Want vs. Need: How much coffee is too much coffee in a day?
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - How many cups of coffee do you have each day and how does it compare to how many you need?
It seems like there's always a new study coming out about the pros and cons of coffee. Some link it to longevity, good liver health, and lower chances of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, strokes, and colon cancer.
However, there is a limit, even if ardent coffee drinkers extol its critical virtues.
"You get a little bit of alertness, that's because it's combating the adenosine effects you get a little bit of energy," said Dr. Randy Peters from Allegheny Health Network. "It's actually performance-enhancing."
But remember - there is such thing as too much of a good thing.
"The FDA says you should have more than 500 milligrams a day," he explained. "That's an eight-ounce cup of coffee, not a grande with three shots of espresso."
He said that the average cup of coffee has about 100 milligrams but most of the drinks from the coffee shop are loaded.
"You're getting five-six-hundred milligrams of caffeine in a single serving," Dr. Peters said.
So, what are the risks if you exceed the recommended 500 milligrams?
"Jitteriness, anxiety migraines, if you have those," he said. "You don't really experience toxicity until maybe substantially more than that - 1,200 milligrams."
He warned that once you hit toxicity, you'll know it.
"Now we're talking about outright [heart] palpitations, tremors, shakiness, maybe even panic attacks, if not anxiety," Dr. Peters warned.
Caffeine can come from a combination of coffee, tea, soft drinks, energy drinks, and others.
Also, if you're pregnant, limit your caffeine to 200 milligrams a day.
So, does this mean you're stacking caffeine in your system as a cumulative thing throughout the day?
Dr. Peters said the caffeine from each drink passes out of our bloodstream in four to five hours, so if you're spreading it out, it should be ok.