Caffeine is one of the most researched and studied drugs in history and is found in numerous beverages on the market today. However, just because caffeine is available, does that mean it’s good for you?
Why do we drink caffeine in the first place?
For most of us, it’s because of the rapid surge of energy it provides and for others, they literally can’t seem to function without it. Caffeine provides that adrenaline rush that we would otherwise miss.
Although caffeine can boost your performance by increasing alertness and speeding up reaction time, it also has some negative effects, such as causing increased heart rate, blood pressure, and anxiety.
Do we really need it?
Most likely, we wouldn’t need the artificial drive if we as a culture weren’t sleep deprived and overworked. If you allowed your body to sleep when it needed to and eat a healthy combination of foods throughout the day, then you would have the fuel to carry it all day. But for most of us, this is not the case for one reason or another, which is why we turned to the quick fix.
Now, I’m not suggesting that you stop using caffeine all at once. First, let’s examine how much caffeine you consume per day. This task may cause you to rethink the amount of stress you are putting on your adrenal glands and other bodily functions to compensate for the caffeine ingested, especially since 250 mg of caffeine per day is considered the upper limit before incurring potential risk factors for the Health.
Here is a list of the most popular caffeinated drinks.
All bottled beverages are 12 oz and coffee and tea are 8 oz.
High (50mg +)
Starbucks Coffee (tall / large) 279/372
Dunkin ‘Donuts (Medium) 143
Coffee (drip) 115-175
Rock Star Energy 160
Espresso (2 oz) 77-100
Coffee (instant) 65-100
180 Energy 90
Red bull 80
Amplifier 75
Shaking 71
Pepsi One 56
Mountain Dew 55
Moderate (25 – 50 mg)
Coca-Cola Light 47
Tab 47
Iced Tea 47
Black tea 40-60
Dr. pepper 41
Sunkist Orange 40
Pepsi 38
Classic Coca-Cola 34
Snapple 32 teas
Pepsi Diet 31
Instant tea 0
Low (less than 25 mg)
Cream soda 22
Green tea 15
Hot cocoa 14
Lipton brisk 9
Decaffeinated coffee 2-18
Sprite 0
7-UP 0
Sierra Niebla 0
Root Beer 0
SOURCES: National Soft Drink Association, US Food and Drug Administration, University of Florida School of Medicine
Hopefully, this list gave you a better idea of how much caffeine you consume each day. Your best bet is to limit your caffeine intake to no more than 1 high-caffeine drink per day, preferably consumed in the morning. After that, I recommend switching to green tea or another low-rated caffeinated beverage if the water isn’t enough.
Good luck and remember that healthy lifestyle changes take time to become part of your routine. If you can begin to reduce your unhealthy habits, you will soon begin to feel the benefits of living naturally.
I’ll drink for that; )
