Have you ever felt anxious or awake all day and night after drinking coffee? Have you ever felt the heart beating fast after drinking coffee? Or have you felt your hands or other parts of the body shaking non-stop? Well, if you happen to experience this natural phenomenon after drinking, you encounter the side effects of caffeine consumption. Every cup of coffee contains a certain amount of caffeine, so more or less, you will meet this kind of event.
If you are a beginner, you probably encounter all the above conditions. It may be difficult to handle it at first. However, once you start drinking coffee every day, the symptom seems to disappear or happens once in a while. As a result, your body will adapt to caffeine after some time. On the other hand, consuming too much caffeine might not be a good idea.
What is Caffeine?
Caffeine is a natural stimulant that gives a reaction to the body’s nervous system. Coffee carries this attribute inside its body. When brewing, the caffeine content breaks down along with the coffee beans. Therefore, once you consume the coffee, the caffeine will travel through your body’s nervous system, resulting in shakiness. Instantly, after the brain’s nerve receives the caffeine, it reacts, causing you to feel awake. Generally, the substance will disappear from your body after a few hours of drinking coffee.
Caffeine has no taste nor nutrients. Therefore, it may not seem to be ideal for healthy diets. However, since a minimum consumption of caffeine helps boost your energy, it would be best if you could use it as a meal replacement. For better usage, it is recommended that healthy people (from age 18 to 45) can consume caffeine up to 400 milligrams and teenagers up to 100 milligrams per day. Meanwhile, pregnant women cannot exceed 200 milligrams of caffeine consumption daily.
Amount of Caffeine in Every Cup of Coffee
A cup of coffee carries approximately 95 milligrams of caffeine on average. On the other hand, the caffeine content may depend on the size of the cup and the type of coffee. Thus, we will break down how much caffeine contains in a certain type of coffee.
Espresso
Let’s start with Espresso! Espresso is made from dark-roasted coffee beans that are finely ground before brewing. A shot of Espresso contains more caffeine than any other type of coffee because the dark-roasted coffee beans intensify the coffee’s body. Other than that, the thick body of Espresso enhances as much as 65 milligrams of caffeine per shot. However, since a shot of Espresso has a smaller serving size (only 1.5 oz), it carries less caffeine overall.
Brewed Coffee
All kinds of coffee need to be freshly roasted and ground at a particular level to extract all coffee’s attributes and nutrients. Like making other coffee, the brewed coffee is produced by boiling water over the ground beans. Generally, if you order a cup of brewed coffee, you will get 8 oz (equivalent to 230 millilitres) of coffee per cup. In this cup, you will consume caffeine between 80 to 140 milligrams. Then, if you are an adult, you can drink up to 3 or 4 cups per day.
Instant Coffee
Instant coffee, in other words, ready-made coffee, is another type of brewed coffee that is packed dried in bottles or packages. As the name suggests, instant coffee is portable and convenient to make by mixing with hot water. A package of instant coffee usually weighs between 24 grams to 50 grams of coffee carrying 40 to 90 mg of caffeine, making it the least caffeine content among brewed coffee and Espresso. This type of coffee is also ideal for busy people who do not have enough time to brew coffee yet drink it.
Decaf Coffee
Decaf coffee is the best coffee for those who wish to consume the Arabica earthy taste and fragrance, yet they are not ready for the caffeine effects. The decaf coffee also works best for children and pregnant women as it carries a maximum of 7 mg of caffeine per cup. In addition, this type of coffee has the least caffeine elements due to a process called decaffeination.
The Good Points of Consuming Caffeine
A small amount of caffeine intake can boost energy, lengthen memory, and other mental health benefits. Other than that, caffeine helps build the strengths to the physical body, such as burn fat, lower the chance of having heart diseases, and especially Type II diabetes.
Increase Mental Healths
When you drink coffee, the caffeine substances will travel the entire nervous system in your body by the bloodstream. The brain nerve reacts faster than other parts of the body. Therefore, you might feel awake after drinking coffee. During this time, caffeine boosts up the level of productivity, meaning you have the adrenaline to work without fatigue.
Help Protect Other Health Diseases
Coffee is commonly known to prevent heart failure. Heart disease can happen in many ways, such as respiratory failure, stroke, inflammation, and so forth. Thus, regular coffee consumption can reduce the risk of heart failure because caffeine exercises the heartbeat well.
In addition, once the caffeine content runs into the bloodstream, it electrifies blood sugars on their way, breaking down the sugar elements by vibrating. As a result, caffeine can maintain blood sugar levels. When the blood sugar stabilizes, your body will not work hard to produce insulin, consequently lowering the risk of insulin resistance.
As a bonus, caffeine carries high antioxidants and vital nutrients that your body needs daily. For example, if you drink a cup of coffee every day, you will get enough Vitamin B2, B5, B3, Manganese and Potassium. These nutrients are difficult to find in a typical meal.
The Not-So-Good Points of Having Too Much Caffeine Intake
Drinking coffee provides many positive benefits to the overall health; however, you cannot drink too much coffee in a short period or a day (as recommended 400 milligrams). However, if you drink an excessive amount of caffeine, the body cannot handle the work. Consequently, you may feel tired, insomnia, anxious, and shaking all day long. In the worst case, you will get dizzy, confused, or even vomiting. You might also encounter shorter breaths due to the rapid heartbeat movement.
With the intensity and chaos happening in your body within a short period, your internal organs are working hard to regulate the body to become normal. However, putting your body at this intensity will cause some serious problems in the future. For example, heartburn, heart failure, anxiety, and high blood pressure might arise due to excessive caffeine intake.
Conclusion
Basically, regular coffee consumption provides a wide range of benefits, such as boost productivity, burn fat, lower Type II Diabetes, and other health advantages; however, overconsumption of coffee may lead to many health issues. If you frequently drink excessive caffeine, you will encounter heartburn, anxiety, fatigue, insomnia, and other serious health problems. On the other hand, drinking coffee can also make you happy because you can enjoy talking and drinking with your friends. On top of that, coffee can warm you up during the cold season. Eventually, if you drink it regularly, you should do it at a moderate level. Enjoy your coffee day!