Despite being a psychostimulant, caffeine is not regulated in most parts of the world – just how much coffee, tea or energy drink would put you at risk?
Whether you are a coffee friend, tea addict or energy drink lover, there’s a good chance caffeine fuels your daily life.
Occurring naturally in many types of plants, humans have been consuming caffeine for thousands of years from the herbal teas of ancient times. China in the chewing of the kola nut in West Africa.
Coffee consumption spread to Europe in the 16th century and has firmly established itself in the daily routine of many, while tea is a staple of British life. The 21st century has seen an increase in the popularity of energy drinks, some of which contain more caffeine than tea or coffee.
But how much caffeine is safe to consume in a day, and how can you tell if you’ve had too much?
Caffeine is a stimulant and psychoactive drug, despite the fact that it remains largely unregulated and legal in almost all parts of the world. Eating or drinking (or swallowing in tablet form) much more than the recommended daily limit can have serious unpleasant side effects, from headaches and feeling jittery to full-blown hallucinations or seizures.
It is recommended that adults consume no more than 400 mg of caffeine per day. This is equivalent to:
- four cups of coffee
- eight cups of tea
- eleven 330 ml cans of cola
- two and a half 500ml cans of Monster Energy drink
However this limit does not apply to everyone. Pregnant women are advised by the NHS consume no more than 200 mg of caffeine per day and children and adolescents can have up to 3 mg per kg of body weight.
Excessive caffeine consumption (1,000mg to 1,500mg per day) can cause a condition known as caffeinism, which consists of a number of unpleasant symptoms such as insomnia, irritability, headaches and heart palpitations.
But consuming significantly more caffeine than the safe limit (over 400-500mg) in one sitting can cause ‘caffeine intoxication’, a severe but temporary overstimulation of the central nervous system.
Symptoms of caffeine poisoning include:
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worry
-
nervousness
-
excitement
-
insomnia
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flushed face
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diuresis (increased urination)
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gastrointestinal disorder
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muscle contraction
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wandering flow of thought and speech
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tachycardia or cardiac arrhythmia
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periods of inexhaustibility
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psychomotor stimulation
A diagnosis of caffeine poisoning can be made if five or more of the above symptoms are observed.
In rare cases of very high caffeine intake, symptoms may worsen and include mania, depression, impaired judgment, disorientation, delirium, delusions, hallucinations or psychosis, seizures and rhabdomyolysis (destruction of muscle cells).
Credit: Mirror.co.uk