The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends a daily limit of 400 mg for adults. That’s 400 mg in total caffeine, including caffeine in food or beverages. More than that, and you may risk some negative health effects. According to the Cleveland Clinic, some of the most common side effects of caffeine overconsumption include:
Headache, nervousness, dizziness.Having “the jitters” or feeling shaky.Insomnia or sleep that is “on and off” throughout the night.Racing heart or abnormal heartbeat.Increase in blood pressure.Dehydration.
You may not experience all of them, or you may experience some of them at different times. Your health, your weight, the medications you’re taking, and your own individual sensitivity to caffeine can all affect how you react to caffeine. Are there exceptions? Yes, the FDA suggests you cap your daily caffeine consumption at 400 mg. But the FDA also cautions that “too much” for one person may be different than “too much” for another person. That’s why it’s useful to be aware of how caffeine affects you. “When it comes to caffeine, you have to know yourself to get a handle on your particular tolerances,” says Bonnie Taub-Dix, RDN, a registered dietitian, author ofRead It Before You Eat It: Taking You from Label to Table, and creator of BetterThanDieting.com. For some people, caffeine boosts alertness and awareness, she adds. But other people may just feel jittery and wired. And the amount that triggers that response can vary. For example, you might only be able to tolerate 200 mg of caffeine in a day, for example, before you start having trouble sleeping at night or you notice your heart racing. Dr. Soma Mandal, MD, an internal medicine physician and women’s health specialist with Summit Health in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, says she would be okay with some people consuming more than the 400 mg daily limit on an occasional basis. For example, consider people whose professions depend on them to be alert, like truck drivers. Unless they have underlying health conditions or other medical reasons that would rule it out, up to 800 mg might be okay. “It’s an awful lot of caffeine,” she notes. “But if they need to stay alert, I’d rather they drink the coffee obviously than fall asleep at the wheel.” There are other exceptions to the 400 mg-per-day recommendation, too. Experts typically recommend that pregnant and breastfeeding women aim for 200 mg of caffeine per day or less.
How much caffeine are you consuming?
Are you even aware of how much caffeine you’re consuming on a regular basis? Knowledge is power, as they say, so start paying attention. You can start with labels and packaging. Turn that can of diet soda around so you can see the fine print that tells you that the 12 oz. can contain 46 mg of caffeine. Keep track of how many cups of coffee, cans of sodas, glasses of tea, or pieces of chocolate that you consume on a typical day. Watch out for “hidden” caffeine, too. That decaffeinated coffee that you so virtuously ordered instead of your usual full-throttle coffee? Guess what: it contains some caffeine, too. Not as much as the regular coffee, of course, but it’s not caffeine free. An example: a 16 oz. cup of Starbucks’ Pike Place Roast, decaf version, contains about 25 mg of caffeine, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “Unknowingly, unless you read food labels, you could be getting caffeine from sources that you would not have suspected,” says Taub-Dix. “The most troublesome sources of caffeine are those that are appearing in waters.” Other possible sources of caffeine that you might not expect include some gums and candies, some supplements and medicines, and even ice cream (think: coffee and cappuccino-flavored versions). Green tea also contains a little caffeine, unless otherwise specified. Dr. Christopher Johnston, MD, chief medical officer of Pinnacle Treatment Centers, cautions that you might want to watch out for a few other things, too. “Read labels for items like guarana, guayusa, yaupon holly, yerba mate or cacao,” he says, adding that these are sometimes added and touted as “natural energy enhancers.”
How to cut back on caffeine
Even though they still contain some caffeine, decaf coffee and tea do contain less caffeine. So, switching to decaf from fully caffeinated coffee and tea is still a useful strategy, since it will reduce your caffeine consumption level. Other ways to cut back:
Drink fewer cups of coffee, tea, or soda each day.Put less coffee, tea, or soda in your usual cup, so you wind up consuming lessBuy coffee or tea that contains less caffeine than your usual kindSwap out every other caffeinated drink for water or another beverage without caffeineBe aware of other sources of caffeine that might add to your limit so you can decide whether you really “need” them.
But one strategy might not work as well as you’d think.“I usually don’t recommend cold turkey,” says Dr. Mandal. That’s because if you quit suddenly, you can wind up with the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal, like headaches, fatigue, possibly even some anxiety, and irritability. Caffeine isn’t addictive, at least not in the same way that alcohol is, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. But you can become dependent on it. And when you stop consuming it all of a sudden, that’s when the withdrawal symptoms can kick in. They’re not dangerous, according to the FDA, but they sure can be unpleasant. Meanwhile, a gradual reduction is less likely to give you the headache or shakes or other uncomfortable symptoms. “Reducing intake by 20 percent per day or less is unlikely to produce any symptoms, but faster tapers can be tried, and if headaches or severe fatigue occur, then staying at the same caffeine intake level for a few days before continuing the taper would be advisable,” says Dr. Johnston. Nest up,yes, your morning cup of coffee is probably making you poop.
Sources
Christopher Johnston, MD, chief medical officer of Pinnacle Treatment CentersDr. Soma Mandal, MD, an internal medicine physician and women’s health specialist with Summit Health in New JerseyBonnie Taub-Dix, RDN, a registered dietitian and author of Read It Before You Eat It: Taking You from Label to TableCenter for Science in the Public Interest. Caffeine Chart.Cleveland Clinic:Caffeine: How to Hack it and How to Quit ItNational Institute on Drug Abuse. Is caffeine really addictive?Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.What is the relationship between high-dose caffeine consumption and health?U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine is Too Much?
