick the day.
August 10th, 2011 at 2:11 am
I am a total caffeine addict! Used to drink the instant stuff, but since 2 years I only drink brewed coffee. As the taste is much better than instant, I drink more coffee as well. Now I am at 6 cups a day. But here is the thing; I remember one of my teachers coffee addiction, 1 cup per lesson, and in his late forties he had a heart attack during class and was brought to the hospital. Don’t worry, he made it. Problem is that he drank way to much coffee and that contributed to the heart attack. This is what I am afraid of, as sometimes when I drink coffee I can feel my heart beat too fast, and I become super alert. Its only 6 cups a day, but I do feel that its too much. But I so need it sign…
August 17th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
Screw Coffee, Red Bull and ProPlus is what one needs!!!
August 25th, 2011 at 7:38 pm
i used to drink ttoo much- 10-35 cups depending on mood. thankfully i now take a holistic approach and only drink red bull it saved me
August 30th, 2011 at 6:09 pm
I am concerned about my 40 year old daughter. She uses 1/2 cup of grounds to each 1 cup of water. She is literally drinking sludge and refuses to listen to anyone. She drinks 2 mugs in the morning and more in the evening along with tea at night. Obviously she is addicted to caffene, but I don’t know what to do about the coffee to water ratio she is using. And just how strong is strong? I would think that you can make sludge without the cost of wasting this much coffee per cup and the taste buds would not know the difference. Do I just shut up and watch her drink this sludge, is there evidence out there that she is killing herself? Any input would be appreciated.
August 31st, 2011 at 7:28 am
To reduce caffeine without brewing weak coffee, add 1 part ground roasted chicory, sold by Reily Foods of New Orleans as Coffee Partner, to 2 parts coffee. Or buy Luzianne or CMD coffee and chicory blend from the same company. It makes a strong, smooth cup of coffee with about 1/3 less caffeine.
September 18th, 2011 at 9:01 pm
Coffee taste so good! Put my max now back to 2 cups a day. The diference is that I have my sleep back, since many many years. And I’m looking forwart, and realy enjoy these two cups, to wake up! I used to drink many coffee, 10 a day, as a habit….resulting in nevousness, stomach cramps and bad sleep. The thing is; that you onely know the difference, when you limitate…. I drink tee now, black thé. People who drink thé are more happy they say. It’s true!
October 7th, 2011 at 6:32 pm
The numbers are not ok. Espresso, REAL ITALIAN ESPRESSO, has way less than any drip coffee you might make yourself or buy at your local coffee shop.
Even full cup, espresso has around 65mg caffeine, where the average SMALL cup of drip coffee has 120. If you get a Venti 330, a Grande 415mg.
Espresso, as the age old saying say, is a lot of goodness (taste, pick me up kick and all) concentrated in a very small doze. You don’t need to HYDRATE yourself with coffee. Grab the morning and occasional during the day pick me up espresso, but forget about the commercial BS. So much sugar anyway.
October 8th, 2011 at 5:09 pm
2 cases of beer per day could be worse
October 11th, 2011 at 10:09 pm
After drinking nearly 10 cups a day for 20 years of doing software development work, it is definitely time to cut back. I will drink it with no water until my urine turns dark yellow (forgetting that I need water!)… This can\’t be good for anyone. I also think at this level, it can and will elevate your blood pressure. It is hard to kick the habit… I\’m thinking of just trying hot water instead, and only having 1 cup in the morning…
October 16th, 2011 at 8:26 pm
I’m 15, I just started drinking coffee and I’m having about 3 coffee’s in 2 hours. All i drink is coffee.I play hockey 6 times a week, will the coffee effect my physical condition or no?
December 29th, 2011 at 9:51 am
A lot of these comments are quite disturbing. People actually BRAGGING about how they drink 10 pots of coffee a day, with no water or anything. It’s insane.
Fact – caffeine is a diuretic. Meaning that it causes your body to release water. Meaning that the more coffee you drink, the greater chances are that you’re walking around dehydrated. Don’t get me wrong, I love coffee. I don’t drink it every day, but when I do, I enjoy it. I’d say a heavy day for me would be around 30 oz throughout the day, a light day would be one 16 oz serving (two cups.)
All people on here – no matter what your opinions are on coffee or the effects of caffeine, you must realize that you must be NICE to your body, give it some good ol fashioned WATER… at least 1 glass of water for every cup of coffee you drink, in addition to the 64 oz you’re supposed to drink anyway. I’ve been on “diets” before where I replaced everything I drank with water (no soda, coffee, etc.) and I had more energy than I’ve ever had with any amount of caffeine. Plus, I could actually sleep at night. My weight dropped, my skin cleared up, my stomach problems ceased.
Guys, whatever you do, don’t skip the water – add it to your coffee if you must, but your body needs it.
December 31st, 2011 at 6:04 pm
In my opinion 2 or 3 cups per day is good for every one.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:09 am
i want to know what most people consider a cup of coffe.by that i mean how many ounces.No real coffee drinker would say six but when we talk about cups what do we mean.I suffer from an anxiety disorder and the first thing the DR. said was give up coffee and i tried but i can not so now i do half caff or de caff.thats all1!