Coffee is a daily necessity for many of us.
And that’s ok.
Usually.
A little caffeine, from 20mg to 200mg can help us feel more alert, energetic and focused.
It may even help protect our brains, have cognitive enhancing effects, and have positive effects on our memory for at least 24 hours after it’s consumed.
Black coffee also makes a great “pre-workout” drink.
It helps the body perform during physical activity and like many other “pre-workout” drinks it’s got caffeine to get you going, but without the hefty price tag or questionable ingredients.
How much caffeine is too much?
While too much can be a problem, if you drink 2-3 cups a day, you’ve got nothing to worry about.
In fact, up to 4 cups or around 400mg of caffeine is probably fine for most people.
But at around 500mg (or around 5 cups of coffee) the risks get a little greater…
Up to that point you may not feel anything you might feel palpitations, dizziness, increased blood pressure, nervousness, anxiety and, of course, the inability to sleep and the infamous GI issues.
It’s worth noting that it would take somewhere between 50-100 cups of coffee for the caffeine to kill you, probably not something that most of us have to worry about.
So why do some people notice these feelings at as little as a cup or two of coffee, while others can drink 3, 4 or even 5 with seemingly no ill effects?
From Visual.ly
No matter who you are or what your caffeine tolerance is, there is on thing you should never do:
Mix caffeine and alcohol.
The caffeine will make you feel more alert and awake, which, in turn, increases the risk of drinking too much.
A few more things to keep in mind:
- Cutting caffeine/coffee can help reduce hot flashes (that means chocolate has to go too).
- While coffee in and of itself is not inherently high in calories, the things we add to it can be. Watch out for sugar and high calorie milks- they add up.