Coffee and Caffeine: Behind the Buzz

©All articles are copyright of Dr. Susan Mitchell and Practicalories, Inc. and cannot be reprinted or used without permission. To obtain permission, please contact Dr. Mitchell.

How many cups of coffee do you think are safe to drink? How much caffeine is safe to consume? The American Dietetic Association suggests that a safe level of consumption is about 300 milligrams (mg) of caffeine per day. The average eight ounce cup of coffee is around 100-150mg so about two to three cups. This is not true if your idea of a cup of coffee is a Starbucks Venti with 325 mg of caffeine.

Caffeine does not cause dehydration. We use to think so because caffeine has a mild diuretic effect (and you will still here some professionals say as much) but now we know that this relatively small effect is offset by the water used to make coffee.

Caffeine is not addictive and should not be classified with addictive substances. In moderate amounts as listed above, it’s safe for most people. You may use this term loosely like I’m addicted to running, addicted to TV or addicted to your morning caffeine.

Coffee does not raise your cholesterol UNLESS you regularly drink unfiltered coffee--the type made by a French press or percolator. But most Americans drink filtered coffee and the filter seems to remove the compounds that raise the lousy cholesterol (LDL) although this mechanism is not fully understood.

Caffeine helps keep you alert short term and boosts short term memory because it’s a central nervous system stimulant. Coffee itself contains antioxidants from the beans. These are the same antioxidants that you find in tea, fruit, veggies and chocolate. New studies indicate that coffee may help prevent gallstones and reduce symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

So neither coffee nor caffeine is a ‘bad’ food (I hate that term) but neither are they health foods. But there may be times when you need to avoid caffeine. For example, if you’re caffeine sensitive and you notice that caffeine causes you to have headaches or feel irritable and restless, caffeine is probably not for you or in limited amounts. If you are having trouble sleeping, know that caffeine stays in your body three to eight hours so think about when you drink it compared to when you’re going to bed. If you have gastrointestinal problems, caffeine may irritate your stomach. If you have high blood pressure or abnormal heart rhythms discuss caffeine use with your doctor.