News Flash! CNN has reported that coffee may give you an unhealthy buzz. In other news, the sky is blue, and water is wet. I mean c'mon. We really needed someone to tell us this? Ask anyone who loves a couple of big ole' Dunkin' iced at the break of dawn and they'll tell you that caffeine is, well, buzzy. I mean, we aren't talking about hard narcotics here, but it's not a secret that coffee will give a spring to your step but a tremor in your trigger finger as well.
But Are There Dangers To Over-Caffeinating?
Oh, for sure. Like anything else, over-indulgence comes with consequences. These include jitters, dehydration, racing thoughts, headaches, erratic heartbeat, heartburn, insomnia, and more. You can actually fatally OD on caffeine whether it comes from coffee or anything else. But the amount of coffee you'd have to drink to earn you a visit to the ER is pretty high. According to the FDA, you'd have to rapidly drink around 1,200 milligrams of caffeine to do serious damage. Your average cup'a joe has around 95 milligrams. Do the math.
Should We Quit Drinking Coffee?
Whoa, hold on there buddy. First off, if you want to take away our morning coffee, you'll have to pry it from our cold, dead clutches. Secondly, coffee also has some benefits. John Hopkins reports that a moderate coffee regimen will offer perks like heart health, liver health, lower risks of colon cancer or stroke, and even a longer life span. Also, if you decide to drop the coffee habit monkey cold turkey, you may suffer headaches due to caffeine withdrawal. It's better to ease yourself off.
So don't sweat your daily Starbucks habit. Overdoing anything can come back to haunt your health, but if your coffee cup isn't a mop bucket we think you'll do fine. That said, in the event you do experience any of these symptoms after having consumed too much caffeine, please, don't double down on that mistake by ignoring the red flags. Call your doctor.
