How Much Caffeine Is Too Much Caffeine

Oh beautiful caffeine, the rocket fuel of choice for most people who visit our blog. Today we are going to discuss how much caffeine is too much caffeine, which is something we get asked very often. Many of us jump start our day with a dose of caffeine ( a cup of coffee) and we should be aware that caffeine is in fact a drug, specifically a stimulant.

In another blog post we discuss what Caffeine actually is. If you have not yet read it, I would recommend checking that out before continuing.

It seems to be the general consensus that up to 400mg per day is safe to consume for a healthy adult, which means most of you are safe. 400mg will come out to something like 4-5 cups of coffee a day.

Keep in mind that the figure above is for healthy adults. Pregnant women, young adults and children should either avoid caffeine consumption or be careful with it and discuss with their doctor if they develop any negative side affects or symptoms.

If you’ve had too much caffeine you could start suffering from one of these symptoms / side effects:

• Insomnia – To avoid this try to avoid drinking caffeine past 2pm and ensure you don’t exceed the recommended 400mg per day.
• Anxiety – If you are experiencing unusual or uncharacteristic nervousness or anxiety this could stem from the adrenaline released when caffeine is consumed.
• Rapid heart rate – Excessive consumption of caffeine can cause an irregular heart rhythm or purely just increase the speed at which your heart beats.
• High blood pressure – Some studies show that caffeine could potentially increase your blood pressure when taken in large doses.
• Frequent & urgent visits to the toilet – Too much caffeine will stimulate your bladder which could increase how often you need to urinate, this especially affects elderly.
• Stomach pains – Caffeine stimulates bowel movements which can be helpful to some but too much caffeine could potentially distrupt your digestive system causing some pain or discomfort.

On the other hand, caffeine is not all doom and gloom, various studies indicate that caffeine provides a multitude of health benefits:

• Live longer – You could be less likely to suffer from coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.
• Process glucose better – Caffeine consumption could aid with processing glucose which will make you less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
• Less likely to develop heart failure – 1-2 cups of coffee a day may ward of heart failure.
• Less likely to develop Parkinson’s Disease – Caffeine can not only help prevent Parkinson’s but can also reduce the effects on people who have already developed Parkinson’s Disease.
• Healthy Liver – Caffeine will protect your liver and help keep your enzyme levels in a healthy range.
• Stronger DNA – Dark roasted coffees will help keep your DNA in tact and could help avoid cancers or tumors.
• Colon Cancer – Your odds of developing Colon Cancer go way down, 26% down.
• Decreased risk of Alzheimer’s Disease – 1-2 cups of coffee a day could provide significant protection against Alzheimer’s Disease.

With the above in mind, it is safe to say that 4-5 cups of coffee is within the safe limit and that in fact, aiming for around 2 cups of coffee a day could increase your overall health.

In another article we will discuss as a whole the positive effects of coffee which I think a lot of you will be very surprised by how powerful a cup of coffee can actually.

A quick tip for those who are sensitive to caffeine but do not want to give it up completely! Please check out of Colombian Sugar Cane Decaf. It is so delicious and can be blended with our regular coffees to reduce the overall caffeine content and increase the amount of cups of coffee you can comfortably drink a day!