What would really happen to your body if you drank as much coffee as Lorelai from Gilmore Girls
Autumn has rolled around again, and for a lot of us, that means one thing - Gilmore Girls is back on our screens again.
The annual re-watch of the cosy American comedy drama is a girlhood rite of passage at this point.
Even though I know how it ends and can pretty much recite any line from any episode, I never get sick of Stars Hollow and its comforting and familiar characters.
But although it is pure fluffy wholesomeness at its core, there is one very concerning habit that Lorelai and Rory push throughout the series - the sheer amount of coffee that gets consumed.
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The mother-daughter duo, played by Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, are rarely ever seen without a white paper cup in their hands.
They go to Luke’s Diner every single morning to grab a cup, before returning later for more, and drinking some in between - and it’s almost always the hardcore stuff, black coffee without milk or sugar.
In one season two episode, Lorelai says that she’s already had six cups by 4:30pm, and in another season four instalment, she arrives at Luke’s explaining that she’s already got through all of her own coffee supply before 5am.
As reported by The Tab, it’s thought that Lorelai drinks between two and six cups of coffee every day, with it more likely being the higher end of the scale, and sometimes more.
Fans of the show will know it’s basically her main personality trait, and she once said she ‘needs coffee, in an IV’ and that she likes it ‘only with her oxygen’.
But what does drinking this much of the caffeinated beverage actually do to your body? Tyla spoke with Dr James Chao, the Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of VedaNu Wellness, who issued a brutal warning.
The expert explained: “Lorelai’s consumption is a caffeine issue masquerading as a character flaw. One 8-ounce cup of brewed coffee has approximately 95 milligrams of caffeine.
“By her own account, she drank 5 cups before stopping at Luke’s Diner on the way to work. She later ups the number to 6 cups by 4:30pm. So she’s around 600 milligrams, far exceeding the 400 milligram upper limit that is recommended for healthy adults. Not good.”
He revealed that at this amount, you can become susceptible to the shakes, heart palpitations, acid indigestion, and waking up at 3am. The doctor added that ‘you don’t want to know what happens late at night’.
Dr Chao reasoned: “Granted, coffee consumed in moderation tends to be fine over the long term. The problem is addiction. Since caffeine has a half-life of about 5 hours, that afternoon pick-me-up is kicking you in the retina at bedtime.
“Insomnia leads to nasty hungover mornings, which encourages you to reach for another cup… You skip a day and bam, a splitting headache materializes between 12 and 24 hours after your last cup.
“Surgeons are very familiar with this dilemma, as caffeine withdrawal is a well-known source of headache after any operation. As for Lorelai’s rapid chatter… that’s physical addiction translated into humor.”
Rory, on the other hand, is 16 in the first series of Gilmore Girls, which frankly, makes her caffeine intake even worse. Although it’s a quirky and fun character trait, it’s definitely not one to copy!
The doctor told Tyla: “The tricky thing about Rory is her age. Pediatric organizations in the US recommend teens skip it altogether, and about 100 milligrams per day is the recommended ceiling. That’s about one cup. Remember, kids, your brain isn’t done developing until your mid-20s, and teens require 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night.
“Caffeine hijacks those hours. Honestly, Rory pulling straight A’s was in spite of her coffee consumption, not because of it.”
So, binge-watch to your heart’s content, but maybe leave the caffeine addiction to Lorelai and Rory…
Topics: TV And Film, Food and Drink, Health, Tyla Exclusive, Entertainment
Madison Burgess