You’ve come to this website to either buy or learn more about what I call “coffee with benefits“. The last thing you expect to see is a warning when you get here.
I sincerely believe what I’m about to tell you is worth writing about and is something we all need to take into consideration.
With the cold and flu season upon us it’s smart to take a minute and think about the compounding affect of caffeine on your cardiac care especially if you have high blood pressure, are overweight or have diabetes.
Combine the effects of caffeinated coffee or tea with that of cold medicine ingredients that increase blood pressure and add to that a pre-existing high blood pressure condition and you’ve got a potential recipe for disaster.
How much is too much caffeine?
An average cup of coffee, depending on the blend and the brand, can be anywhere from 75 to 330 mg of caffeine. Just one 16 ounce serving of Starbuck’s Pikes Place Blend will get you a whopping 330 mg of caffeine. Add two pain reliever tablets containing caffeine for cold or flu symptoms at 65 mg per tablet and a decongestant with pseudoephedrine or any of the other blood pressure raising ingredients and you are potentially putting yourself in the “red zone”. If you are overweight or have a health condition like diabetes, you continue to dangerously compound the problem.
I believe most of us don’t take into consideration the combining effect of what we are putting in our bodies. Until I started doing this research, for another website, I honestly never gave it any thought.
Caffeine side effects
Now I’m certainly not advocating giving up your coffee. You wouldn’t be on this website if you didn’t enjoy drinking it and I don’t plan on giving it up either. As a baseline, for most healthy adults, caffeine around 200 milligrams a day is usually well tolerated. In excess of that amount, let’s say 500 milligrams in a healthy adult you may feel some or all of the following indications you’ve had too much caffeine. To top that off, too much caffeine comes with its own withdrawal side affects.
- Muscle tremors
- Racing heartbeat
- Agitated state
- Irritability
- Nervousness
- Restlessness
- Upset stomach
Bottom line, please be aware of how much caffeine you are ingesting especially if you have health issues. Before you reach for that 3rd or 4th cup, take a minute to think about what else may have caffeine in it or reacts with caffeine like some antibiotics, decongestants and even natural remedies like echinacea.
Be safe, be well and be smart about the brew.
Tagged with: caffeine • caffeine warning • too much caffeine
Filed under: Worth a Look
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