Most people (myself included) have a caffeinated beverage to “start the day” – and we tell everyone we just can’t function before we’ve had it. Of course caffeine helps to wake us up in the morning, but just how much should we be having every day? The Food and Drug Association (FDA) says that we should be consuming a MAXIMUM of 400 mg of caffeine a day. What would that look like? Well to start, take a look at the list below of the caffeine content in our favourite foods and beverages…

Per 240ml of the below:

1. Espresso: 24 – 720 mg
2. Coffee: 102 – 200 mg
3. Energy drinks: 65 – 250 mg
4. Brewed tea (green or black): 40 – 120 mg
5. Soft drinks: 20-40 mg
6. Decaffeinated coffee: 3 – 12 mg
7. Hot chocolate: 2 – 7 mg
8. Chocolate milk: 2 – 7 mg

Per 1 oz. of the below:

1. Milk chocolate: 1 – 15 mg
2. Dark chocolate: 5 – 35 mg

So what would happen if we drank too much coffee (or consumed too much caffeine)?

Some of the side effects of consuming too much caffeine include:

• anxiety
• restlessness
• tremors/jitters
• irregular heartbeat/racing heartbeat
• trouble sleeping/insomnia
• upset stomach
• nausea
• promotes headaches & migraines
• can cause high blood pressure in some
• may cause miscarriages in pregnant women

Now I’m not saying that caffeine is bad – because of course it has great positive effects as well! Caffeine as we know, temporarily boosts our energy and mental alertness. It also has been found to protect the liver by reducing the risk of damage, may protect against skin cancer, reduce risk of multiple sclerosis, prevents gout, may increase amount of beneficial gut bacteria.