How Much Caffeine is Too Much?
DULUTH, Minn — For many people the mornings don’t start until you’ve had your first cup of coffee and the caffeine that’s in the coffee. But very often that is not the only caffeine you will have during your day. Now there are some questions about how safe caffeine is when taken in large amounts.
If you need a little pick me up after you’ve had your cup or two of coffee in the morning, you now have many more choices. In the last decade or so energy drinks have multiplied significantly and are available at your local convenience store.
It wasn’t too long ago that the choice for a boost of caffeine was between a Coke or Mountain Dew. Coke was good with 39 milligrams of caffeine, but if you wanted a bigger charge, you would have chosen the Mountain Dew with 54 milligrams of Caffeine. Today there are entire cooler doors of energy-type drinks to choose from.
The amount of caffeine in the coffee you brew at home or buy from a coffee shop varies a lot. Depending on you and your body and how much caffeine you normally have, the amount of caffeine you have will make a difference in how safe it is for you.
“Some people can build tolerance over time. And then when you don’t have the caffeine, then they get headaches or withdrawal-type symptoms. But that doesn’t seem to be as harmful as you know, onetime drinking a very high dose of the caffeine,” said Dr. Katie Benzinger is a Cardiologist at Essentia Health, and the Medical Director of Cardiology Research.
Benzinger says for some people one very large dose of caffeine can potentially lead to issues with your heart, or even death. “There are a lot of people who have undiagnosed underlying genetic conditions that makes them more susceptible to having bad heart rhythms. And bad heart rhythms can be triggered by these really high doses of caffeine. And unfortunately, those high doses can put them into atrial fibrillation or more serious ventricle arrhythmia that causes sudden death.”
If you feel you always need more energy, you should talk with your doctor. It could be you aren’t getting enough sleep, or your sleep isn’t as deep and restful as it could be. Perhaps you have sleep apnea, a condition that can be corrected.
There needs to be much more research done on the effects of energy drinks and coffees that have a great deal of caffeine. Research up to this point has concentrated mainly on standard coffee.
Benzinger’s recommendation at this point is, “I think you know we have the best thing to drink is water, we have great water. And if you’re thirsty drink water first is what I tell people. If you’re still thirsty, drink some more water.”
