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 v magazines, books, the back of a cereal box v 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 recomendar?© a una amiga m?Âa que le encanta tanto como a mi el caf?©.
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?