So I'm checking my email and I get a message from my friend titled 'We're gonna die! hahaha!' So I open the email, and follow the link to this website she found about caffeine.
Apparently the average daily intake of caffeine for one person is 200mgs.
For the average individual, over 900mgs of caffeine intake per day would be considered unhealthy.
At the bare minimim, according to the chart at this website, my daily caffeine intake is 834mgs.
Uh, oops. My bad.
Though I told my friend she should read the whole website because it gave me this bit of information:
quote: The minimum lethal dose ever reported is 3,200mgs administered intravenously. Considering the average intake of caffeine is only 200mgs daily, most consumers have no reason to fear the most serious side effect of its use. Roughly 150 cups of coffee would need to be consumed during the half-life period to produce such a serious intoxication. Intentional overdose of caffeine pills is the leading cause of death by caffeine consumption, and even this is difficult to achieve.
So clearly we are not 'going to die.' Whaddaya bet that put a damper on her morning caffeine buzz?
I'll buy a cup of coffee for anyone whose caffeine intake is greater than mine! Caffeine Information Archive Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
My father used to (and may still, for all I know) drink in the neighborhood of 32 cups of coffee a day. No, I'm really not joking. And yes, he did that for, well, decades. That would put his caffeine consumption at about 3680 mgs per day. Huh, gee whillickers, that's not good? Really? Huh, so that's actually higher than the minimum lethal dose ever recorded, huh? And yet, he continues to live and drink his coffee. Go figure.
As for me, I'm caffeine free. Except for the chocolate. And since it's been so long since I've had chocolate, I'm still caffeine free. *cue the violins*
Posted by Nellie Bly (Member # 9129) on :
Your father is my new caffeine role model.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
No. Please, please, no.
He's not any kind of role model for anyone.
Really.
Should I tell you that he also smokes 2 1/2 packs a day and, back before his aneurysms, used to drink 4-5 of the large bottles of whisky, rye, rum, or vodka pretty much every day?
He's the poster boy for bad habits.
Posted by Nellie Bly (Member # 9129) on :
Yeah, the smoking and alchohol is bad stuff. If i smoke, I'll die (asthma. bad lungs)
But that's still an impressive amount of coffee. Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
And shall I now tell you that my grandfather died from drinking coffee?
Okay, it was actually stomach cancer back in the years before Canada got national health care and they couldn't afford the existing treatments, so he died. And the theory is that it was the coffee that did it to him, but I guess I'll add that he also drank it near to boiling straight down, which can only cause major damage, scarring, and whatnot to the digestive system. But it's all really conjecture that it's the coffee. But it's still what we're all going with.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
The neurologist told me to wean myself off caffeine and I'm at least 200mgs below you, Nellie.
*scowl*
I'm not giving up my tea. A friend of mine from Australia sent me a teapot, strainer, Australian tea (Daintree), and step by step instructions on how to properly make tea in a pot.
Tea made in a teapot is much better than tea made with a teabag.
I'm not giving up my tea! *shakes fist*
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Um, Sri Lankan tea is supposed to be the best in the world, by the way. Not that I'd know since I don't drink the stuff. But that's the reputation.
And, um, yeah, people here way prefer tea from loose tea leaves than bags - they all insist that it tastes far superior to anything bagged.
I could give you instruction on how to make tea the Sri Lankan way. Posted by Nellie Bly (Member # 9129) on :
I'm not a fan of tea. My cousin tries to get me to drink it, and I'll tell her not until she tries my coffee. It's the battle of the caffinated beverage over here!
Posted by kojabu (Member # 8042) on :
I found this chart awhile back. I usually drink a lot of Dr. Pepper, at least more than any other drink. And man does Diet Coke (45 mg) have a lot more caffeine than regular Coke (34 mg)!
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Coffee isn't here much with the exception of Nescafe (the only major brand here) and some local brands that, according to my sister, taste like crap. She goes for the Nescafe when she's here. And she whines. The entire time. Me? I just laugh. Posted by Nellie Bly (Member # 9129) on :
My Uncle Joe and his wife are from Northern Washington, and they have some excellent coffee there. They always bring me some coffee beans when they come visit, and i just melt over the stuff. It's the best coffee I've ever tasted.
Posted by Soara (Member # 6729) on :
quote:Originally posted by quidscribis: My father used to (and may still, for all I know) drink in the neighborhood of 32 cups of coffee a day.
What an impressive bladder.
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
quote:quote:Originally posted by quidscribis: My father used to (and may still, for all I know) drink in the neighborhood of 32 cups of coffee a day.
My dad used to drink about that much, maybe more. He'd go through anywhere from two to four pots a day. Used to drink it almost straight from the pot. He's stopped recently though. Gone off caffine almost entirely.
Posted by Stan the man (Member # 6249) on :
I don't know how much coffee I used to intake when I was on the ship. It was a lot I know that. I drank out of a Bubba Keg. Now days I hardly drink coffee. I do drink Vault and some energy drinks now and then. Even fewer still I drink Coke and Dr. Pepper.
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
Dr. Pepper doesn't have and caffeine in it, iirc.
I drink one láte or coffee a day, sometimes two, but I hate to go a day without it, so I guess I'm an addict.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
I'm off caffeine now, except for the occasional cup of hot chocolate, which I read has about 5 mg. Chocolate for me has to be consumed in moderation, so even though I don't plan to give up chocolate, it won't affect my caffeine intake much. I tend to eat like 1/12 of a Hershey bar, or the equivalent, no more than once a day.
I want to talk about what I discovered about caffeine, from my experiences trying to stop using it. It's a little like cocaine light, (as it sounds from the descriptions I've read of cocaine -- I've never, thankfully, tried cocaine). If I have been off caffeine for a while, and I drank one 12 oz caffeinated soda (about 45 mg), I would literally be up all night, hyper, excited, and happy. Then the next day I would crash, feeling very sad, and of course quite sleepy from lack of sleep. It's actually a very powerful drug, which we sort of don't notice, most of us, because we're so inured to its effects from constant use.
Secondly, when I stopped last time, I got splitting headaches every afternoon for a full week. It was quite painful and unpleasant. I slept, naturally, for many more hours than usual, for the first few days off of it, paying back the huge sleep debt I had built up, I would guess.
I realize now that for years, when I tended to get such bad headaches on Sunday night or Monday morning, it was most likely from caffeine withdrawal, since I tend to drink more caffeinated sodas at work and fewer to none on the weekends. Had I known what was the cause of these frequent terrible headaches, I think I would have stopped using caffeine long ago. Many is the weekend day that I've spent groaning in bed rather than enjoying my off time, and many is the time I've had to miss work Monday morning, from the same cause.
Another motivation for me to quit, is that I urge strongly my teenage son not to use alcohol or pot or any of the other psychoactive drugs he is offered frequently at school and elsewhere. If that is wisdom (and I believe it is), then why doesn't it apply to caffeine? Caffeine, as I have found, is very powerfully psychoactive.
Lastly, I find that I sleep better now without caffeine. I sleep about an hour longer each night, am more rested in the mornings, and feel better in my mind, body, and spirit because of that. I think caffeine was bad for my brain, and bad for my joints and muscles. I am able to relax more deeply now, and truly rest, for the first time in a long time.
So I want to urge everyone who uses caffeine to look at their lives and see if they find any of these things causing difficulties: insomnia, fatigue, headaches, irritated bowel, indigestion, irregular sleep habits, aching joints, depression, anxiety, digestive upsets, irritability, lack of restful sleep. And I'd like to suggest that if any of these things plague you, that you consider giving up caffeine. I'm really glad I did.
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
quote:Originally posted by mackillian:
Tea made in a teapot is much better than tea made with a teabag.
Yes! Another one indoctrinated.
(Good work your Australian friend.)
I have a little tea-strainer thing at work so I don't have to drink teabag tea.
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
quote:Originally posted by Orincoro: Dr. Pepper doesn't have and caffeine in it, iirc.
I don't think you do remember correctly. Root beer has no caffeine in it, but Dr. Pepper certainly does. They make caffeine-free Dr. Pepper, after all.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
In Canada, Dr Pepper doesn't have caffeine, and only Barqs Rootbeer has caffeine. The others don't.
Orincoro, where are you from?
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
Really? That's odd. I mean, I know soft drinks vary from country to country, but I didn't think they varied that much.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Hey, I was surprised to learn that some brands of orange juice in the US have added caffeine.
Dr. Pepper in Sri Lanka also doesn't have caffeine, same as rootbeers. Only cola drinks have caffeine.
Yep, it varies from country to country. Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
So, I guess my maximum intake is around 55 mg, and that's on a very rare day. Most days I have none or unmeasureably small amounts. The only time I purposefully consume caffeine is when I'm having a blood pressure episode and need to get my bp up to avoid fainting and/or baby-dropping.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
I'm a pretty heavy Dr Pepper drinker, I'd estimate about 2-3 cans per day. But I have a throat condition that makes even consumption at that level painful.
Occasionally out of the blue I test out my addictedness to caffeine and Ill go anywhere from 1-4 weeks without caffeine. I've yet to suffer withdrawal symptoms that at least I am aware of.
If they sold caffeine free Dr Pepper at costco for $6 per 30 cans I'd get it, but unfortunately thats not the case.
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
Well, you learn something new every day.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
I'm a programmer; I'd eat caffeine by the spoonful if I had to.
900mg? Doesn't sound like a lot. Well, a 20oz Pepsi has 63mg of caffeine in it (why does Pepsi write it on the bottle, but Coca Cola does not?). I can't imagine drinking fifteen of those in a day.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Actually I'm pretty sure Dr. Pepper does have caffeine in Canada but Mountain Dew does not. There are some laws that prohibit a "soft drink" that is not cola colored to have caffeine in it. Jolt got around this somehow and Mountain Dew now sells an Energy Drink version that has all the caffeine. I think it partially has to do with how things are packaged as well. I've never seen Jolt sold in cans (only glass bottles) and so that might be how they got around the restriction. Now it seems that labelling something as an Energy Drink can get it around the restriction as well.
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*cue the violins*
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