A coffee in the morning is what a lot of us need to transform from grumpy bed goblins to refreshed and normal people, but how many cups are too many for our health?
The benefits of coffee has been widely debated, with some thinking that it’s best to keep away from caffeine, and others promoting caffeinated drinks to perk up your concentration.
However, now we have an answer.
If you love nothing more than to sip coffee all day long and don’t even blink once you’ve hit more than your fair share of cups, you could be in for trouble.
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After Reuters found that 64 per cent of Americans aged 18 and over drink at least one cup a day, they realised that the figure is steadily increasing from where it was a few years ago.
It’s now at the highest level it has been in five years.
While many studies have tried to find out the health benefits from coffee, few have looked into whether it outweighs the risks involved.
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According to a new study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, there could be serious health complications from over-consuming caffeine.
Australian researchers found during their study that if you drink six or more coffees a day, it increases a person’s risk of heart disease by around 22 per cent.
Dr Ang Zhou and Professor Elina Hyppönen of the University of South Australia wanted to test how much is too much coffee.
This is because they believed there had to be a tipping point where coffee goes from being fine to drink, to increasing risk of disease.
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It was the first study to ever test this, and to get their results, they looked at how much coffee 347,077 people between the ages of 37 and 73 drank.
After they had their numbers, they compared it to cardiovascular disease risk.
So, what’s the perfect amount of coffee?
Six cups of coffee and higher is where the risk tipped the scales considerably.
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Hyppönen said in a statement: “In order to maintain a healthy heart and a healthy blood pressure, people must limit their coffees to fewer than six cups a day — based on our data six was the tipping point where caffeine started to negatively affect cardiovascular risk.”
The health benefits associated with drinking coffee include an energy boost, improved focus and overall perkiness.
Vanessa M. Rissetto, MS, RD, CDN told Healthline about those benefits: “Coffee is the number one source of antioxidants in the human diet — yes, even over wine and tea.
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“Aside from the caffeine giving you an early-morning energy buzz, those high levels of antioxidants can help protect your body from damage caused by free radicals, as well as fight off disease.”
It can even help prevent diseases.
Kimbre Zahn, MD, Indiana University Health said: “Caffeinated coffee is associated with lowering the risks for certain cancers and liver disease.”
But it can also be a nightmare to some who experience the bad effects.
Rissetto said: “Coffee can cause insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, upset stomach, nausea, and vomiting, increased heart rate and breathing rate, and other side effects.
“Consuming large amounts of coffee might also cause headache, anxiety, agitation, ringing in the ears, and irregular heartbeat.”
The conclusion? Keep your caffeine within the boundaries of what’s safe and you should be okay.
Topics: Food and Drink, Health, Australia, US News, Advice
Britt Jones