Watching Out for Caffeine

There are several foods (or maybe food-like substances would be more appropriate) that I ate when I was younger that now I find completely unappealing. While I wouldn't quite call the large amounts of caffeine I've consumed gross... well I just prefer not to have so much nowadays. I'm not a huge fan of its effects.

So that's why WebMD's article "Caffeine Shockers: Products Surprisingly High in Caffeine" caught my attention. Of course we know there's caffeine in coffee, coffee-flavored products, and energy drinks. But the author was surprised (as am I) by how many products commonly known to include higher amounts of caffeine don't list how much they contain. It reminded me that caffeine seems to be something we just take as an absolute - it's included in a product or it isn't. We don't tend to think about quantity.

In general, 25-50 milligrams of caffeine is sufficient for most people to report increased alertness and arousal as well as subjectively lower levels of fatigue.1 According to the article, a 6oz cup of coffee usually has 80-150mg and over-the-counter pain relievers usually have 56-120mg. Chocolate and some teas are sources of caffeine as well. But if the caffeine is naturally-occurring, you probably won't see it on the label.

There is such a thing as caffeine intoxication though. Dependent on your size and current tolerance to caffeine, an acute caffeine overdose is around 100-300mg or more. It's recognized by the APA (American Psychiatric Association) who lists symptoms that include: restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, flushing of the face, increased urination, gastrointestinal disturbance, and irritability. 1,000mg plus can lead to twitching and abnormal electrical activity in the heart.

You can also build up a tolerance to caffeine and that means you won't be experiencing what some consider to be the positive effects - such as feeling more awake. And withdrawal can include headaches and irritability.

I think people also tend to think: "decaffeinated/decaf" = "no caffeine". It really means there's a whole lot less than the non-decaf but it's still there. There's also guarana, a herb containing caffeine, that when people see it they think "natural and probably good for you" instead of "another source of caffeine".

So the amount of caffeine consumed per day is something to consider in regards to your well-feeling. And staying away from caffeine, especially the larger sources of it, in the evening can be a help in sleeping better too. Being informed lets you take action.

To see the WebMD article "Caffeine Shockers" list of caffeine-containing drinks, click here.
There's also a list of drink caffeine content here.

1 Rasmussen, JL; Gallino, M (1997). "Effects of caffeine on subjective reports of fatigue and arousal during mentally demanding activities". European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology