Caffeine’s Effects and Recommendations

Like most individuals, I wake up in the morning and without even thinking I have added the water to the coffee machine and I am carefully measuring out the number of scoops to make the perfect pot of coffee. After the first sip, I am sighing with relief knowing I will make it through the day. I began to question what it is about coffee that “pumps” me up for the day. After a little digging I discovered, not surprisingly, caffeine is a mild stimulant, it helps delay drowsiness and speeds up reaction time. But why? Well, it blocks an important neurotransmitter, adenosine, in the brain responsible for slowing down nerve impulses.

Health Canada suggests we limit our caffeine intake to no more than 400mg/day. Initially this sounds like plenty, but the more you look into how much caffeine is in what we eat and drink, you quickly learn, 400mg/day translates to approximately 3 cups of brewed coffee! I’m not speaking of 3 venti’s from Starbucks or 3 extra large coffees from Tim Horton’s – both which are 4 cups of brewed coffee each, I’m suggesting 3 – 250mL (the equivalent to 1cup) cups of coffee per day.

Health Canada Caffeine recommendations:

Age	Caffeine
4 – 6 year olds	45mg/day
7 – 9 year olds	62.5mg/day
10 – 12 year olds	85mg /day
>13 year olds	2.5mg/kg/day
Women planning to become pregnant, are pregnant or are breastfeeding	<300mg/day
Adults	<400mg/day

 

Once I processed the recommendations I quickly measured my cup at home and discovered it holds 2 cups alone, and this was only my first cup of coffee of the day. I typically drive through Tim’s on my way to work and grab another medium coffee for the commute – almost another 2 cups. No wonder I have the jitters when I get to work. It’s not likely from the traffic but the effect of too much coffee! Other symptoms can include insomnia, headaches and irritability.

While I won’t be getting rid of my commute coffee anytime soon (I still want to win one of the non-coffee prizes!), I’ve decided to switch my morning cup for decaf.