You are not alone if you rely on coffee to wake you up and keep you going throughout the day. Caffeine is used by millions of individuals every day to remain awake and enhance focus. Some people can’t even imagine starting their day with something else. The main reason behind this is the fact that a warm cup of this beverage makes waking up early on weekdays simpler and leisurely weekend mornings more pleasurable. However, it is also important to note that there are many conflicting signals about coffee out there – We have met with different types of people asking whether too much caffeine side effects can be harmful or not. Well, we are here to directly answer these questions in this article.
We all know that generally, nothing is good in excess – even coffee. Have you ever had that weird feeling like your heart is about to jump out of your chest? Yes, this may be due to the simple fact that you have had too much coffee that day – It is pretty okay, happens to most of us. However, if that is not the case, we highly advise you to visit a doctor.
If you Google this question, you will most certainly be annoyed by the ambiguous answer “drink coffee in moderation.” But what does moderate consumption exactly mean? According to the majority of coffee specialists, the average caffeine consumption should not exceed 400 milligrams per day. Exceeding that limit might result in undesirable side effects such as restlessness, sleeplessness, headache, nausea, and many more.
Coffee caffeine impacts people in a variety of ways. Many genes that influence people’s susceptibility to this stimulant have been found in this drink. Caffeine effects on sleep and various activities are genetically determined. Some of you may drink coffee and quickly fall asleep, while others are kept awake all night. What we are trying to say is that people are able to tolerate varying amounts. If it is okay for another person to drink 400mg, it may not be okay for you personally.
It’s also crucial to remember that medical problems might alter caffeine sensitivity. For instance, caffeine may be less tolerable for your body and health if you frequently have panic attacks and general anxiety. High blood pressure along with diabetes and other medical problems might also trigger some negative consequences. If you want to know more about your personal tolerance level, it is the best idea to speak with a doctor.
There has been a lot of research about the relations between coffee caffeine and health. According to most of them, the optimal amount is 4 or 5 cups per day. However, as we have already mentioned, some people might be able to tolerate more, while some people might have problems by consuming even 1 cup.
This quantity (4-5 cups per day) is associated with a decreased risk of premature mortality as well as a lower risk of a variety of prevalent illnesses, some of which impact hundreds of millions of people. Of course, this does not imply that you must consume coffee at all.
Caffeine-sensitive individuals, those with specific medical problems, and others who just dislike this beverage should definitely avoid it. Furthermore, if you enjoy coffee but discover that it causes anxiety or sleep issues, you may wish to limit or stop your use. Furthermore, the advantages of coffee may be readily negated by adding sugar or other harmful, high-calorie components to it.
Additionally, there is another thing that one might want to keep in mind. The number of cups you will be able to tolerate also depends on the amount of coffee rather than caffeine itself. If you have some health problems related to drinking coffee, it might be the best idea to just reduce the amount of coffee you use for preparing your own drink. Of course, the taste will definitely not be the same but in any case, it is still better than nothing.
Caffeine overdose happens when you consume an excessive amount of caffeine through beverages, meals, or even medicines. This is not advised since excessive caffeine consumption might result in serious health problems such as irregular heartbeat and seizures. Caffeine use at high levels on a daily basis may also result in hormonal abnormalities.
If you don’t drink coffee very often, your body may be extremely sensitive to it – If that is the case for you, it might be the best idea to not consume too much at once. Even if you take a lot of caffeine on a daily basis, you should stop if you experience any undesirable too much caffeine symptoms.
Consuming too much coffee causes a variety of symptoms. Some symptoms may not instantly alert you to the fact that you have consumed too much coffee since they do not appear to be dangerous. You may, for example, encounter:
There can also be other symptoms that are more serious and need emergency medical attention. Caffeine overdose symptoms that are more dangerous include:
If you happen to experience any of this, you should immediately seek medical help.
We have already discussed how much caffeine in coffee is too much. Now, let’s talk if it is possible to reduce the amount of caffeine – Everything is possible if you want it enough. Caffeine use should be reduced to assist with various health issues. If your doctor suggests that you cut back, it is the best idea to do so.
Reduce the quantity of caffeine in your diet gradually. Completely cutting it off can lead to even more serious problems. You may most likely suffer withdrawal symptoms and return to drinking coffee or soda or taking a headache medicine containing caffeine to alleviate the symptoms. This restarts the dependence cycle from the beginning. All in all, to properly reduce your caffeine intake, gradually lower your daily intake of coffee.
If you still want to have a cup of coffee once in a while, you can look up more ways to do so. Down below, we will suggest some ways of reducing the amount of caffeine, some of them are pretty obvious, some not so much.
Too much caffeine symptoms will make you look for different ways to reduce your daily intake. If you are a coffee lover who consumes it on a daily basis, gently go from normal to decaf. At first, it is best to alternate between decaf and normal coffee, then gradually increase the amount of decaf and therefore, decrease the amount of regular coffee you’ve been drinking before. In order to avoid withdrawal symptoms, switching to decaf should take somewhere between 2 and 3 weeks and if you are consistent enough, you will definitely be able to alter your coffee drinking habit.
The most obvious example on this list is definitely drinking less coffee. We bet you have already thought of it but let’s discuss it one more time, cause why not. There are different kinds of people – half of it drink coffee for the taste, while others drink it for caffeine. Those who drink for the taste can simply make Drip coffee in a large carafe, have very small cups throughout the day, instead of normal mugs. You can think of drinking an Americano brew in an Espresso cup. Alternatively, those who drink it for the kick can drink only one Ristretto or Doppio to keep it under control.
Another effective way to avoid too much caffeine side effects is using dark roast beans. This is one of the most popular methods, as it does not require much effort and additionally, you will not have to quit drinking coffee at once. So, the main question here is – Why dark roast? The answer is pretty simple and straightforward. The dark roasts generally have less caffeine in them. This is due to the fact that the longer a bean is roasted, the more the caffeine gets stripped away, thus making dark roast coffee is perfect for those who want to cut back.
Caffeine levels in coffee can be determined by different things. One such thing is the type of coffee you decide to purchase. The discussion is mostly between Arabica and Robusta, as they are the most popular types used by millions of people around the world. For the ones that wish to reduce caffeine intake, it is the best idea to go for Arabica coffee as they come with less caffeine. Compared to Robusta, Arabica grows at higher elevations and this causes caffeine reduction in the beans. So, this is another easy solution to avoid the negative health consequences of consuming too much-unwanted caffeine.
What else do we have? Is there still another way you can reduce your caffeine? Believe it or not, yes! There is. Assuming you use the same brewing technique over and over again, you can be sure that adjusting the ground level can definitely help you. So, the finer you decide to grind your coffee, the more caffeine it is going to release into your cup. We may take advantage of this feature by grinding the coffee a little coarser to minimize the caffeine in our beverage. Just be careful not to ground the coffee too fine, or you’ll wind up with an under-extracted brew that tastes pretty weird and bitter.
Did you think the list was over? No. This is the last and probably the tastiest solution. If you wish for less coffee caffeine, then give a cold brew a chance! Cold brew is created by soaking coffee grounds in room temperature water overnight. The good news is that this drink comes with a very mild brew. It has around 30% less caffeine than regular drip coffee. Furthermore, it is less acidic – in fact, it has around 60% percent less acid than hot coffee. This approach is used by a large number of people so it might not be a bad idea to try it yourself.
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