How much coffee can you still drink per day without harm to health

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

We all consume caffeine: with coffee, tea or other foods. That being said, no one can still say what the safe dose of caffeine is per day. Researchers have tried to understand this issue.

Not so long ago, a new brand of Black Insomnia coffee appeared in the USA, calling its products "the strongest coffee in the world." It is advised to use it with caution. One cup of this coffee is over the caffeine limit per day.

It is generally accepted that this limit is 400 milligrams per day. So reported by the US Food and Drug Administration and the International Food Information Council. 400 milligrams is about four cups of coffee, or one large cup from Starbucks.

However, many perceive this limit not as a warning, but as a challenge.

Safe Dose of Caffeine Per Day

Where did this limitation come from and how seriously should we take it?

Researcher Esther Myers thinks it's pretty serious. She and her colleagues from the International Institute of Biological Sciences (USA) are studying the safety of caffeine. Myers wondered if the often cited 400 milligrams of caffeine a day was out of date. After all, she first appeared in a study conducted in 2003.

Myers' team reanalyzed the data, reviewing over 700 studies. They found out what dose of caffeine negatively affects health. Side effects reported included problems with the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and reproductive systems.

The researchers concluded that for a healthy adult, 400 milligrams of caffeine is indeed a safe daily dose. But for pregnant women, the dose is reduced to 300 milligrams.

Higher doses of caffeine are associated with a variety of health risks, from depression and dysphoria (the opposite of euphoria) to anxiety and high blood pressure.

So drinking 500 milligrams of caffeine a day is dangerous?

“No,” says Myers. - To a large extent, it all depends on how a particular person reacts to caffeine. We do not yet have criteria for identifying those who are especially sensitive to it."

Finally

The most important finding by the researchers is how little we know about this common drug. There is still no clear evidence of how the effects of caffeine change depending on when and how often we consume it.

So for now, we only have a rough idea of what not to do - overdo it. For most people, 400 milligrams of caffeine a day is a safe dose, but not necessarily completely harmless. Monitor the caffeine content of all foods you eat and treat it as a stimulant.