Do you drink too much coffee?

Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. But what about its effects on health? And should we limit our consumption?

Is there a daily limit?

To answer this question, let’s look at caffeine. A daily intake of up to 400 mg of caffeine is safe for healthy adults (excluding pregnant women, for whom the maximum is 300 mg).

A cup of filter coffee contains between 80 and 180 mg of caffeine. A consumption of 3-5 cups of 250 ml per day is therefore considered adequate and without risk. Nevertheless, it’s important not to forget your other sources of caffeine, such as energy drinks, tea, cola, chocolate, guarana, yerba mate and sports supplements (like pre-workout or certain electrolytes) in your calculation.

Caffeine Chart

Hot beverages

Decaffeinated coffee (250 ml)	3-15 mg
Filter coffee (drip)	80-179 mg
Cappuccino or latte (250 ml)	45-148 mg
Espresso (30 ml)	64-90 mg
Black tea (250 ml)	43-50 mg
Green, white or oolong tea (250 ml)	25-45 mg
Decaffeinated or herbal tea (250 ml)	0-5 mg

Cold beverages

Energy drink (250 ml)	80-97 mg
Cola (355 ml)	37-38 mg
Diet cola (355 ml)	25-50 mg

Supplements

Stimulants/uppers (ex. Wake Ups) (par capsule)	100-200 mg
Sports supplements (ex. « pre-workout » or electrolytes) (per portion)	0-385 mg  Not all sports supplements contain caffeine

What are the effects of coffee?

Caffeine is known to have several positive effects:

• Alleviating the effects of sleep deprivation
• Increased alertness
• Improved reaction time
• Improved sports performance

Caffeine intake can also cause negative effects such as insomnia, irritability, headaches and nervousness. These effects appear mainly with excessive caffeine consumption but can also occur with a single coffee for those with a low tolerance to caffeine.

As for long-term effects, excessive caffeine consumption (over 400 mg a day) has been associated with cardiovascular health problems. However, this association remains uncertain for coffee consumption per se. One hypothesis put forward to explain this is that the effect of certain other components of coffee, such as antioxidants, would counterbalance the negative effects of caffeine.

It is therefore possible to conclude that consumption of 3 to 5 cups of coffee a day is safe, but that the effects of higher consumption are uncertain and potentially harmful.

5 tips that can help you reduce your coffee consumption

If you feel that your coffee consumption is too high after reading this, discover these 5 tips that can help you reduce your consumption:

1. Gradually reduce your caffeine intake

A sudden reduction in caffeine intake can cause withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches or fatigue. It is best to reduce your intake gradually, for example by cutting out ½ to 1 cup of coffee a week.

2. Replace with decaffeinated coffee

If you want to reduce your caffeine intake without saying goodbye to its delectable taste, you can replace your regular coffee with a decaffeinated one. That way, you get all the pleasure, without the caffeine!

3. Replace with other beverages such as tea or herbal tea

If it’s the comforting effect you’re looking for in coffee, why not replace it with tea (which contains less caffeine) or herbal tea (which doesn’t)?

4. Gradually reduce add-ins

So far, we’ve talked about black coffee, but what if it’s not what you prefer?

If you add sugar (white sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, agave syrup, sweet creamer, etc.) or fat (cream, whipped cream, creamer, etc.) to your beverage, you are reducing its nutritional properties. If this is your case, you can gradually reduce the amount of sugar you add and use milk or an unsweetened vegetable drink to lighten your coffee. You can also discover tasty recipes to try out at home:

• Homemade Iced Coffee
• Homemade Pumpkin Spice Coffee

5. Get enough sleep

If you’re among those who drink coffee to compensate for a lack of sleep, tackling the problem at source will be the most effective way of reducing your consumption. Here are a few tips to help you achieve this.

Still unsure about your coffee intake or how to reduce it? Talk to a nutritionist, we’ll be happy to guide you!

Sources :

• CAMH. « La caféine », sur le site du CAMH .
• Dr Martin Juneau (Mai 2017). « Les effets du café sur les maladies cardiovasculaires », sur le site de l’Observatoire de la Prévention de l’Institut de cardiologie de Montréal
• EFSA (2015). « La caféine », sur le site de l’ESFA
• Familiprix (Août 2024). « La caféine », sur le site de Familiprix
• Gouvernement du Canada (Juillet 2022). « La caféine dans les aliments », sur le site du Gouvernement du Canada
• The Nutrition Source (Juillet 2020). « Coffee », sur le site de Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
• AIS sports supplement framework. « Caffeine », sur le site de l’AIS

Do you drink too much coffee? is a post from Nautilus Plus. The Nautilus Plus blog aims to help people in their journey to fitness through articles on training, nutrition, motivation, exercise and healthy recipes.
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