Majority of the people all over the world rely on at least a small amount of caffeine in order to Charge the battery during busy work days ( which is pretty much every day). While caffeine in moderation has some benefits – provides extra energy for a workout and keep one alert – it can also quickly become the cause for many health related problems. So, how much is too much caffeine?
4 to 5 cups can cause nervousness, insomnia and irregular heart beat. That is a lot of wear and tear for a system that already deals with a lot of stress on daily bases. 3.5 to 4.5 produces higher insulin levels and reduces insulin sensitivity, increasing diabetes risk. Diabetes could lead to many other health related problems.
2.5 to 3.5 cups of coffee increases the risk of miscarriage and low birth-weight babies – if pregnant. Talk to your local Doc for additional information
2 to 3 cups of coffee significantly increases blood pressure, potentially shortening your life span by five years. Five years is a long period of time. I certainly don’t want to shorten my life. Do you?
1.5 to 2.5 cups of coffee gives one more staying power for the run. The cost – drained adrenal glands.
1 to 1.5 cups of coffee boosts your alertness and mental performance. That could provide short term benefit during final exam or top peak performance. If applied on regular bases one enters danger zone.
My advice: replace caffeine intake with 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise and you will pretty much achieve the same result with great health benefits. For those who absolutely must have caffeine in the system I would suggest to race coffee with a green tea. Less caffeine and more antioxidants. Last month I have written a post – “Busy Business Executives, Chiropractic and Other Healthy Tips” which is also describing the negative impact of excessive coffee intake.
Question: How many cups of coffee do you drink a day? Do you still want to drink excessive amounts of coffee?