How much coffee to drink per day - safe doses for health

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Pure caffeine is synthesized in tea leaves (approximately 2%) and coffee tree seeds (1 to 2%), as well as in small amounts in kola nuts.

According to its chemical characteristics, caffeine is a white crystalline powder, odorless, with a bitter taste. Dissolves quickly in hot water, slowly in cold water.

In a chemical laboratory, scientists developed a synthetic analogue of caffeine with the formula C8H10N4O2 and began to widely use it in the food industry, for example, for the production of energy soft drinks, which are very popular among young people. But it should be noted that with prolonged use, sensitivity to the component decreases, the body gets used to it and begins to require an increase in dose. Therefore, you should not abuse such drinks.

The main property of caffeine is to have a stimulating effect on the central nervous system, due to which drowsiness and fatigue disappear, new strength and energy appear.

What dose is too much?

There is no exact answer to this question - a safe dose of caffeine depends on your health condition. Some people drink strong coffee all day long without any harmful consequences, while for others, just a single cup causes their blood pressure to rise, their sleep to be disturbed, headaches, and nerves. The nervousness caused by caffeine can be alleviated by the amino acid L-theanine, which is found in green tea leaves. Interestingly, similar symptoms are observed in people with caffeine withdrawal. They also yawn, complain of fatigue, runny nose, muscle stiffness, and find it difficult to concentrate. Unfortunately, caffeine cannot be considered a completely safe product.

Proper use of the drink

To be able to enjoy your favorite drink, which not only brings you a boost of energy, but also lifts your spirits, you should adhere to the rules of healthy coffee drinking. Thanks to the noted rules, you can avoid the negative and harmful consequences that can be caused by excess coffee in the body.

It is not recommended to drink coffee on an empty stomach

The main ones are:

1. It is not recommended to drink coffee on an empty stomach. It is best to drink this drink after a meal or 1.5 hours after a meal.
2. If the drink is supposed to be drunk immediately after a meal, then it is not advisable to use sweets with it. You can treat yourself to a dessert while drinking coffee only 1.5 times after eating.
3. If a person has problems with the cardiovascular, nervous or digestive systems, it is best to first consult with a doctor regarding use or dosage.
4. It would be undesirable to take the drink immediately before bed, as this can provoke excessive arousal and, accordingly, you can forget about sleep. Because the process of falling asleep will become very difficult.
5. It should also be noted that only natural beans contain beneficial properties, but instant coffee, if consumed on an empty stomach, can cause the development of gastritis.
6. It is highly not recommended to drink instant coffee in combination with a cigarette, as this increases cholesterol levels.

In conclusion, it is imperative to note that many coffee lovers drink a fairly strong drink every day, and regular use of it causes the body to become accustomed to a certain dosage. This, in turn, reduces the body's sensitivity to caffeine effects, which leads to the fact that a person can drink an invigorating drink much more than the permissible limit per day, which is 5-6 cups.

Healthy adults - allowed within reasonable limits

Authoritative organizations such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the US National Academies of Sciences (NAS) and Health Canada have concluded that healthy adults can safely consume up to 400 mg of caffeine per day. More than 400 mg can be taken on special occasions (for example, during emergency preparation for an exam). This dose will not cause side effects if such force majeure events occur rarely.

The effects of caffeination depend on the time of administration. Most people can drink 200 mg of caffeine in one sitting less than 2 hours before intense physical activity. However, even 100 mg can disrupt sleep if you drink coffee or energy drink at night. Caffeine leaves the body rather slowly, the half-life is about five hours, so people who drank strong coffee less than 10 hours ago still have some amount of the alkaloid fermenting in their blood.

So, healthy adults can consume up to 400 mg of caffeine per day, but not before bed.

Safety and side effects

In general, caffeine is safe for the body.

However, be aware that it is addictive and some people may be sensitive to it. (, )

Side effects of caffeine include anxiety, restlessness, tremors, irregular heartbeat, and sleep problems. ()

Excessive consumption of caffeine-containing foods and drinks can lead to headaches, migraines and increased blood pressure. (, )

Additionally, caffeine can easily cross the placenta, increasing the risk of miscarriage or low birth weight. For this reason, pregnant women should take special care. (, , )

It should also be noted that caffeine may interact with some medications.

Patients taking the muscle relaxant Tizanidine or the antidepressant Fluvoxamine should avoid caffeine as these drugs enhance its effects. ()

Conclusion:

In some cases, caffeine can have negative effects on the body, causing anxiety attacks, restlessness, and trouble sleeping.

Pregnant and lactating women - handle with caution

The European Food Safety Authority recommends that lactating and pregnant women, as well as those planning a pregnancy, limit their daily caffeine intake to 200 mg. Some experts allow 300 mg/day, however, according to some reports, caffeine causes nausea in pregnant women and, much worse, the risk of miscarriage.

There are very few clinical studies on the effects of caffeine on pregnant and lactating women, and in such a situation it is wiser to limit the consumption of the alkaloid. In pregnant women, the time required to remove caffeine from the body increases by more than three times, so caffeine can accumulate: what you drink in the evening is added to what was stored in the morning, and the total dose of the substance circulating in the blood turns out to be higher than calculated.

So, pregnant and lactating women should not exceed the daily dose of 200 mg, although they are allowed 300 mg.

Daily norms

Based on the results of the experiments, doctors noted that 1 cup (100 ml) per day for an adult is considered the optimal dose. If there are no contraindications to drinking coffee, then 3-4 (300-400 ml) cups will not have negative consequences for the body.

1 cup per day for an adult is considered the optimal dose

But in the case when the daily dosage is more than 6 cups, this can cause a deterioration in health and cause a number of diseases. But it should be said that the indicated dosage amount refers to cups with a volume of 70 ml.

If a person drinks cappuccino or latte, then the volume of the mug can be larger - 200-300 ml, this is justified by the fact that with the addition of milk or cream the caffeine concentration decreases.

It should also be noted that the given number of cups can be consumed by adults, but teenagers can drink coffee only from the age of fourteen. In this case, the amount should not exceed more than 2 cups per week and it is advisable to dilute it with milk or cream to reduce the concentration of caffeine.

During pregnancy

With the onset of pregnancy, it is worth remembering that it is advisable to either reduce the amount of coffee consumed per day or completely avoid it. You can, of course, reduce the concentration of caffeine by diluting it with milk or cream. If you do not follow the recommendation and stop drinking the drink frequently, you can cause a miscarriage or give birth to a child who will be developmentally delayed.

This precaution is due to the fact that coffee enhances the process of removing calcium from the body, and it is considered a vital component for the proper formation of the fetus.

When you become pregnant, you should completely give up coffee.

For nursing mothers

I would like to say right away that coffee is an allergen that can cause an allergic reaction in an infant or cause excessive agitation. Therefore, nursing mothers should not drink it during the first natural coffee of the day, but it should be drunk in the morning and preferably immediately after the feeding process. This will allow you to reduce the presence of caffeine in mother’s milk before the next feeding and will reduce the risk of a negative impact on the baby’s well-being.

Amount of caffeine content in 1 cup of coffee depending on the type:

Over

The presented table presents values ​​that provide an opportunity for you to control the amount of caffeine and protect your body from an overdose.

Children and adolescents - it is better to abstain

There is clearly insufficient data on safe doses of caffeine for children and adolescents. According to European experts, 3 mg/kg of body weight per day will not harm young consumers. In Canada, a dose of no more than 2.5 mg/kg/day is considered safe. In accordance with these standards, children, depending on age, are allowed to:

• 4-6 years - 45 mg/day
• 7-9 years - 62.5 mg/day
• 10-12 years - 85 mg/day.

Not everyone agrees with this opinion. Thus, in 2013, a group of distinguished American doctors sent a letter to the US Food and Drug Administration calling for a ban on the sale of caffeinated drinks in schools. Scientists note that energy drinks are reliably correlated with adverse health effects in children, adolescents and young adults.

So the safe level of caffeine for children and adolescents has been determined, but some medical organizations are calling for more thorough research into this problem, and until data is collected, the less caffeine a child consumes, the better.

For those suffering from cardiovascular diseases, consult your doctor.

Caffeine increases blood pressure for 3-4 hours, this is a proven fact. However, with regular consumption this effect is not so noticeable. In healthy people who do not exceed the permitted 400 mg, the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases does not increase. But for people with high blood pressure or those who have already suffered cardiovascular disease, in other words, for patients who are contraindicated for stimulants, the effects of caffeine intake are not so obvious. A moderate amount will not harm them, but it is better to consult a doctor about specific doses.

So, people with high blood pressure or a history of cardiovascular disease are not advised to regularly drink caffeine-containing drinks. There should be no harm from small portions, but it is better to seek advice.

Effect on the body

Caffeine is a stimulant of the central nervous system, activating the brain, motor function, increasing endurance, performance, and reaction speed. Taking the substance leads to increased breathing, heart rate, increased blood pressure, dilation of the bronchi, blood vessels, and bile ducts.

Caffeine has the following effects on the body:

1. Activates brain function.
2. Reduces fatigue.
3. Increases performance (mental and physical).
4. Accelerates heart contractions.
5. Increases blood pressure.
6. Stimulates the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
7. Speeds up metabolism.
8. Has a diuretic effect.
9. Increases breathing speed.
10. Dilates blood vessels.
11. Stimulates the liver to produce additional sugar.

How much do you need to drink to reach your caffeine limit?

To answer this question, you need to know how much caffeine is in each cup/can/bottle you drink. This information is contained in Figure 1, but for those who find it difficult to concentrate without caffeine, as well as for adherents of a mono-diet (like starting the day with coffee from McDonald's, they won't take anything else caffeinated in their mouth) there is also Figure 2.

Rice. 2 How many and what drinks can you drink so as not to exceed the daily caffeine limit of 400 mg.

Caffeine

Most people think of caffeine as brown flecks similar to instant coffee. In reality, they are colorless or whitish crystals that have a bitter taste. Caffeine is a purine alkaloid or a complex chemical compound of organic origin containing nitrogen. This substance is extracted from coffee and tea plants, and caffeine in its pure form is obtained from waste.

What happens if you overdo it?

When taken orally, 15 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight is toxic, and 150 mg is fatal. That is, a person who weighs 68 kg will be poisoned by one gram of caffeine, and will die from 10 grams. Think about this before you drink 10 cans of energy drink on a bet.

Caffeine powder is a special song. It is used as a nerve stimulant and is promoted as a fitness and muscle-building aid, and some people voluntarily take it for this purpose. The US Food and Drug Administration warns that one teaspoon of pure caffeine powder is equivalent to 28 cups of coffee. It is much easier to overdose on powder than to overdose on energy drinks. Large amounts of caffeine increase the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, causing severe heart palpitations and convulsions.

Although poisoning from caffeine powder is rare, it does happen, and sometimes with fatal consequences. Both athletes who independently take this substance and specialists make mistakes. So at the University of Northumbria, scientists, conducting an experiment, accidentally gave two students 30 g of caffeine instead of 300 mg. Fortunately, the students survived, but they had to spend some time in the hospital.

If you are healthy, then you can safely drink drinks containing caffeine, guided, of course, by Figures 1 and 2, but it is better not to deal with powder.

The best thing you can do

All of the above recommendations are based on the long-term effects of regular caffeine consumption. Higher doses, up to 800 mg, can be taken on special occasions if health permits. So, in one study, different doses of caffeine were taken before training. The alkaloid increased the content of testosterone in the blood, that is, it showed itself to be an anabolic steroid. However, the 800 mg dose also increases the concentration of cortisol, which exhibits a catabolic effect.

The more often you ingest large portions of caffeine, the more likely you are to experience its negative effects. In addition, with frequent use, some of the benefits of caffeine are lost and a kind of tolerance is developed. To avoid this, caffeine is taken periodically. This makes sense if caffeine is drunk for the release of adrenaline, and for the synthesis of dopamine, regular breaks in drinking coffee, tea and energy drinks are necessary. But if caffeine is relied upon as a means of reducing the risk of developing Parkinson's disease or type 2 diabetes, it must be consumed regularly, and it is better not to swallow powders, but to drink tea and coffee. Caffeine lowers blood glucose levels, but this effect is lessened when taken in powder form.

High doses of caffeine improve physical performance, but regularly exceeding the upper limit of consumption is harmful to health. Moreover, both regular and occasional use of caffeine have their benefits. It all depends on the effect you want to achieve.

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